Klarinet Archive - Posting 001266.txt from 2004/03

From: ormondtoby@-----.net (Ormondtoby Montoya)
Subj: [kl] Ken Peplowski & embouchure
Date: Mon, 22 Mar 2004 11:21:20 -0500

It's a truism that you can't diagnose an embouchure and throat by their
exterior appearances, but if you have the opportunity to watch Ken
Peplowski up close (as I did the other night), it's certainly
educational. His timbre is <metaphor alert!> 'full and round and
golden' even in the altissimo register, and his outward appearance gives
a hint of what's going on inside, more so than most clarinetists that
I've watched.

When he puts mouthpiece to lips, his cheeks and the 'ridge' of his lower
jaw flatten out, such that his chin truly comes to an obvious point that
suggests a Christmas tree upside down. It's more than just pulling the
muscles underneath the chin down & inwards. It must involve muscles
that are connected to the back of the neck and below the ears (if there
are any such muscles?)

Equally as noticeable, his throat expands somewhat --- not like a bull
frog, not to the extent that you see during Turkish 'folk clarinet'
performances --- but something is happening inside that opens up his
throat in the opposite manner that you would expect if you were to
flatten your chin by pulling only with the muscles underneath your jaw.

Flat chin and open throat are normal recommendations, but Ken
Peplowski's exterior appearance truly suggests what may be going on
inside in order to avoid 'shreiky' high notes. The moment that he lets
go of the mouthpiece, his face returns to a 'normal' round-ish shape.

While he's playing, his upper lip does a 'twitch' near the corners of
his (now round) mouth that I haven't figured out, but it doesn't appear
to be accidental.

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