 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: it
Date: 2004-03-25 22:46
But.. I have been practicing lots and lots lately.. Way more than i usually do.. And i have a huge assignment due tommarrow for band.... We have to have this 7 page song recorded and 3 scales for tommarrow.. Which will be our term grade... I have only been playing clarinet for about a year and a half, without private lessons for the past year.... so.. I still am not very good... But... at this point... My emboture is totally shot... Is there any way to like "magically" make my mouth stop hurting.. just long enough.. so that i can play through this song??? Thanks for the help, and feel free to tell me this is a stupid question.... And not answer.. Or to tell me not to wait till the last minute next time... Oh yeah.. And we have only been playing this song for a few weeks... Soo... Its really really hard for me!
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Author: Rachel
Date: 2004-03-26 00:39
Yeah, have a rest, and then once your mouth is back to normal practice long tones to build up the strength of your embouchure.
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Author: D Dow
Date: 2004-03-26 01:25
Practice in shorter bursts with freguent breaks....lip fatigue is a normal part of embouchure development...
David Dow
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2004-03-26 01:30
And don't practice at all from now till your performance. Not tonight, not tomorrow morning, at all. Simply do a quick few minute warmup right before your test. Good luck.
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: Katrina
Date: 2004-03-26 04:19
I know this is probably too late, but another approach is to practice without blowing on the clarinet. Hold the clarinet, and finger the notes while counting the rhythm out loud. And don't forget to practice this way SLOWLY! 
Katrina
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Author: stevesklar
Date: 2004-03-26 11:52
This is probably too late because it's tomorrow already, but, I think you still had to record a 7 page song for today.
BUT
If your embouchure, or more likely your lower lip is hurting from your teeth then here is a good tip I got about 25 years ago ..... fold some paper and cover your bottom teeth. Preferably cigarette paper but any paper is actually good for an emergency (no colors or dyes or bleached paper).
This will prevent your teeth from digging into your lower lip and allow you to play longer.
I've been doing this forever because I used to practice way too much all the time (mostly saxophone) and my lower teeth are really sharp (guess I ate too many dog bones or something) and I ended up damaging my lower lip a bit. having larger lips to begin with doesn't help either - okay, not super big or anything like that but more *full* lips.
But I degress .........
You may also not want to wait for the last night to do homework .....
Good luck and tell us how it went.
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Author: it
Date: 2004-03-26 21:15
I recorded the song.. went ok.. got permission to hand it in on monday.. when i showed the director the bloody mess that used to be my bottom lip.. he understood... I am never going to wait till the last min again.. And thanks for the paper idea.. i will try it...
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Author: Sam W.
Date: 2004-03-27 01:02
thank you to the more experienced players on the list for advice about embouchure fatigue. I am a new player and my face wears out pretty quick sometimes. It is nice to get some clues about how to practice and strengthen.
Thanks again -And thanks to the student who asked the question.
-Sam
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Author: Emily
Date: 2004-03-28 07:53
Curling paper works much better than cigarette paper. Cigarette paper really absorbs water, but it doesn't hold together well when it's wet. Get curling papers instead... the kind that people use when they're curling their hair. You can get it at any drugstore. It's good and strong. My teacher has me using medical tape right now, that's even better.
Icing my lip after a hard practice has always been helpful. It doesn't repair the skin any faster if you've cut it, but it brings the swelling down.
Taking one day (and only one) day completely off finds my lip much tougher, you might try that.
Some ideas...
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Author: JMcAulay
Date: 2004-03-29 05:00
You can help relax the embouchure when tired by blowing air through the barely closed lips to make them flutter. You'll feel a tingling sensation as the muscles become looser.
Regards,
John
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Author: jim lande
Date: 2004-03-30 02:42
Try cross-training. Find an attractive reed player of the appropriate sex and explain that you are interested in building up your lip muscles.
Everybody knows that clarinet players are the best kissers.
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Author: Sam W.
Date: 2004-03-30 03:30
This last suggestion on cross-training is particularly appealing.
Is it recommended by band leaders world-wide?
-Sam
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Author: diz
Date: 2004-03-30 03:32
You didn't record a song ... not by my definition anyway.
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