Klarinet Archive - Posting 001183.txt from 2000/10

From: "Tony Wakefield" <tony-wakefield@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] strengthening embouchure
Date: Tue, 24 Oct 2000 06:42:17 -0400

I`m not able to spend much time at present on klarinet, but I thought this
morning that I`d give the "thumb`s up" to everything that Bill Wright has
said (24 Oct)
re thumb & upper teeth. If Bill remembers, way back earlier in the year,
when he was
first attempting the high D, I suggested the R.H. thumb technique to him at
that time. It is
a pretty universally known fact in embouchure development however, having
said that much. Would Bill allow me to slightly re-design his remarks
re upper teeth. To concentrate on the upper teeth alone would be to
isolate the whole endeavour of required control in one department. It`s not
specifically the upper teeth, but the whole of the mouth; the upper and
lower lips, the upper and lower teeth, and the surrounding muscles, (not the
edible kind, he hastens to add, `cos I know what Bill`s eating habits are),
which, when all combine into an embouchure, not forgetting the R.H. thumb
and the right amount of MP inside mouth, come together to exercise a
"control" which actually does "feel good", "comfortable", "endurable", and
"conscious" of retaining control for any required situation. It actually is
a physical sensation which gives the owner a pleasurable experience, almost,
(but not quite) like the tender experience of touching a loved one. I have,
in my time, (and I have been teaching children and teenagers for 20 years,
without any parental comebacks) asked appropriately intelligent older kids
to actually enjoy supporting the MP inside the mouth as a pleasurable
physical experience. It is this "comfortably cushioned" *joining* of MP to
the
mouth which, after the appropriate practise period has elapsed, (I would say
minimum of 5 years - debatable) will ensure the development/stability is
moving in the right directions.
You`re doin` OK William, - keep it up - keep it in - - - -
I don`t know when I`ll be able to talk again.
Best,
Tony W.
I don`t know how some of you find the time to mail everyday, sometimes 2 or
3 times. You ain`t doin ` your practice, you`ll all be getting dumped, and
WE will all be movin` up one more rung of the ladder.
I`ll soon be principle of Richmond, Chicago, and Bay Concert Band!
Who`s gonna pay my travel expenses - Florida?

From: William Wright <Bilwright@-----.net>

Subject: Re: [kl] strengthening embouchure

> One thing that I'm discovering (with my teacher's help) (I'm a
> 60-yr-old beginner) is that the connection between right thumb and upper
> teeth has an effect on embouchure fatigue. If you don't have a firm
> connection between your right thumb and your upper teeth, the tendency
> is to use your embouchure to 'hold onto' the mouthpiece and to support
> some of the instrument's weight. This is tiring, of course, as well as
> damaging to your tone and intonation
> Embouchure should be used to shape the air flow and to control the
> reed only, not to 'grab ahold' of the mouthpiece.
> Recently I have begun to understand this in a visceral way -- that
> the embouchure can be firm and steady without carrying any of the
> instrument's weight. For me, it's not easy to move ahead from merely
> *understanding* this at an intellectual level to actually *doing* it.
> I draw a parallel to breathing with the diaphragm (instead of the
> chest). For some of us, breathing with the diaphragm does not come
> instinctually; and if we don't focus our conscious mind on it
> continuously, we stop doing it properly and our tone/intonation suffer
> as a result.
> One of the problems is that the strength of the thumb-teeth
> connection is not always obvious even to a skilled instructor. But
> still, a good instructor is more likely to spot this problem than you
> are to spot it b yourself.
> You may want to test yourself (while sitting on a sofa or bed where
> you won't damage your instrument if you drop it). If you remove your
> thumb without changing your embouchure, does your embouchure still 'hang
> on' to your mouthpiece?
>
> And one last thing: My instructor promises me that she runs out
> of embouchure strength and chin strength sometimes too. <grin>

>

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