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Re: "Take More Mouthpiece!"

Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2015-07-02 13:07

Both those suggestions are 'spot on.'

To elaborate on the first: you continually play an open "G," starting as close to the tip as possible; keep playing open "G" as you take in more and more mouthpiece. At some point you will get this horrible, uncontrolled "SQUAWK." That point it at or beyond where the reed and mouthpiece come together. It is there that the reed can no longer be controlled, hence the godawful sound. You just back slightly toward the tip again, and THAT is your ideal spot for that mouthpiece.

The only reason I speak of the "squawk" test rather than the paper thingy, is that there is nothing arbitrary about it. You experience the proper point by feel and sound instead of then having to try to figure out where the point is in your mouth that you just saw with the paper.

Now, you can play with less mouthpiece successfully but it's not using the particular facing to its advantage (might as well be using a shorter facing).

The second bit of advice (having the upper teeth further back on the mouthpiece than the lower teeth) is THE STANDARD posture for your embouchure. You NEVER want upper and lower teeth in opposition like a clamp.

....................Paul Aviles

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