 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Nick Conner
Date: 2000-03-14 21:21
I know in every book it says that you should play with a pointed chin. My problem is that my chin has never been pointed while I play. I'm confused about it, because I'm first chair in my highest school band and one of the top chairs in the band camp I go to. If I set about correcting this, how would I start? also, what advantages would it offer? It's not that I bite, because I've already fixed that problem. My lower jaw may be out a little too far, but i'm not sure how far it's supposed to be out anyways. thanks for any help.
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Author: Dee
Date: 2000-03-14 22:06
The objective of the pointed chin is to pull the muscles flat on the chin. The muscles should not be bunched up. If you achieve this goal without specifically pointing the chin, then I really wouldn't worry about it.
The flat chin muscles simply allow you to exercise more precise control. To teach someone how to get them flat, books recommend pointing the chin. This is usually the easiest way to insure that these muscles are under control and not all bunched up. Unfortunately books and teachers seldom explain the underlying purpose to the student.
Do you have a private teacher? If so discuss it with them. The important item is to be able to control the embouchure to get proper tone and technique, etc. For most of us that means flattening, not bunching, the chin muscles.
Watch the professional clarinetists in the TV broadcasts of various orchestras. Some of the have pointed chins and some do not. Some have flat chin muscles and some do not. There is even one who has an extremely bunched chin, Stanley Drucker, and he is one of the finest clarinetists in the country.
However, it would be wise to check out your technique. Try to get books with pictures, talk it over with your teacher. If you don't have a teacher, try to take a few lessons and go over this issue. Ask them to demonstrate and explain how to do this.
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Author: Nick Conner
Date: 2000-03-14 22:51
I don't have a private teacher, unfortunately. I'm going to a camp this summer, and I planned on asking my sectional instructor about it.
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Author: Dee
Date: 2000-03-15 02:24
Nick Conner wrote:
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I don't have a private teacher, unfortunately. I'm going to a camp this summer, and I planned on asking my sectional instructor about it.
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Excellent idea. It is much easier to grasp these things when a person is there to explain and demonstrate.
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Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 2000-03-15 13:45
Nick Conner wrote:
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I know in every book it says that you should play with a pointed chin. My problem is that my chin has never been pointed while I play. I'm confused about it, because I'm first chair in my highest school band and one of the top chairs in the band camp I go to. If I set about correcting this, how would I start? also, what advantages would it offer? It's not that I bite, because I've already fixed that problem. My lower jaw may be out a little too far, but i'm not sure how far it's supposed to be out anyways. thanks for any help.
Nick -
Your chin need not be sharply pointed - just the approximate shape it is when you're not playing.
One of the most important ways you control the sound you get is by varying the amount of padding your lips give to the reed. For a soloistic sound, no more than half of the red part of your lower lip should be over your lower teeth, and the area outside of your teeth should be stretched tight. For a sound that blends into the section, you let a little more lip over your teeth and up and around the reed outside your teeth. As Dee says, the best way to control this is by pointing the tip of your chin down harder or less hard to control how much lower lip goes over your teeth and how much extra padding there is.
There is an excellent description, with photographs, of what to do in Keith Stein's wonderful book The Art of Clarinet Playing, which you should get immediately if you don't have it already.
One thing you can be sure of is that your instructor at the band camp will see what you are doing and help you correct any problems.
If you're first chair without private lessons, you have some real talent. If you can possibly afford it, private lessons will make a very big difference.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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