Klarinet Archive - Posting 000734.txt from 2002/04

From: Tom.Henson@-----.com
Subj: RE: [kl] Embouchure question
Date: Thu, 25 Apr 2002 10:44:55 -0400

There is actually another way that I learned.

I have sharp lower teeth and the principal Clarinetist in the Army band I
was in showed me what he learned at the University of Michigan during his
doctoral studies in the early 70's.

That is to simply pull the lower lip tight and flat against the front teeth
without actually rolling it over the teeth. If you pull your chin straight
down and make a conscious effort not to roll the lip over the teeth this is
basically how you do it. The bulk of the lip will rest in front of the teeth
creating a resting place for the reed. I think this would be helpful for
people with thinner lips who create a very narrow resting place for the reed
when it is rolled over the bottom teeth. It will allow are wider area of the
lip to contact the reed, but with no jaw pressure.

In fact, you don't want to use jaw pressure to create the seal, only the
embouchure muscles. Jaw pressure tends to tighten up and close off the
throat.

In actual use, only the slightest part of the lip will roll over the teeth,
but not in a way that puts any real pressure on it at this point.

The reed then rests of the red part of the lip that is in front of the
teeth. I don't know if this is what Keith Stein was referring to or not.

As your embouchure gets stronger, you can adjust this where the gripping of
the mouthpiece is more from the side muscles of the mouth which will in turn
relax the lower lip area somewhat more. My personal opinion is that the side
muscles are all too often neglected or not used effectively. I believe this
should be the strongest part of the embouchure.

By tightening and relaxing the lower lip you can affect tone production. The
more relaxed your lower lip, the tighter the sides must be to seal. Perhaps
from this you can imagine the "O" shape that was mentioned. Actually it is
more of an oval with the side giving the strongest support. You can then
push or pull with the side muscles with will in effect tighten or relax the
lower lip over the reed, which will affect the note.

It works well for me, but I learned this method to solve a problem with my
teeth. Had it not been for that, I would still be rolling the lip over the
bottom teeth.

Tom Henson

Suzanne Stanton asks about Keith Stein's description of embouchure, where he

says "Keep the red of the lower lip turned outward. Never allow it to roll
inward and be lost."

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