 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: panther2
Date: 2012-02-24 00:22
I have a horrible biting problem that i've had since i started playing 8 years ago. Ive been able to get away with it throughout middle and high school but now that I'm a clarinet performance major It's vital that I fix this. Ive tried everything these past 2 semesters but I still am biting to get high notes out and am using way too much pressure. I know how to make and keep the "ideal" embouchure, so thats not the problem and although there is a little improvement, I feel like it shouldn't even be an issue after 2 semesters. It seems that whenever I'm consistently trying to keep my chin down and corners tight, I am super fatigued to the point i can't even get through my weekly etude without being exhausted (and in an incredible amount of pain!!). I've tried double lipping which although helps, is just too uncomfortable for me to use regularly. Ive tried putting my thumb rest cushion on my ligature under my chin which helps keep my chin down significantly, but as soon as i take it off i go back to biting. Ive done long tones, I've used different, less resistant mouthpieces, softer reeds, you name it-nothing's working, Im Sick of it! I feel like it shouldn't take this long to correct an embouchure. Hopefully someone here can give me some words of encouragement and new ideas, id greatly appreciate it!
John
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Author: mvjohnso
Date: 2012-02-24 00:54
I just bite my bottom lip and thus the reed through it. It hurts but once you get through the pain you can extend your range a bit. Maybe get a brace guard and put that on top of your bottom teeth as a buffer? Don't know if you would still consider that biting though.
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Author: Joseph Brenner, Jr.
Date: 2012-02-24 00:55
Re visit double lip, but be patient; gradually build up your tolerance. Start by resting the bell on your thigh while you accommodate.
Embouchure shape and formation, fingering, reed strength, are not parts of a system of absolutes. Don't impose impossible, inflexible standards on yourself. You should be well able to play in the altissimo without biting. Have you tried varying the angle at which you hold your instrument? Are you taking in enough mouthpiece?
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Author: Arnoldstang
Date: 2012-02-24 02:16
Do some practice with a short barrel. Use a play along record. Tune purposely quite sharp. Just play and try to play in tune. It will force you not to bite.
Freelance woodwind performer
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Author: kdk
Date: 2012-02-24 03:12
You mention double lip and that it helps. It can be an effective way to solve the kind of problem you ask about. There are two ways to use double lip for this purpose:
(1) use it for a long enough stretch near the beginning of your practice sessions (before you begin to tire) to get a strong sense of how your lips and facial muscles feel, then release the top lip from under your teeth so that it's still in the same position but pushing *against* your teeth instead of being held under them and try to duplicate all the other sensations of the double embouchure, or
(2) use it by supporting the instrument on your knee or with a neck strap and play as long as you can manage it, only continuing with single lip to rest the upper lip, then returning to double lip again as long as you can, the goal being to build the upper lip to a point *over time* where you can do most or all of your playing double-lip.
Most teachers I know of who recommend a double lip embouchure mean it to be used the first way, but many of us who started with the goal of improving single lip embouchures have decided we prefer it and have ended up making the change permanent.
I've never been a fan of deliberate chin pointing or flattening or corner tightening or any other techniques that end up trying to micromanage the muscles of the mouth. Too many of us have atypical facial and dental formations that make an embouchure not look "right," and in any case too many students misunderstand or misapply the instructions and wind up in contorted positions that are tension-filled and too fatiguing to maintain comfortably. You need to form a seal around the mouthpiece that supports the reed and directs air into the mouthpiece. The inside of your mouth needs basically to be flexible (so it doesn't damp resonance) and out of the way of the air stream. If pointing your chin contributes, all is well. If it stiffens the tissues inside your mouth or causes your jaw to clench it may be counterproductive. In any event, chin pointing is meant to prevent biting, and if it isn't succeeding (and it sounds like it isn't), the attempt to do it is probably getting in your way.
Karl
Post Edited (2012-02-24 03:13)
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2012-02-24 19:03
I have to 2nd what Karl said. The only thing you haven't tried were different mouthpieces but it sounds like you don't use your embouchure muscles correctly. Some people have much stronger jaw presure than others and they have to make adjustment in the way they form an embouchure to use the muslces properly for them. It seems to me that your teacher should be helping you here buy experimentng with slightly different emboucure formations. How much lip you take in your mouth, getting more of a pucker type of embouchure, moving your embouchure more in a foward direction instead of pulling it back. Not everyone can play well with a "standard" embouchure. There are many players that have great sounds and control that don't have a "classic" looking embochure. Experiment with different formations. Many of use used a cusion on our bottom teeth to avoid the pain when we have sharp teeth or a strong jaw but you should be able to play for hours on end with regular breaks. ESP eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2012-02-24 20:10
How would it work to play on a really soft reed --one that will close up against the mouthpiece lay if you press too hard with your lower lip?
My teacher tells me of several critical flaws he took to college. Each took a huge effort to correct, but he is proud at having overcome those challenges (and he's a great player). One thing he can identify instantly is my tending to "bite the high notes."
One thing you must know: it will not be easy to correct a flaw that you've been nurturing for several years. Those habits are extremely hard to break. They also tend to resurface if you relax your attention to the corrective measures. There is always a half dozen things to think about at once; and occasionally you'll catch yourself biting.
One thing that helps me is to play lyrical stuff in the altissimo. If I'm doing something wrong up there that requires me to bite to make the clarinet speak, the tone will be unstable and fail pretty quickly. I can move quickly with bad technique and skate by by biting; but if I have to linger on a note, it will squeak or fail.
Bob Phillips
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Author: Alexis
Date: 2012-02-24 22:58
Without seeing you play its hard to know what to do.
However you could try the following:
Take less lip into your mouth
Bring the corners of your mouth inwards and forwards, as if they were trying to grip a point slightly in front of your mouth
The reason I think the latter is, that, in essence you are making a hole, which, when you put the clarinet in your mouth becomes an oval. If you bite, that is more of a horizontal oval. If you bring the corners in you are trying to make that oval more vertical, which will mean less pressure on the reed.
There is always the possibility that you are imposing a sound on your set-up and trying to do way too much with your embouchure. Try blowing with 'no' embouchure and feel the resistance of the reed against your airstream. Then see if you can overcome that with air alone.
Maybe one of those will help
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Author: mrn
Date: 2012-02-26 15:39
I think one reason some people "bite" is that they are somehow trying to support the instrument with their lower lip/jaw. Since the clarinet is otherwise supported by only the right thumb, our natural inclination is to apply upward pressure from the embouchure to support the instrument.
A better approach, I think, is to think of applying downward force on the beak of the instrument to balance the upward force from the thumb (via the upper teeth and upper lip--and I am saying this assuming a single-lip embouchure). The lower lip, then, bears none of the load of the instrument and is free to apply only the desired level of force upon the reed.
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Author: Garth Libre
Date: 2012-02-26 22:48
This brings up the additional issue of how do you play the upper register c, just above the register? You must depress the register key and cover the thumb tone hole and yet you have nothing pushing down on the horn but your teeth. Do you cheat by pushing down on the body of the horn with some finger in the left or right hand? You need to brace the horn somehow or as you push up with against the register key you will instinctively use your teeth to steady the horn. These notes encourage me to start biting because sometimes if I don't the thumb hole doesn't get completely covered causing a squeak.
Garth, 305-981-4705. garthlibre@yahoo.com
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