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Re: Embouchure and articulation

Author: jam12
Date: 2018-08-07 09:11

Hello again. It has been a very long month and I have improved my embouchure quite a bit.

Here's the update:

My chin can stay consistently flat and my lips do not move at all. The corners of my lips are firm and they surround the mouthpiece. I would also say that I do not smile like I used to.

I went all the way back to the basics and even had to use a strength 2.5 reed (coming from a 3.5) as well as a beginner mouthpiece just because it was easier to play. My tonguing was non existent a month ago but now it has improved and I can tongue all registers of the instrument.

My only problem is the sound I get while tonguing as well as how to execute the different tonguing styles cleanly and beautifully. My problem when I tongue as of right now is that it is too hard (I think) and every time I articulate a note, the pitch is a bit flat. By pronouncing "thee" instead of "tah" I have resolved this somewhat but the sound still is a little bit squawky. As for the tonguing-too-hard part: there's a weird sound I get after I articulate and I am not entirely sure what the cause is. My assumption is that I am tonguing too hard. Here's a link of what it sounds like: https://youtu.be/f8naopP2-Vs

Another problem I have is that I squeak a little bit when I tongue. Especially tonguing from long C to high G (with 3 fingers + thumb and register). I am not sure why but these notes are SUPER resistant. Am I not covering holes? Sometimes the notes are clean but other times I get a squawk (if its a long B or long C) and a squeak if its a D to an F. My E's are normally fine for some weird reason. I have tried not biting (which has helped) as well as more air. In addition, I have made sure to cover all holes including the thumb hole. For the most part this works, though sometimes when I am not entirely conscious of these aspects, I get a weird sound. My conclusion is that I have to pay attention to air speed, to not bite, as well as to cover holes. If there is anything else I could do, please let me know.

Lastly, the different tonguing styles. So the youtube link of that weird sound is something I am especially concerned with when I tongue in a staccato fashion. When I tongue normally, I try to tongue lightly and for the most part, that sound goes away. However, I am unsure of what to do when I staccato. How do I staccato without slapping on the reed which is what I am assuming is causing the sound?

Thanks for everyone's help. It has been an amazing month of improvement and without you guys, I would be in an entirely different state completely unaware of some of the fundamental issues that I would've never fixed.

Jawad

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Date

Embouchure and articulation new

jam12

2018-07-01 07:45