 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: MichaelR
Date: 2007-08-08 20:52
Teachers,
How do you teach embouchure? What points do you stress to your students?
--
Michael of Portland, OR
Be Appropriate and Follow Your Curiosity
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Author: Tobin
Date: 2007-08-08 23:41
Hello Michael,
I find that I use different words, phrases to address different students (but to achieve the same result).
If a student is having difficulty keeping their chin flat (or "pointed" in Hadcock's Working Clarinetist) then you should watch HOW MUCH of their lower lip they are using to play the instrument.
The more the lip enters the mouth, the harder it will be for them to use the chin muscles properly to provide the reed the proper pillow upon which to vibrate.
There are many different solutions to the problem. And there are fine clarinetists who do not keep their chin flat as appears to be the common american pedagogical ideal.
The rest of the lips are use to stabilize the mouthpiece in our mouth:
The upper lip presses down (usually with top teeth on mouthpiece)
The corners are firm (or smile in many instances)
Another thought which occasionally helps. Have the student cover their lower teeth with a little bit o' lip (chin flat/pointed/whatever) and say the letter "Q" ...freezing their face at the end of the letter sound. This combines the lips' "pucker" and relationship to the teeth. (Now. Insert mouthpiece.)
That's my take! Time to do the dishes,
James
Gnothi Seauton
Post Edited (2007-08-08 23:42)
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Author: Aequore
Date: 2007-08-09 04:24
I agree with Tobin...
If those instructions dont do the job, then your in trouble.
What the thread above explains is what my clarinet teachers have taught me all my life. Funny how they all say the same things too. ''Freaky'' mind tap i guess
Pb
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Author: DAVE
Date: 2007-08-09 04:57
Tell them to whistle. Insert mouthpiece. Blow. Great place to start. Try to whistle without your clarinet emboucher....see? It works. If they can't whistle, tell them to pretend they can. They will still make the emboucher without much fuss.
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Author: Tobin
Date: 2007-08-09 12:01
Aequore:
We all say the same things (and we all have more sayings in our bag) because they work!
Dave:
I like that idea becuase it is a (perhaps) a simpler approach to the "Q" idea. I'm going to give it a whirl with the next difficult student that I have.
I think the problem lies with functionality. Many beginning clarinetist do not need to do these things (embouchure) well to function well in their classes. Many excel without having to master these concepts.
They need to have the proper embouchure to play with ease in the clarion and altissimo, for dynamic control, articulation (esp. good staccato), flexibility, etc...all the things that they are not asked to do in their band classes in the first year!
So a need has to be generated in the student. Granted, some will do what you told them to the best of their ability...simply because you told them to!
But for the rest...as soon as they can reliably play a low "G" I show them the register key and what it does. Stressing that only the thumb needs to move a little, I have them "popping up" to the clarion.
Then, (since they already know the F scale) C scale second octave...now they MUST use the right embouchure or they will not succeed as they would like.
James
Gnothi Seauton
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Author: MichaelR
Date: 2007-08-09 13:56
That's exactly what I was hoping for, especially the diagnosis. "They need to have the proper embouchure to play with ease in the clarion and altissimo, for dynamic control, articulation (esp. good staccato), flexibility, etc..." To which I echo esp good clarion and altissimo staccato.
You described my dissatisfactions. Thank you. I'll get to work on my Qs.
When you say "pillow" it invokes a "soft" idea in my mind. I've been thinking part of my problem is that my lower lip is too soft. The softness cushions the reed and dampens vibration. Is that thought line on track?
Thanks all.
--
Michael of Portland, OR
Be Appropriate and Follow Your Curiosity
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Author: Tobin
Date: 2007-08-09 15:14
"When you say "pillow" it invokes a "soft" idea in my mind. I've been thinking part of my problem is that my lower lip is too soft. The softness cushions the reed and dampens vibration. Is that thought line on track?"
(Without any of us be able to see or hear you)...Yes that is the right idea.
There are many different types of pillow!
