 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Morrigan
Date: 2016-10-03 19:50
I have that escaping air thing, it seems to be getting worse... I'm wondering if anyone has successfully overcome this, how long did it take and how did you do it?
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Author: Caroline Smale
Date: 2016-10-03 20:33
I tend to have this when my embouchure is getting tired (too long playing or too little practice!)
I use double lip embouchure which tends to tire more easily when playing high wind band parts .
I find that focussing on firming the corners of embouchure in a more rounded form, yeww or uuuu rather than eeee, helps when this happens for me.
Can't recall how long this took as started happening a long time back.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2016-10-03 22:26
Escaping around the mouthpiece or through your nose?
Karl
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Author: MarlboroughMan
Date: 2016-10-03 23:59
I had no problems with air escaping the corners of my lips when I played naturally, without much training, as a teenager. When I went away to conservatory, and was taught a whole bunch of things regarding 'good breath support' and 'proper embouchure' I started having considerable problems with it. Later, I went back to doing things my own way, have had no problems since.
If there was a time when you didn't have these problems, perhaps it's worth trying to figure out if you've made some incorrect changes. Our playing is always in motion: we're either making good decisions and improving, or bad ones and need to backtrack a bit.
Eric
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The Jazz Clarinet
http://thejazzclarinet.blogspot.com/
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2016-10-04 00:16
I transitioned from a hard reed and tight corners of the mouth embouchure to a slightly softer reed and more of an O embouchure. Similar to what some sax players use. I consider my lips to be an o-ring 'seal' around the mouthpiece, and use a light enough reed that it doesn't need much embouchure pressure to vibrate, only air.
The way I check my reed is to play the lowest E at forte, and then slowly fade it into nothing (niente). If I need to add a lot of embouchure pressure to allow it to fade into niente and also not be able to hear any air rushing through the clarinet, it's good. If I fade to niente and there's a lot of air rushing through the horn with a light embouchure, or if I have to really squeeze, the reed is too hard. Just my opinion and my own personal check. I don't mind a little pressure needed, but it should allow me to be VERY relaxed throughout the majority of the horn.
Alexi
Just my opinions. Different than many, but it works for me.
US Army Japan Band
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Author: MarlboroughMan
Date: 2016-10-04 00:23
Interesting, Alexi, that you should mention saxophone embouchure. A big step in my getting back to good clarinet approach was an extended period where I played tenor sax almost exclusively. My embouchure was allowed to relax enough to be re-shaped in a less muscular way when returning to clarinet. Fwiw, I liked your discussion of approach--very sensible.
Eric
******************************
The Jazz Clarinet
http://thejazzclarinet.blogspot.com/
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Author: Morrigan
Date: 2016-10-07 13:35
Yes, it seems that being told how 'wrong' your embouchure is and getting different ideas from lots of people has led to this problem, combined with tiredness doesn't help either.
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2016-10-07 20:14
Yes I did. It took a bit of concentration and slightly changing my embouchure, which in the long term made my tone more mellow as well. Instead of pulling my lip back pulling the sides back towards my ears and making my chin flatter sort of like smiling with my chin pulled down, if you can get the picture, I changed to more of a pucker position like a whistle or a kiss. Of course not nearly to that extreme. By chin is still flat but not pulled tight and my embouchure is not so rigid or stiff. You have to experiment to find the most comfortable and effective position but it's worth it in the long run. I did that about 45 years ago after I critic reviewing a concerto i was playing praised the way I played it but said the performance was a bit "marred" by the escaping air. Of course he was sitting in the 2nd or 3rd row but it made me aware of the problem. He said the same thing the following week when a trumpet colleague played a concerto. :-).
ESP eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2016-10-07 22:19
I did something similar to Ed's description. Lips somewhat forward,toward a pucker, and chin pulled somewhat down (and for me, slightly back toward an under-bite.) None of the muscles of the embouchure need to pull anything tightly, but most involved will maintain a slight tension - so things can vibrate. That slightly tensioned position becomes easy to relax into.
Even then, it remains easy to relax the lips too much and so release air at the sides. Then it's just a matter of inattention, not of battling tiredness. When I occasionally catch myself releasing air, I remind myself to put ALL the air into the sound.
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Author: SarahC
Date: 2016-10-10 00:52
Really Really Really far left field.. but I have really strengthened my clarinet embouchure with two things.
Claude Gordens idea... you stand tall, shoulders back, high chest. And instead of imagining breathing from the diaphragm just concentrate on holding your chest high (not your shoulders). he equates it to how a runner postures himself to get maximum oxygen use. and try to keep 60% air minimum in the lungs. (okay... that is what he says... but it helps as an idea) -- for more information on his explanations (which make sense) I think his book is "brass playing is no harder than deep breathing" or something like that
And secondly... six weeks of trying to play the trumpet 30 mins a day..... and suddenly my clarinet embouchure is SO easy... as is reeds of 4 (i was using 2.5).... I haven't tried anything stronger than 4 yet as I have a supply already to work through! but seriously got the surprise of my life how easy it is to hold my embouchure now! and also the super altissimo is super easy too!
So I can highly recommend a short stint on the trumpet for embouchure development
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Author: Liquorice
Date: 2016-10-10 01:57
I'm sure the advice above is good.
Here's another angle to look at the problem from: could it be that you're trying to blow too much air into the clarinet in the first place? Many teachers seem to emphasize blowing lots of air into the instrument but I find this to be counterproductive to producing a good tone. Opera singers don't produce huge volume by forcing loads of air to go past their vocal chords. They do it by creating resonance. Diana Damrau recently said in an interview that her voice can cut through a large orchestra if it "sits" properly. I think this works on the clarinet too.
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2016-10-11 19:24
You can try warming up doing long tones in front of a mirror, using a double lip embouchure.
It's more common that you would think. Usually the upper lip muscles are a bit weak and your embouchure is a tad off, so with warming up with a double lip this will strengthen your upper muscles and also help correct any embouchure issues. Maybe 10 to 15 minutes for a several months, years even. Listen to your sound of course.
Even Robert Marcellus played double lip for a bit. But you surely don't have to all day long. If you can take a 10 to 20 minute break this will help, your mouth is simply tired.
Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces
Yamaha Artist 2015
Post Edited (2016-10-11 19:27)
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