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Re: Biting habit and slurring across registers

Author: TomS
Date: 2016-10-21 05:01

Try using much softer reeds (be sure they are well balanced) than you are currently using. If you bite with soft reeds, the MP will close up and not play. The downside of really soft reeds are that you may play flatter and your high notes may not speak as well. Of course, you don't have to use a really soft reed forever, but eventually you should learn to relax the embouchure and not bite.

It also sounds like you may have a problem with your equipment ... like a leaky instrument, unbalanced or too hard reeds or a warped or bad MP. A normal, almost instinctive response to equipment problems, especially bad or too hard reeds, is to bite and try to force everything to work for you ...

Also, use a cushion or a couple of folded cigarette papers over your lower teeth to keep damaging your lower lip.

If you are not balancing and adjusting your reeds, invest in Tom Ridenour's ATG reed adjustment system.

One of my teachers told me that the best sound he ever got on his alto saxophone (a looser embouchure than clarinet) is after he had some dental work and his mouth was still numb) ... of course, he was drooling all over himself ... !

Tom

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