The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: hannelore
Date: 2013-05-21 18:42
My front teeth alignment forses me to hold my instrument a bit more to the right. Do you think this could effect my tone quality?
H.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2013-05-21 19:29
No, not at all.
However, can canting the mouthpiece more one way or the other do the same thing while keeping the horn more in line?
..................Paul Aviles
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Author: Joseph Brenner, Jr.
Date: 2013-05-21 20:20
Well, in a broad sense, of course it could. So what? Maybe the sound quality is preferable to what you'd have with a perfectly symmetrical embouchure. Make the most of your asymmetry and, while you're at it, shoot a few more holes through dogma and absolutes.
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2013-05-22 02:39
In two words: Irving Fazola http://www.amazon.com/Faz-1936-45-Recordings-Irving-Fazola/dp/B00000DBV2. He had the fattest tone ever.
Steve Girko, one of the best classical players anywhere, has very uneven lower front teeth and rotates his mouthpiece nearly 15 degrees to compensate.
Anatomy is destiny. You do what works. If it sounds good, it IS good. As Mark Nuccio says, the most important thing about embouchure is that it must be the same every time.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2013-05-22 11:10
I've seen a couple of BBC players with their clarinets held and played to the right.
There's no reason why a clarinet (or oboe or trumpet) should be played dead central if you find it difficult to not only hold, but find an off-centre embouchure easier to achieve due to your physiology. This isn't a perfect world and not everyone is the same, so find what's comfortable for you and stick with it provided you're able to get the desired results.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2013-05-22 14:55
Marcel Moyse, the greatest flutist ever, had a "cupid's bow" in the middle of his upper lip that interfered with the air stream when he blew straight. Instead, he moved the air exit point to the "full offset" left-of-center position. He had a uniquely sonorous tone, clearly audible even on his acoustic recordings.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2013-05-23 03:35
It may not be ideal but so many really fine players with really good tones make what ever adjustments they need to play well with uneven teeth opr jaw pressure. You just find a way to make the most of it. You end up putting more pressure on one side of the reed than the other so you learn to either adjust your reeds to compensate or you learn to adjust the lip presure on the reed. Perfect is always best but not many players are perfect so they find a way around it and sound as if they are.
ESP eddiesclarinet.com
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