Klarinet Archive - Posting 000167.txt from 2004/01

From: "Lacy, Edwin" <el2@-----.edu>
Subj: [kl] learning doubling instruments
Date: Mon, 5 Jan 2004 16:44:38 -0500

<<<Somebody help me out here. One of the little "truths" or truisms
I've heard for several years is that the surest way for a single-reed
play to mess up his (or her) embouchure is with a flute, and vice versa.
They are, I was told, largely incompatible.>>>

I have been playing all the woodwinds for a very long time - some of
them for over 50 years, and others for somewhat shorter periods. I also
have a doctorate in woodwinds from Indiana University. I started on
clarinet when I was 11 years old, and very soon after that added oboe
and saxophone. Now, my principal instrument is bassoon, and I enjoy
playing all of them, never missing an opportunity to take gigs that
involve doubling.

I would say that I disagree rather strenuously with the advice you have
received. To me, the flute is the LEAST disruptive instrument to the
embouchures of the other instruments. To me, the only incompatibility
that one encounters is when switching from oboe to flute. The oboe
requires so much muscular exertion that it tends to reduce the
flexibility of the lips that is required for flute. It takes a while to
make the adjustment. Going the other way, from flute to oboe is not so
much a problem.

After playing and studying all the woodwinds for a very long time, what
happens is that when you pick up an instrument, the mind seems
automatically slip into its "flute mode," "clarinet mode," or whatever
it might be. Holding the instrument in the hands seems to cause the
mind to recall the physical responses required for the embouchure,
breathing and fingerings for that instrument. It is somewhat similar to
learning multiple languages. If you know two languages, you may tend to
get them confused from time to time. If you add more languages, they
seem to become more compartmentalized in the mind.

Ed Lacy
University of Evansville

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