 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: cKaSully16
Date: 2005-06-15 05:47
Back in April I went up to a "Junior Trial Audition" up at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. The clarinet professor, Dr. Schempf, was awesome and provided a lot of positive feedback for the 15 minutes I was in there. I played the Weber Concertino. I pulled it out from my sophomore year, because I figured the Brahms Sonata I had been working on my junior year would have been less effective for an audition without the piano..plus the Concertino has more variety. Annnnyway, back to the point, he pointed out one of my bad habits...my embouchure isn't correct. When going from one register to another, I move my chin, most frequently when I'm tonguing but it also does it when I'm just playing a slurred passage. At the audition he worked with me on playing a simple C scale slurred and I couldn't fully do it without my chin moving...however, I can successfully do that now.....but for some reason I can't do it all the time. I've tried concentrating on keeping my chin firm and it has gotten a little better but I can still see it's happening...I pracitce with a mirror. I am aware that there have been a myriad of other posts on this site about the topic, but I was just wondering if anyone had any ideas or exercises that I could use to correct this problem. Should I maybe put more of my bottom lip over my teeth?
Thank you so much for anything you have to offer!
"Music is the silence between the notes."
-Claude Debussy
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Author: contragirl
Date: 2005-06-15 06:26
The way my old teacher used to explain embouchure to me was that you have to have your lips and jaw like you are saying "Q," or like you are saying "o" and "e" at the same time. That gets yur lips set right. Then keep your chin flat at all times, which I probably still don't do. So he would stick a pencil between my mpc and my chin, and if my chin moved, the pencil would fall. It happened a lot. lol.
Also, for articulation, you have to arch your tongue in the back or your throat and seem like you are hissing like a cat. Then only the tip of the tongue should be touching the reed... which this was a problem for me, cuz I anchor tongued! I didn't finally rebuild my embouchure and learn the hissing until recently. What is that, like 5 years? Maybe I'm just slow. :P
--CG
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Author: clarinetmaniac101
Date: 2005-06-16 03:07
well I have some excllent advice about keeping your chin down, my teacher told me to not put so much bottom lip in your mouth. Now the way you do that is almost no bottom lip in your mouth all your bottom lip should be on the line of your bottom teeth it should feel like you have so much reed in your mouth but it is actually the same amount of mouth piece in your mouth and this will improve your tounging and even though you may be in tune now when you create the new embouchure you will be all of the sudden sharp so you should keep an "AW" sound in your throat so that is my advice to you.
Rashad
*clarinet
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2005-06-16 06:40
Contragirl wrote
<<for articulation, you have to arch your tongue in the back or your throat.....>>
Really? Is this standard practice?
It seems like a lot of unnecessary tension to me, and if it is done like the hiss of a cat, also runs the risk of a narrow constriction making the air in the area turbulent, hence greatly reducing its pressure and flow.
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Author: Tobin
Date: 2005-06-16 15:30
You are not arching it.
Just say "eeeee" (as opposed to "ahhhhh"): You will find that the "back" or the tongue naturally rises to touch the wisdom teeth. This position has many benefits, including improved sound, response, and tonguing, by increasing the speed of the air which is delivered to the clarinet.
But for some, tongue position doesn't stop there....
Do not arch...just think "eeeee"
Gnothi Seauton
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Author: contragirl
Date: 2005-06-16 15:42
I guess not necessarily arch, but kind of rest the tongue on the back teeth as Tobin mentions. You don't close the back of your throat, it's more a was to direct the air.
--CG
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Author: Alphie
Date: 2005-06-16 22:11
To read the answers to this thread makes me sad. I should not interfere in this discussion again because I’ve already said what I have to say three times in a short while lately in previous threads. I can only say that I pity the students who are victims of these kinds of teachings that obviously cause “ants in the brain” (Swedish expression for severe confusion). Too many teachers seem to want their students to think that it’s very, very difficult to play the clarinet.
To cKaSully16’s question: I’m quite sure there is nothing wrong with your embouchure. Your only problem seems to be that your teacher can’t pinpoint your problem. I’m quite sure from reading your post that you have a fear when going from one register to another. Maybe you’re afraid of squeaking or something so you’re subconsciously trying to correct your mouth position to not do so. You just have to learn to trust your ability and that you’ll be fine when you press that speaker key or lifting that left index finger.
One exercise to start with would be to play let’s say a low F3 and having somebody else pressing the speaker key for you just to give you a feeling what it feels like when you’re not prepared. Make sure that the embouchure is firm enough for the F3 so that intonation doesn't drop on the C5. You might notice that the embouchure feels looser for the C5 than for the F3. This is what it should feel like doing that jump. Do this a few times until your brain can identify the experience. After that go on with the same kind of register jumps yourself chromatically up and down remembering the experience. Move to scales and arpeggios from any book with similar exercises. Do this every day for a period and tell us about any progress. If you forget the experience just ask somebody to press that key to remind you.
I used to have this problem as a student and this exercise helped me. Now I only move my ears, my colleagues say.
Alphie
Clarinet/Eb-clarinet RSPO
Post Edited (2005-06-16 22:57)
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Author: contragirl
Date: 2005-06-16 23:07
Yeah, you would think your teacher would be crazy for telling you to say Q and to hiss and all that stuff, and while in HS, that did confuse me. But after a while, I got what he meant. I guess it's just something you think your teacher is crazy for then you later realize that he was right; there's no better way of explaining what the heck goes on in one's mouth and mind.
--CG
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