Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2018-02-08 03:23
I think it is ok to practice with a double lip just to have that understanding of what your embouchure is doing. Bob Marcellus played both ways and then finally went to a single lip after a few years with the Cleveland Orchestra. But when he was with the National Symphony and playing next to Iggie Gennusa well he loved Iggies sound and frankly who wouldn't. It was simply amazing. This is why I studied with Iggie for 7 years and designed his first set of mouthpieces for him.
So if we all practice long tone and slow pieces and some pieces such as Beethoven's 6th, and work on the upper registers we will surely develop great embouchures and beautiful sounds. DON'T BITE!
I had braces and the vibration of the mouthpiece on my top teeth hurt so at a very young age I became a double lip player. I'm also very happy with my sound and never bite. So if players can get to the level of not biting I think they can play with a single or double lip or both, there are NO rules.
However, I strongly feel the clarinet sound has gotten darker, not warmer, and I'm NOT blaming the players. In fact I feel the players today are often better than past greats, Gennusa, Marcellus, Wright, and some of the other double lip players, although Marcellus did switch to single lip. I blame a lot of it on the instruments and the mouthpieces. For example we don't need to play on mouthpieces with tip opening over 1.10 but some mouthpieces are at 1.20! Even Eddie Daniels a jazz player is at 1.03. Harold Wright was at 1.01, Gennusa was around 1.03 and Marcellus was said to be around 1.11, but everything I measured and he liked was 1.09. They all got that ring, that ping, and for the most part that's gone in a lot of the mouthpieces today.
We can have a lot of enjoyment playing the clarinet with normal tip openings, without getting wicked sore lips, and playing wide open mouthpieces, or mouthpieces that are under 1.01 and then you can't be heard playing.
I don't like the American Zinner's in general because the baffles are dug out way too deep. Up close you should pretty! 15 feet away in general your sound is dead. The German Zinner mouthpieces have shallow baffles and that warm sound that carries. That Ring and that Ping which so many players want. You don't need 1,13 - 1.20 tip openings to get that ping, you need the correct mouthpiece and sometimes the correct instrument.
There are mouthpieces out there that might give you that Marcellus sound. But nothing commercial, unless you have it worked on, the 2 I like are the Yamaha Custom, but the tip openings are over 1.20 and the Selmer Concept which needs rail work. The VAndoren BD5 needs baffle work behind the tip, it's too shallow and refacing because it is at 1.13. Out of the 4 I'd go with the Selmer. With some daily double lip practicing you can all sound great and still play single lip. The key is to learn how to use the upper muscles, including the sinus area muscles, which so few players even know about.
Hope this helps.
Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces
Yamaha Artist 2015
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