So don't think of the nice, full down pillow some of us use. Instead think of something that my aged irish mother might use. Still a cushion, but not to soft by any stretch of the imagination.
By keeping the chin flat, small amount of lip over the teeth, the pillow that is created actually reduces the amount of contact the lip has with the reed...increasing fullness of the vibration.
When students do not keep their chins flat (or pointed) then the lower lip contact area increses, dampening the vibration. Often I see students place the reed on their lip and then put the instrument into the mouth: the reed and mouthpiece dragging a great deal of lip into the situation.
You want to create a cushion for the reed, but the right cushion. And this is personal taste (based on the sounds you hear), as is the amount of cushion one's lips naturally make.
You can adjust this with the chin muscles and/or with the corners of the mouth. I personally don't smile as I play, but many do.
James
Gnothi Seauton
Post Edited (2007-08-09 15:15)
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Author: bstutsman
Date: 2007-08-09 17:42
For a beginning student I will look at them, open my mouth, form the embouchure (without the horn) and say, "Go like this." I also use mirrors a lot.
I feel we need to be careful with the work smile. It works for chins, but sometimes kids will take it too far and pull their corners back too much. I believe corner pressure should be coming in against the side of the mouthpiece, though only slightly.
It helps to explain to the student that pulling the chin down pulls excess flesh away from the reed to it can work better. They seem to go with that.
Occasionally, I will take their mouthpiece while they are playing and jiggle it a little bit. This helps check that their pressure is not too much or too little.
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2007-08-09 17:59
"I've been thinking part of my problem is that my lower lip is too soft. The softness cushions the reed and dampens vibration. Is that thought line on track?"
--------------------------------
Having your lower lip not be very tight can be a very good thing. Howard Klug spoke about that at ClarFest.
http://www.SkypeClarinetLessons.com
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Author: MichaelR
Date: 2007-08-09 18:13
DavidBlumberg wrote:
> Having your lower lip not be very tight can be a very good
> thing. Howard Klug spoke about that at ClarFest.
Can you summarize his comments or expand on that statement?
--
Michael of Portland, OR
Be Appropriate and Follow Your Curiosity
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Author: mnorswor
Date: 2007-08-10 00:53
A metaphor I found very effective years ago ,when I was teaching younger students, was to ask them to make a face like blowing on a hot cup of coffee or soup. This pointed the chin, tightened the lower lip just enough, drew in the corners and focused the upper lip downward.
I used this because the younger students seemed to be able to wrap their head around the concept much quicker and then I could make more fine adjustments from that point. Might not work for everyone, but it did for these students.
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Author: Tobin
Date: 2007-08-10 01:32
Also a great idea which I'm going to give a whirl shortly (new school year...time for another influx of beginners).
Thanks Michael!
James
Gnothi Seauton
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Author: Bassie
Date: 2007-08-10 15:23
Woah... I can't whistle with my clarinet embouchure. The 'Q' thing takes me to whistling but not to clarinet. Surely the 'Q' thing takes you to extreme double-lip with no tooth support at all? (or maybe it's my Lancashire vowels :-) )
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Author: Tobin
Date: 2007-08-10 18:17
Remember Bassie, that these are just descriptors used to point people (youngsters, usually) in the right direction.
"Surely the 'Q' thing takes you to extreme double-lip with no tooth support at all?"
The Double lip embouchure has double the tooth support. Both lips are reinforced with the teeth.
The direction was "Have the student cover their lower teeth with a little bit o' lip...and say the letter 'Q' " so that the lower lip is over the lower teeth and what remains of the lips forms a partial pucker.
...and I just tried something else...I can form my embouchure and whistle at the same time. The aperture needed for whistling is much smaller than that for clarinet. The only bummer is that I can't (with the embouchure) whistle the near two octaves that I usually can.
James
Gnothi Seauton
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Author: Ed
Date: 2007-08-11 12:46
Larry Guy has a book Embouchure Building for Clarinetists
I don't know it, but Larry's books and info is always top notch.
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