 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: clarinetsweetheart
Date: 2005-09-15 03:21
This has been driving me absolutely crazy.
Dr. Robert Spring (Music and clarinet, Arizona State U, President ICA '95-'00) is the instructor at my summer band camp in Crystal Falls, Michigan. He told us to do this for our embouchure: 1. pull your bottom lip over your teeth so that your teeth are halfway between the bottom of your lip and the inside of your mouth. 2. Place the bottom of your mouthpiece 1/4"-1/2" into your mouth on your bottom lip. 3. Form the rest of your embouchure around the mouthpiece, placing your top jaw as far over the top of the mouthpiece as you can before you squeak. Make your the corners of your mouth are firm.
So this is what I do.
Except that all of my high notes come out as squeaks - the altissimo register, high D and above.
I don't know why this is. I e-mailed him and he told me to try to take more of the bottom of the mouthpiece in, but that didn't help. I just sort of moved it in and out and around, top bottom etcetera, but nothing changed. This happens on my plastic as well as my R-13 and using two different reed brands.
I know that it's hard to say when you can't actually see my embouchure, but does anyone else have any auggestions, or has anyone had this sort of problems?
Love,
~*Charlotte*~
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: BobD
Date: 2005-09-15 11:32
I have found that many times explanations of how to form an embouchure are difficult to follow. It's like trying to explain how to ride a bike. Squeaking is not totally due to embo. however.
Bob Draznik
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: clarinetsweetheart
Date: 2005-09-16 03:33
Well like I said I've switched reeds and tried multiple clarinets and I have the same problem.
I lied though :-P or rather I didn't say what the actual problem was. I'm not squaking, persay - for example, instead of the high "e" coming out, the "a" comes out instead and I can't get the lower note out. THAT is my problem. I don't even know what note is coming out on D and C-sharp and such but yeah. I don't know why I didn't say it correctly in the first place. I can't think of the word for what's happening though, I keep thinking "overshooting" but I know that's not it. Anyway, hopefully you can discern what I mean from this.
~*Charlotte*~
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: sfalexi
Date: 2005-09-16 20:45
One exercise I used to use a lot is to place your embouchure, and experiment with rolling your bottom lip every so slightly to get the overtone to play. An example would be to play a C . . . xxx|ooo . . ., and then, simply by rolling your bottom lip down the reed a bit, see if you can get the overtone G to play (what would sound if you hit the register ey)
Do the same with the clarion notes. Try to do each note slowly. It's definitely very tough on certain ones. Just try to get that B to sound above the E!!! (xxx|xxx ',) Not the easiest. But after doing this, it definitely helped me get a lot of control over the altissimo register.
ALSO, ma e sure that you are focusing your air and have good breath support. Absolutely essential in those upper notes coming out cleanly (I definitely still have problems with it, that's for sure!!!)
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Hiroshi
Date: 2005-09-17 18:00
It is not an embouchure problem, but mouth/lips/mouthpiece setting problem.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2005-09-17 18:51
>>>>
It is not an embouchure problem, but mouth/lips/mouthpiece setting problem.
<<<<
Now I'm puzzled. Isn't embouchure an all-encompassing (as not to say: spongy) term that describes "how to put and hold the mpc in your mouth"?
Bear with me, though - I'm a newbie, pardon: student.
--
Ben
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: clarinetsweetheart
Date: 2005-09-17 20:13
Yeah I'm a bit confused too, and either way, could you please elaborate? ^_^ Because if it is a mouthpiece/mouth/lips problem, how can I fix it?
And I've tried multiple mouthpieces too O_o
~*Charlotte*~
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
