 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Carl Maria von Weber
Date: 2013-02-18 06:03
Tom Ridenour's "Educator's Guide to the Clarinet" advocates double lip playing. How should I approach double-lip playing, and what will I gain from using a double-lip embouchure instead of single-lip? Also, how could double-lip playing help my single-lip playing? So far I have found double-lip playing quite difficult as far as tuning is concerned, though I understand my upper lip is probably weak from disuse.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2013-02-18 06:52
I find the tone is much fuller and rounder when I use double lip embouchure, but the downside for me is the instrument itself feels very unstable compared to when I've got my teeth on the mouthpiece (I use patches to stop the mouthpiece from slipping and to protect it from getting scratched). When I say unstable, I mean the whole instrument can move around too much while playing as opposed to being anchored by the top teeth.
Being a double reed player I don't get a sore top lip anymore, but don't have any problems with playing up to pitch with a double lip embouchure. If the instrument didn't rock around so much (I don't get that on oboe or cor) then I would use double lip embouchure full time. I've read that some players will support the clarinet with the bell resting on their knee to help.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2013-02-18 13:21
Carl Maria von Weber wrote:
> Tom Ridenour's "Educator's Guide to the Clarinet" advocates
> double lip playing. How should I approach double-lip playing,
> and what will I gain from using a double-lip embouchure instead
> of single-lip?
Back when some clarinetists in Europe played with the reed on top of the mouthpiece, double lip was pretty much a necessity. Now, with the reed-on-the-bottom mouthpiece AFAIK universal, it becomes a matter of choice (or early training).
You may not gain anything. Or you may find new dimensions in the whole business of sound production and response. It depends a lot on your physical facial structures. Some players never find themselves comfortable with double lip and, having tried both approaches, deliberately choose single lip. Many of those who choose single (as opposed to those who have never experienced both embouchures) try to model their upper lip approach on double lip but with the upper lip only pulled back against the top teeth and not actually underneath them. In the last analysis, whether you gain anything from playing double lip depends on which embouchure allows you to play with the greatest freedom and control.
I studied with Anthony Gigliotti as a college student. Even though he was a single lip player (his approach to embouchure closely followed the one Bonade describes in his Compendium), he suggested that I try double lip as a way to train my upper lip to provide more control and support for the reed and mouthpiece. For me the change almost instantly deepened my tone and gave me a greater feel of controlling the reed. Double lip was meant (by both of us) to be a temporary expedient and I did go back to single lip after a few months. But I always found myself reverting to double when control and delicacy were needed. I continued to move back and forth between double and single lip for several years after my graduation into the real world of playing. Eventually, I decided that I was really a much better player with double lip and made the switch permanently. I find that I gain flexibility in producing different colors and that I can play with good control a greater variety of reeds, which helps with tonal variety in different musical contexts or acoustical conditions.
Any other player's mileage may absolutely differ from mine - there are many single lip players (among them some excellent ones) who report having tried double lip unsuccessfully. I read an interview late in Gigliotti's life, I think in The Clarinet, in which he said he had tried it but couldn't get past the pain it caused in his upper lip.
> Also, how could double-lip playing help my
> single-lip playing? So far I have found double-lip playing
> quite difficult as far as tuning is concerned, though I
> understand my upper lip is probably weak from disuse.
I don't think it's a problem of weakness specifically in your upper lip. Intonation and focus come from the active involvement of the entire set of muscles surrounding the mouthpiece, so there may be some retraining needed to get them to work as a unit once you engage the upper lip actively. It's this active involvement of the upper lip that leads some players to consciously pull it back against the teeth and use it in the same way a double lip player does.
But the bottom line in all of this is that if you are comfortable with single lip as you've always done it and don't find any advantage in the double lip approach as you experiment with it, you may not gain anything by switching. Tom Ridenour is a knowledgeable guy. He apparently plays double lip and is comfortable with it, so he recommends it. But he knows as well as anyone that there are a lot of very successful single lip players in the world for whom there is no particular reason to switch.
Good luck with your experiments. Eventually, the result will dictate your choice.
Karl
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Author: Carl Maria von Weber
Date: 2013-02-18 14:46
Thanks everyone for your detailed comments! I have had no problems with single lip, but I was interested in double lip because Tom Ridenour was such a strong supporter of the double lip embouchure.
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Author: Bill
Date: 2013-02-19 03:42
It has to be something you "feel" is right for you. I was about 35 years old when I switched, about 2 years into my playing. It just seemed instinctively right to me. It felt right as I adopted it. I'm afraid that if you attempt it purely from a scientific viewpoint, you may fail. You have to have the impulse and the "belief" in it. It's extremely personal.
Bill Fogle
Ellsworth, Maine
(formerly Washington, DC)
Post Edited (2013-02-19 03:43)
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Author: C.Elizabeth07
Date: 2013-02-19 03:53
I like to do long tones double lipped when I warm up, I find it helps me gain strength and control and has helped me to develop a darker sound. Then after I go back to playing single.
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Author: Claire Annette
Date: 2013-02-19 13:09
I have been a double-lipper for almost four years and really love it.
Here's how I got started: in rehearsals, I would use double lip for long tones and legato phrases--mostly in the chalameau and clarion.
When my embouchure felt more secure with double lip, I did the above and added higher notes.
The last step I added (and this took a few months) to playing double lip was staccato tonguing because, at first, I felt like I didn't have a grasp on my mouthpiece. Now, I can't imagine going back to my single lip playing. Double lip has improved my tone, opened up my embouchure, prevents me from biting down, and makes me more aware of playing with an open throat.
To each his own, of course, but I am glad I made the switch.
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