Klarinet Archive - Posting 000675.txt from 2001/03

From: "Franklin Kercher" <kranwli@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] The spirit is willing but the lip is weak!
Date: Tue, 27 Mar 2001 01:27:49 -0500

-----Original Message-----
From: Rhea Jacobs <rhea-j@-----.net>
Date: Monday, March 26, 2001 5:17 PM
Subject: [kl] The spirit is willing but the lip is weak!

Sounds like the mouthpiece you're using is cut for the harder reeds. Try a
good student model for a while that has a facing cut for use with softer
reeds. This is what I had to do as my clarinet sat in the closet for just
over 20 yrs during my stint in the Coast Guard. My chops were just jello!
I'm now back to using a 2RV with harder reeds.

>A re-beginner is seeking advice from all you experienced teachers!
>
>I've recently begun playing the clarinet again after a long (37 year)
>hiatus, and have been in a position to practice regularly since the
>first of the year. (Let's just say that our local instrument repair
>technician has a LONG backlog!)
>
>I definitely expected things to go slowly as far as getting my chops
>back, but I'm finding, to my great frustration, that my lip tires after
>45 minutes (or an hour at most), and that I have to quit and rest for a
>day. I tried double sessions with half-day rests, but I blew the lip out
>to the point where my teacher sent me home and said to rest it for a few
>days and not to try to rush it.
>
>This is frustrating to me, not because I'm trying to get back several
>years of serious study in a few months, but because I feel like I'm worn
>out as soon as I'm warmed up. I'd really like to find some way to
>strengthen the lip so that I can practice for a couple hours at a time.
>
>What I think is contributing to the problem is reeds. I'm stuck between
>3's, which are a bit too soft, and 3 1/2's, which are still a bit stiff.
>I have been starting off with the 3 1/2's and then moving down after
>I've been through my scale warmup or when I feel fatigue, whichever
>comes first.
>
>Any suggestions from those of you who are experienced players and
>teachers would be greatly welcome. My teacher is fine, but she has very
>few adult students, and I doubt she's had to deal with this before.
>
>Thanks so much,
>Rhea Jacobs
>rhea-j@-----.net
>
>
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