 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: bryris
Date: 2003-11-19 20:40
I've always seemed to dog holes in the tops of my mouthpieces from my teeth boring down into them. I've been using mouthpiece savers for a while, but the last one wore out. I am playing without one right now and I notice that I canot hold my embouchure for as long. I think the high friction surface of the mouthpiece saver slowly caused certain muscles to relax. Now that I am playing w/o it my endurance isnt very long. I can build back up. My question is twofold. Do I need a mouthpiece saver? How do I keep from diggin holes in the mouthpiece?
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Author: Don Poulsen
Date: 2003-11-19 21:01
One solution would be to use a double-lip embouchure, where your upper lip and not your teeth contact the mouthpiece. (If you start biting down you'll feel it as your teeth cut into the inside of your lip.)
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2003-11-19 22:23
I have used the rubber mp cushions for years, partic. on saxes, for lengthy playing. Lately, I have gone to the thin plastics on HR's and glasses {in partic} for short to 1 1/2 hr plays. I find I use both single lip and dbl, depending {I guess} on the music, volume, and horn size, mainly dbl on bass/alto. I'd feel uncomfortable/naked without them. Just me! Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2003-11-20 00:11
I have used the rubber mp cushions for years, partic. on saxes, for lengthy playing. Lately, I have gone to the thin plastics on HR's and glasses {in partic} for short to 1 1/2 hr plays. I find I use both single lip and dbl, depending {I guess} on the music, volume, and horn size, mainly dbl on bass/alto. I'd feel uncomfortable/naked without them. Just me! Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: Mark Pinner
Date: 2003-11-20 00:22
I use the clear plastic ones but I don't seem to have the biting problem. Some people just seem to chew up mouthpiece tops. The rubber cushions seem to assist people with this problem but the need to be changed reularly otherwise you will just go through to the mouthpiece anyway. The thinner patches suit those who bite more gently.
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2003-11-20 04:03
I have same problem. My front tooth is slightly chipped and it's a little pointy so it bited through a mp patch very quickly. Don't know what the next step will be. Maybe just a piece of tire glued on top of the mouthpiece or something. Then I'll change that after about thirty thousand miles or so.
US Army Japan Band
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Author: saxlite
Date: 2003-11-20 06:02
sfalexi---your dentist can quickly and painlessly polish off the sharp edge of your tooth--it's worth doing.
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Author: jo.clarinet
Date: 2003-11-20 10:09
I use the black rubber ones simply because they feel more comfortable. Tried the thin clear ones but they somehow kept setting my teeth "on edge"- not a very nice feeling, especially when one's playing! I didn't actually notice any difference in my sound between the two types.
Joanna Brown
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Author: Brenda
Date: 2003-11-20 11:20
Wearing out several mouthpiece patches is a good indication of an uneven hold on the mouthpiece. I second the opinion of using double-lipping as a short-term remedial exercise, since this will develop the proper muscles and even out the pressure on the top and bottom of the mouthpiece. Try this method for 5 to 10 minutes at the beginning of each practice in order to gradually strengthen different embouchure muscles.
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Author: fmadison
Date: 2003-11-20 17:01
Hi,
Back in the day I used to bore holes into the top of my mouthpieces.
This was because I was using a very hard reed and biting down too much.
This is a real problem for many people. There is a way to fix this hard biting problem.
1. Get a very soft reed like a number 2 Vandoren reed and learn to play with a full sound on it.
At first it may not even vibrate due to the problem of biting too hard.
But when you learn how to play with a full sound on the number 2 you can move up to harder reeds to improve the sound on the upper range of the Clarinet. High notes sound very thin with a number 2 reed and you will need to move up in 1/2 strenghts until you find a reed that gives you a full sound in all ranges.
Also make sure you are not playing a very open mouthpiece with a very hard reed. I seen this everywhere and people have cuts in their lower lip and holes on the top of the mouthpieces.
Bottom line is that you should be able to play every note on the Clarinet with the same feel and resistance that an open throat middle G has.
the lowest and highest note on the Clarinet should require the effort that an open G requires.
If you have to give more effort and resistance to get those notes, then you need to check your setup and embouchure. Every note on the Clarinet should be effortless...
-Frank
It's the wood that makes it good!
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Author: Ralph Katz
Date: 2003-11-20 21:21
I would exhaust all other avenues before having your dentist modify your teeth. Bonded crowns can be quick and relatively inexpensive, but it is still a lot easier and cheaper to get a new mpc or replace a mpc patch.
Some dentists will make bite guards that are molded to fit over your teeth. This might be a better bet. If it doesn't work, you can toss it and your embouchure will be back the way it was beforehand.
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