 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: K.B.M
Date: 2007-07-26 05:33
Hello,
I've been playing clarinet for many years, but I'm still having trouble with my embouchure. I've heard so many things, and I'm not quite sure what the right position is. Different teachers have told me it should be like you're "smiling", and others have told me the opposite. My most recent teacher said it should be kind of like a "smile", but you should use the muscles at the top part of your lip so the lower part of your mouth is not tense. He also said that you should pull the upper part of your mouth (right under your nose) up some. However, I'm not quite sure which, if any, of these methods are correct.
Also, quite a bit of air is escaping from the corners of my mouth, especially when I'm tonguing. I've had a problem with this for awhile, but it has gotten worse recently. This may be because I took a month off from playing, but I also think it may be connected to my embouchure.
Does anyone have any ideas about what a correct embouchure should look like? Also, what would help the air leaking out of my corners? Are there any exercises I could do?
Thanks!
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2007-07-26 11:01
My recommendation is to think of embouchure as a rubberband around the mouthpiece. You need to engage ALL the muscles around the mouthpiece, particularly the cheek muscles (buccinators). The cheek muscles are the ones used when sucking a particularly resistant shake through a straw only this time you are blowing out.
Though a modicum of air leaking is not a hands down cardinal sin, you shouldn't have any if you apply all the muscles AROUND the mouth.
...........Paul Aviles
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: karlsson
Date: 2007-07-27 01:00
hi. Can anyone give me any information,anything on the above mentioned clarinet.
I just acquired one by accident. It looks like it has been sitting for a long time. It stinks like crazy from not being stored properly.
It is made from a very closed grain wood which is very dark in color especially since i oiled it. The keywork is not very fancy looks rather cheap. The rings on the body look like real quality.
i would appreciate any info. I can't find a thing on the net.
thanks leif karlsson
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: claritoot26
Date: 2007-07-27 18:22
I agree with Paul, at least that's the school of thought I have learned from. The "smile" embouchure is one to be aware of, though...there are lots of professionals who have used that. Although, it seems the rubber band around the mpc. technique is more popular today among American clarinetists. I think the tone is a little less strident this way, although there are some fine players who use the smile way. Best is to do what your current teacher recommends and stick to it at least for quite a while to give it a real chance. Good luck.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Tobin
Date: 2007-07-27 18:50
I do not use the smile, but I have trained the corners of my mouth to remain firm (as if they were concentrating and moving away from my face into space...) and I believe ultimately that the same principles are being used.
I also used to have a leak in my embouchure. It is possible to train it out of your playing! Thinking logically, your tongue needs all the air leaving your body to do it's job well. Your sound needs all the air to go into the clarinet...you honestly can't afford to waste any of it!
Is the leak in the corner of your mouth, or the point at which your lips meet the mouthpiece?
James
Gnothi Seauton
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2007-07-29 14:07
As a listener I am highly distracted by the sound of leaking air. Surprisingly, I notice it in chamber or solo recordings of many top professionals, including Harold Wright, David Shifrin, and Sabine Meyer. Though it appears very infrequently rather than chronically, it's always a very noticeable degradation of sound.
Despite my sensitivity to this, I catch myself committing the same sin frequently (a lot more than the aforementioned pros), much to my annoyance. Leaking air is of course never necessary, but it seems to somehow lessen the trickiness of balancing of pressures between the diaphragm and the embouchure, or something - like a safety valve, especially when articulating in the upper clarion register, more especially when tired.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: K.B.M
Date: 2007-07-30 20:26
To answer James' question, I have realized that the air is mostly coming out at the place where the my lips meet the mouthpiece. However, it is when my lips meet the corner of the corner of the mouthpiece where most of the air leaks. Also, mostly when I'm articlulating, it is often more of a buzzing sound then just air leaking. Thanks!
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: grifffinity
Date: 2007-07-30 20:49
K.B.M. - do you play single or double lip?
I'm a double lip player and I was having a terrible leak problem for a couple years - so I switched to single lip for a short time. To keep from biting, I engaged the top lip similar to playing double lip, except it was curled against my top teeth. But air was still leaking.
While experimenting, instead of a "smile" embouchure or any similar variation where the corners are pulled to the side, I tried pursing my lips. Think of blowing out a candle or puckering the lips together - like a bag with a drawstring. I don't know if any of those images help.
Anyway, I found that I was able to create a complete seal around the mouthpiece this way. Using the idea of the drawstring approach, I have been able to tinker and find an embouchure that released me of most of the tension I had in my embouchure which affected tone, intonation and articulation. I eventually went back to double lip since that works best for me, and this idea transfered quite well.
Perhaps you can play around with the puckering idea and see if that helps.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Tobin
Date: 2007-07-30 20:59
To chime in with another suggestion to go along with Grifffinity's:
If you say the letter "Q" and freeze your lip formation at the very end of saying "Q"...you will have a pursing of the lips similar to what is being described above.
If you combine this with your embouchure...forming the emb./saying "Q" you can create a concrete idea of what your goal should be while playing.
Then you can add that mental idea to your playing in areas when you find the air is leaking the worst.
Just an idea, and definitely not the only way to skin the cat...
James
Gnothi Seauton
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Caco185
Date: 2007-07-30 23:07
K.B.M.
My suggestion comes right from the Avram Galper method. Say "Ooo" and smile. I use it with all my clarinet students right from the get-go with little modification with some students. It brings the lips to a formation that create equal pressure around the mouthpiece. At the same time, it tends to pull the chin down.
A few analogies that may help are as follows:
Equal pressure around the mouthpiece = Drawstring trashbags.
I sometimes tell younger students to pretend their clarinet in a straw come from a large bowl of chocolate milk between their feet. I tell them they want to apply equal pressure around the straw/mouthpiece so that no chocolate milk (air, essentially) leaks out of the corners on their mouth.
The trick seems to be getting the student to pull the chin down, and hold it once they begin playing. Usually this can be fixed with heavy practice in fron to a mirror playing familiar scales or tunes and constantly watching the chin. This takes time, be patient.
I hope this helps!!!
Dale Huggard
Clarinet Performance Major, Michigan
Buffet R-13 - Silver plated
Genussa Excellente
Spriggs Floating Rail Ligature
Vandoren V12 #4
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
