 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: HBO
Date: 2009-07-06 08:34
Well, I was looking at the mirror as I played today, and I noticed the ends of my lip tend to direct towards the center when I play. I tried to fix the ends of my lips as I play, but I found that too hard to do, since I've been playing like that for... 4 years now. I also suspect the reed to be too strong. (V12 3.5 with M30... I know it's the recommended strength...)
So thing is, is this a natural tendency, or is it another fault that needs to be gotten rid of? Does this have anything to do with reed's strength?
Post Edited (2009-07-06 09:51)
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Author: kdk
Date: 2009-07-06 15:37
"...I noticed the ends of my lip tend to direct towards the center when I play."
Why is this a problem? Maybe I don't have an accurate picture of what you're describing.
"I tried to fix the ends of my lips as I play..."
What are you trying to do instead?
Correct reed strength is to some degree a personal choice. I don't think V12 3.5 should be too soft for a Vandoren M30, based on what I know about the mouthpiece, but I've never played that particular facing. Some indicators of too heavy a reed might be general fuzziness in the sound, unclear, airy and muffled chalumeau, unusual fuzziness in the throat tones - especially F# to A (don't just use Bb as a criterion - G, G# and A should be clear-sounding notes), instability in the altissimo register, a general lack of flexibiliy...I'm sure there are a few more if I think about it.
Clearly, incorrect reed strength can cause you to distort your embouchure to produce a tone. Trouble is, that goes for too soft a reed as well as too hard. Better to listen to yourself and ask an experienced player - do you have a teacher? - for an opinion if you're not comfortable with what you're doing.
Karl
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2009-07-06 15:56
There are far to many factors involved here to give you a clear answer to your question. You should really take some lessons from an experienced player-teacher. Karl stated his case very well above. Take lessons. ESP http://eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: cxgreen48
Date: 2009-07-06 16:51
If this helps at all, I play an M30 with 3.5 V.12s as well. However, I do use the ATG system on almost all of them, which makes me able to play on them much more comfortably. In the end, the 3.5 probably becomes 3.25.
Also, when you say "...I noticed the ends of my lip tend to direct towards the center when I play..." do you mean the corners of your mouth are pulling inward?
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Author: HBO
Date: 2009-07-06 19:58
Oh, yeah, the corners. I'm forgetting the proper terms..
and thanks for everyone who replied to my question so far...
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Author: kdk
Date: 2009-07-07 20:43
This brings up a possible additional caveat to all the disclaimers that your best reed strength may vary according to your embouchure approach, mouthpiece and, perhaps, local temperature and humidity. It also depends on what you're trying to accomplish as a player - what type of music are you playing and what are your needs in terms of tone and response. I don't know what kind of music Lam plays, so this may not be applicable to his post specifically, but the needs of a symphonic clarinetist may be different from those of a "legit" recitalist, which may differ again from the needs of a klezmer or theater pit or jazz player. The expectation of tone quality you need to satisfy for the style of music you perform, whether or not you are always miced or need to be heard acoustically, play in a small room at a club (or at home) or a large auditorium, a large ensemble or a small one, need the pitch flexibility of jazz, big band or klezmer, etc., will have a great deal to do with what strength reed as well as other reed characteristics are ideal for your situation.
Karl
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