Klarinet Archive - Posting 000915.txt from 2000/10
From: Shouryunus Sarcasticii <jnohe@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: [kl] Saxophonist problems, thanks.
Date: Mon, 16 Oct 2000 10:24:26 -0400
Hi Charles - let me introduce myself first, because the last thing I want
you to do is to take anything I say as law.
Despite what my sig says, I am not a professor, I am a senior music
student at New Mexico State University. I currently study clarinet (and
harmony clarinets) as my primary instrument and saxophone (both jazz and
traditional styles) as a secondary instrument, although I've only begun to
REALLY study saxophone within the last two years. So, now you know where
I'm coming from...
> - For me, the sound(s) i can achieve with the B40 is actually the best
> for me.
This is the important part - it makes good sound for you. Everyone has
their own particular quirks, which is why there are 5,386,926 different
available facings from Vandoren alone. (Or at least it seems so when you
look at their list in a catalogue. *grin* )
> But my problem of resistance (and maybe breath) appened since i use the B40
> instead of the B45. Reading your advices will help me to deal with all of
> that more in confidence.
Resistance is a BIG part of clarinet playing, and one of the major
distinguishers between it and flute and saxophone. I'm told oboe outdoes
the clarinet, so much so that oboists breath to EXHALE, not inhale. I
often find that when I've been a lazy punk and haven't picked up one of my
instruments in favor for the other for a while, my breath support takes a
good hour to recompensate...this mainly occurs between clarinet or
traditional sax and jazz sax. For instance, if I've ditched playing on my
jazz setup for a while (a Meyer 6 with 3.5 Javas) and played a lot
clarinet or a lot of traditional sax (Caravan with 3.5 Hemke's), when I
attempt to play jazz sax again, I run out of breath quickly, because I
burn up all of my air in a few notes because of a lack of resistance. On
the converse, when I try to play traditionally after a long stint of jazz
focus, my face gets tired VERY quickly, suddenly having to deal with the
change in resistance.
The resistance change and controlling the airstream to match it, I
believe, is simply one of the hurdles that doublers have to face. Right
now, I'm having no problems whatsoever. Why? Because thrice a week I
have Symphonic Winds rehearsal, in which I play clarinet, and right after,
Jazz Band, so at least every other day, I'm making the immediate
adjustment. I've become accustomed because it's ritual now. If for some
reason, I cut out one or the other, I'll have to re-accustom myself to it.
I've been running on a similar regimen of rehearsal/practice for the last
two years, and it's just NOW that I can switch off quite comfortably. It
may take you that long, or longer, or shorter. Who knows?
> <my clarinet teacher plays professionally on bothclarinet and saxophone.
> <She has demonstrated to me several times that there is a difference between
> <clarinet and saxophone embouchures, and lip placement/shape is a major
> <part of it.>
>
> If William Wright have the time (one this days) to tell me more about those
> difference between clarinet and saxophone embouchures, it will be great
> for me. I can imagine that it's not easy to talk about this subject in
> a email.
I don't know who the original quote is from, but I would bet money it's
not Bill. *grin* I must say, that although I've heard it preached that
(by my saxophone professor, no less), I don't know if I believe it yet.
He teaches that the saxophone bottom lip must be more of a "pillow," which
I cannot seem to do. My bottom lip remains as firm as always no matter
what I play, because my bottom lip is virtually automatically set as soon
as I flatten my chin! I don't tend to think of my embochure as folding my
lip over my teeth - rather, I flatten my chin, which firms up the lower
lip, and the mouthpiece simply sits on that lip, which naturally cushions
over the teeth. *shrug*
NOW...I'm not simply shrugging off my professor's teachings...but I can't
make them work at the moment. "Pillowing" my lower lip causes my chin to
collapse. Right now, I'm fairly satisfied, because there isn't THAT big
of a difference between our sounds, especially when you consider we play
different saxes with different strength reeds (but we both use Caravans).
So what does this come down to? I...that is ME...seem to do quite well on
all my instruments with just about the same embochure. It works well for
me, and I imagine, others, but not everyone. So I can't tell you what you
have to do, other than try it yourself to see what happens.
NOW...one big exception (and one little one), and that is TONGUE POSITION!
While just about EVERY aspect of the embouchure stays the same for me from
instrument to instrument, one aspect that changes is tongue position, and
I have more recently become aware of this as I am in preparation for
crossing into saxophone altissimo studies.
I have found that my clarinet playing is best when my tongue is kept high
and arched at all times - the position opens the throat and constricts the
front of the oral cavity giving the air speed an extra push (based on
Bournoulli's principle, I think...I'll have to check with my father; he's
a physics dude). However, this DOESN'T work on saxophone, as I have to
move my tongue MUCH more in order to 'voice' different registers. (On
clarinet, you must also do the same thing in the altissimo, but the tongue
adjustment is so minute in comparison). So...there is my one great
difference between the two.
(I bet it's just making Roger's day that I'm finally admitting that
there's a difference between the two. *grin*)
And the little exception? Well...I occasionally puff my cheeks in jazz.
I figure that's a big enough change from the "fundamentally same
embouchures" I've been preaching here for years to mention...heh.
Good luck, man! May the Fobes be with you!
J. Shouryu Nohe
http://web.nmsu.edu/~jnohe
Professor of SCSM102, New Mexico State Univ.
"Never put passion before principle. Even when win, you lose."
-Miyagi-san, KKpt.II
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