 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Robin
Date: 2000-10-23 12:50
How do you teachers out there get your stubborn, uncommited students to lose their puffy cheeks and form proper embouchures?
Robin
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Author: John
Date: 2000-10-23 14:45
Those uncommited students are certainly fun. You might check their equipment. Maybe the reed is too hard or the tip completely eaten up making the instrument too hard to produce a sound. Sometimes they will just try too hard and need relax a little. I have had students who did that just to irritate or were mad they had to be there, too. An uncommited student can sometimes be turned into a commited one by frequent friendly reminders about puffing cheeks. If not the teacher may wind up commited (in a mental health facility).
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Author: Meri
Date: 2000-10-23 16:11
I don't think it's necessarily uncommittedness. The way my teacher taught me, is to use a mirror. But here is a strategy I learned (using the mirror):
1. Form the correct embouchure
2. Breathe, taking care to feel the air pressure in the sides and back
3. Play, watching in the mirror for cheek puffing. (usually that means there is not enough air support)
It's best to first practice this in the low register, then moving upwards when that becomes easy.
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Author: Susan
Date: 2000-10-23 20:24
As once a beginner band student myself, I always found it annoying and bothersome that the teacher worry about something as insignificant to the instrument (in my opinion) as puffy cheeks. I would definately suggest to try to make it fun for your students to try to learn and grow as musicians. Then, practice and good form come easily.
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Author: Lelia
Date: 2000-10-23 20:26
My junior high school band director used the cruel but effective method of saying, "Hey, chipmunk-cheeks, that sure makes you look FAT." I hope nobody will try this on a child who really does have a weight problem, or who might be weight-obsessed to the point of developing an eating disorder.
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Author: Dee
Date: 2000-10-23 21:16
Susan wrote:
>
> As once a beginner band student myself, I always found it
> annoying and bothersome that the teacher worry about something
> as insignificant to the instrument (in my opinion) as puffy
> cheeks. I would definately suggest to try to make it fun for
> your students to try to learn and grow as musicians. Then,
> practice and good form come easily.
What is sad is that the instructor didn't communicate or didn't know why puffy cheeks are undesireable. Or perhaps did not realize that the students would consider it an insignificant point.
The point that the instructor failed to make is that puffy cheeks make it *extremely* difficult to develop and control your embouchure. I would say impossible but the minute I did that some one would come up with an exception. A well developed and controlled embouchure is essential to playing with a good sound. Otherwise, a clarinet section will sound like a troup of sick ducks. Very few audiences really want to listen to such a sound though of course parents commonly attend such functions no matter how the students sound.
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Author: Robin
Date: 2000-10-24 07:18
Thanks
I agree. But in the end, it cuts both ways doesn't it? I have to the best of my ability, but I can't practice for my students. The question is, if a student will most likely be turned off playing as soon as I talk about embouchure, breath, puffy cheeks and the like (no matter how fun and interesting I make it and no matter how important I stress it all to be) is it acceptable to simply keep them playing with tunes they enjoy? This would be despite the fact that I, them and their parents know they are not improving their technique or their musical understanding. Incidentally, the student in question, and the student's parents have great expectations, and a very fond of the idea of tackling the Australian Music Exams. This student is only going to be disappointed.
How do I deal with a student who is thoroughly determined to do the grades but thoroughly unwilling to practice? Is it ethical to teach, knowing full well that effectively the only way to keep this student going is not to properly teach technique? To make things worse, the student doesn't have much money. Thus it becomes hard to bring up issues like new mouthpieces and reeds, when the family's already busting their guts to pay me (on very low rates).
Robin
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Author: Lelia
Date: 2000-10-24 14:42
Parents who are "busting their guts" to pay for lessons are committed to those lessons and must care deeply about their kid getting a musical education. It may be that they're badgering the child to practice, "because we're spending all this money on you. Aren't you *grateful*?!" In a situation such as that, the child is resentful, not grateful, but may not have the nerve to ask to quit and get into a battle about it.
IMHO, one thing you could do is ask the kid, straight out, "Does it make you feel satisfied when your playing gets better?" It would help if you could find out whether this child has any internal motivation to play the clarinet. If not, the kid may foul up at the lessons in order to "prove" to the parents that he or she should be allowed to quit in order not to waste the money. I wouldn't want to see a child who's going through a plateau period get kicked out of lessons or anything that drastic, because most kids do go through phases where they goof off -- but if this kid is being pushed into lessons by parents, and really doesn't want to be there, then there's not a lot you can do, unless you can somehow help the child detach music from conflict with Mom and Dad -- see music for itself.
I recently had a conversation with a high school student who, according to his parents, is nearly tone-deaf. He told me proudly, "My parents wanted me to take piano lessons, but *they couldn't make me*." It was clear from the rest of the conversation that his parents' efforts to "make" him take lessons years earlier -- in the hope of improving his pitch discrimination, evidently, since one parent has perfect pitch and the other has excellent relative pitch -- had hardened his opinion that he hates music. Sad.
Putting questions to the child in terms of personal satisfaction, instead of discipline and obedience, may help him or her develop internal motivation. As long as he or she sees lessons as a battle against authority figures, fuggitaboutit -- the kid will make "not learning" into a goal, and will succeed very well at it. The trick is to shift attention away from obeying instructions and toward love of music.
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Author: Gordon (New Zealand)
Date: 2000-10-25 12:24
To keep the cheeks in against the teeth uses muscles.... it seems to me the muscles that keep food between the teeth at the beginning of a bite on food.
For some children these muscles may have been hardly used if they always eat very soft food. These children may have a genuine problem in that the muscles simply may not be strong enough to maintain pressure against the air pressure. Strengthening them may be a slow process especially if clarinet playing is the only significant exercise
May I semi-flippantly suggest that they exercise by oozing marshmallows from inside the cheeks and through between slightly parted teeth.... or making that squelch noise by squeezing a trapped pocket of air from inside the cheeks.... or simply blowing balloons with the cheeks not puffed.
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Author: Robin
Date: 2000-10-25 13:06
Ha! Yes, I tried the squelching noise, and it was entertaining for both of us!
Thankyou all for your great suggestions.
Robin
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Author: Anji
Date: 2000-10-27 21:27
As an adult novice, I have had the same experience as the kids. I'm perhaps a little more commited. Mebbe a picture of Dizzy Gillespie might illustrate the image.
My teachers reinforce the necessity of the whole mouth as a resonator, maybe they could focus on feeling lower notes in their chest to indicate success?
The reed problem may rear its head as well. Why not mandate everyone in class play the Legere? It will always sound the same and eliminates one variable.
It can be "sold" to the parents as a cost saver (over time).
Most of us beginners are concentrating on digital dexterity when the embouchure goes for a walk.
More power to you, music teachers change lives.
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