 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Mikey
Date: 2004-01-12 14:20
Yesterday I decided to experiement with a double lip embouchure. I noticed a pretty dramatic improvement in the sound. I have been told I have a pretty dark tone, but this seemed to darken the sound even more. I'm just curious as to the pros and cons of using double lip.
Michael~
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Author: William
Date: 2004-01-12 14:39
Pro--double-lip, if done well, produces a more vibrant sound that allows more tonal flexability and expression. It also allows more flexability for tuning any particular note that needs "lipping".
Con--it is hard to do if you do not practice (or play) a sufficient amount of time to maintain the embouchure strength that it requires. Also, it is not suited for most marching band manuvers--but that's another subject altogether.
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Author: Brenda
Date: 2004-01-12 19:20
Advantage - can cure biting and the resulting jaw joint pain. It needs to be done for a few minutes a day at first, but then the facial muscles are trained to work instead of the jaw alone to support the mouthpiece and reed. When returning to single lipping, different muscles are trained to be used. Just like you, I noticed a big improvement in tone. The tone brightens as the muscles become better toned.
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Author: hans
Date: 2004-01-13 00:33
In addition to the above.....
Pro - reduced vibration to the cranium.
Con - increased wear and tear on the upper lip.
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Author: BobD
Date: 2004-01-13 15:20
Pro: If you fall you only get a big lip instead of a broken tooth.
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Author: Brenda
Date: 2004-01-13 15:30
BobD - A real problem in ensemble playing, indeed! I laugh (now, years later) because I know what a big fat lip looks like - unfortunately it was my young daughter when she attempted the same monkey bar tricks as her brother and cousin - unsuccessfully - and would they help? No serious damage, but right before a visit to Grandma! Fortunately there were no mishaps in her short clarinet career.
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Author: D Dow
Date: 2004-01-13 18:25
I played double lip for about 6 or 7 years in the beginning and can say I did not find it to have all the great advantages others say...as to whether it helps tuning I would say this is controversial because some players find double lip tiring and leads to flatness in certain registers...
As to why I changed its' simply I was tired of having sore lips and fatigue from playing. As to my current double lip set up I am very happy Harold Wright induced me to change to single in order to improve my stamina and my tone....I have also seen the problem of double lip leading to cold sores, cuts, abrasions and can honestly say in my case it was a bit of a problem area in my ability to do alot of concerts due to factors related to sore lips...
As to whether it may improve the tone, I think this is wish fufillment for some, because the technique anyone chooses has pitfall....double lip can also make articulation quite difficult in the upper altissimo for anyone so be cautious in your approach to feeling this is the answer to the problems...or as they say "be careful for what you wish for".
David Dow
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Author: Brenda
Date: 2004-01-13 20:13
David, thanks for your experience from years of playing, it's good to read what's happened to you. Personally I temporarily use double-lipping to remedy what for me has been quite a problem, pain in the jaw, then revert to the regular embouchure. It's a good muscle reminder, "Hey, you're needed here!" Whenever I feel the jaw pain it reminds me to adjust the embouchure to use the muscles instead of biting, and that fixes that.
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Author: krawfish3x
Date: 2004-01-14 02:47
i use double lip on clarinet, and wouldnt have it any other way. i've tried playing single lip on clarinet and it doesnt work for me, it just doesnt feel like a clarinet.
my upper lip does get sore after about an hour and a half to 2 hours of practicing, but thats all the better reason to play clarient and saxophone, because when your upper lip gets sore just switch to sax.
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2004-01-14 10:46
It's all relative to how you've been taught and what ou find comfortable. I can play doublelip, and am sure that I could build stamina if I felt I needed to switch over fulltime to that style, but I personally don't see a necessity. I feel/play fine with single lip. And I have more important things (technique, sight-reading, etc.) to concentrate on than trying to switch to an unfamiliar embouchure.
Michael, before you decide to do the switch, make sure you have other people listen to you play both ways. Perhaps you are only hearing what you sound like without your top teeth vibrating and it will seem much more dramatic to your ears than to an audience. Before doing anything drastic to my embouchre or setup I would always consult someone with a good musical sense and see whether they feel it is a good change or bad change (it doesn't have to be a clarinetist, just someone who has a good sense of musicality and can appreciate and differentiate a good tone from a bad one.)
However if you really wanna have some fun try playing with the mouthpiece inverted. Now there's a challenge!
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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