 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: richardstone
Date: 2019-06-11 01:03
I am having trouble with squeaks and squats. I have been playing for about a year and have a Fobes Debut mouthpiece. I feel that I cannot put very much mouthpiece into my mouth before I get the squeaks. I don't have an overbite or underbite. My teeth meet top to bottom with no overlap either way. Would a mouthpiece with a longer/shorter lay or different tip opening help. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
richarddstone@mac.com
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2019-06-11 02:41
No.
I might assume you do not have a teacher. There are a myriad of issues that might cause the problem. I'll take a stab at just one.
You may be scrunching your upper and lower lips (they will look puffy and dimply), What happens there is that you are "damping" the Reed in TWO places instead of one (the region of lower lip that covers the lower teeth.
Aim to use only HALF of the pink, fleshy part of your lower lip. Now draw the "corners" of your mouth back and slightly down. You will look like a parrot.....and your lower lip will be thinner and more taught over your lower teeth (the reason for drawing back and down, not looking like a parrot).
This provides ONE, thin controllable surface for the Reed to rest on.
There is such a thing as a "squawk test." Starting close to the tip, play an open "G," then (as you continue to play that note) take in more and more mouthpiece until you get an uncontrollable SQUAWK. Then just back off slightly from there and THAT is the ideal spot on your mouthpiece for your lower lip to rest all the time.
............Paul Aviles
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Author: richardstone
Date: 2019-06-11 03:47
Paul,
I do have a very good teacher but the squak continues to be a problem. Not on every note by any means but more often than I want. I actually feel that when I do the squak test I have very little mouthpiece to work with. I think this is because of the location of my lower teeth in relation to my upper teeth.
richarddstone@mac.com
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2019-06-11 05:13
At a decent angle your lower lip/teeth is much further along the mouthpiece than your upper teeth. In other words, they should NOT oppose each other.
...........Paul Aviles
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Author: richardstone
Date: 2019-06-11 06:43
Paul,
These oppose each other because thats the way Im made. Would a different mouthpiece create allow more mouthpiece to be taken in without causing the squawk.
richarddstone@mac.com
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2019-06-11 06:44
Another check to make sure you have the right approach to the lower lip part of the equation would be to take your right index finger and poke at the area of your embouchure below your lower lip (on the mouthpiece or just on your other index finger for demo purposes). It should be firm and smooth (we used to say stuff like "flatten your chin," or "point your chin"). If it is at all cushy feeling you need to draw back (and down slightly) MORE.
I realize it is not always obvious just by looking at someone execute a good embouchure what they are doing, but this is a really good example:
particularly at 00:23 for example
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wa35p6Nl6dU
..................Paul Aviles
Post Edited (2019-06-11 06:47)
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Author: hans
Date: 2019-06-11 07:23
Paul has given you good advice and I agree with him that "At a decent angle your lower lip/teeth is much further along the mouthpiece than your upper teeth. In other words, they should NOT oppose each other..".
Many clarinet players do not have perfectly aligned teeth and also do not have squeaking issues.
There are many possible causes of squeaks. Following is a list (not exhaustive) of some common ones that you could investigate (in addition to some easy ones; i.e., trying a different mouthpiece and having your teacher play-test your instrument):
Causes of Squeaks
- a dry reed
- overblowing
- accidentally touching a key
- the middle joint in a clarinet is not properly aligned
- using a "wrong" fingering instead of a better alternate
- a finger not covering a hole
- a pad not seating properly
- a weak spring not holding a key closed
- keys out of adjustment (e.g., the A key)
- uncoordinated fingering
- a leaking joint
- a cracked instrument (in a wood clarinet)
- too much mouthpiece in the mouth
- a burr on the mouthpiece top rail
- misapplied lip pressure
- a reed is split
- the reed is not perfectly sealed on the mouthpiece
- a reed is too thin at the center of the tip or is stiffer on one side than the other
- a poorly designed, worn, or warped mouthpiece
- the mouthpiece baffle (the slanted top inside the tip) is too high
Hans
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2019-06-11 07:47
richardstone wrote:
> Paul,
> I do have a very good teacher but the squak continues to be a
> problem.
What does your teacher say about the squeaking problem? It would be useful to know what he or she has already had you try.
Karl
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2019-06-13 17:07
If you have a very good teacher you would not have to ask for advice for this problem on the clarinet board. They should be able to see - hear what the problem is. I assume he-she has tried your mouthpiece to assure that is not the problem. The same with your reed combination and clarinet. I always played my students equipment to determine if it was them, the mouthpiece-reed or the clarinet. Once I knew I could analyze the problem better. As Hans wrote, it could be any number of things you or your equipment is causing the problem. Without seeing you I could suggest you try playing double lip, having your lip folded over your top and bottom teeth. I'm not suggesting you always play like that but it's more difficult to bite to hard or Pinch when doing that. See if you can do that and weather you're still squeaking. But the bottom line is that your teacher should be able it identify the problem after a short time.
ESP eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: avins
Date: 2019-06-20 14:27
Hi
I havent been here for a long time and just "came back " to the clarinet /
bought a beautiful sounding R13 , took out my Legere euro cut 3 and 3 1/2 . and bought some samples of VD trad. 3 , VD V12 3 and rico royal 3 . I also took out some VD v12 3.5 I had from the past , Oh and bought a BD5 mouthpiece .
everything is good with the Legere , which I liked very much in the past ,
But . I also get these squeaks with the cane reeds ,mentioned above . I don't understand this ,
The instrument is perfectly sealed . btw , the V12 3.5 are very stiff I can hardly get nice tones, I suppose jsut not suitable for the BD5 -thinking of getting an M15 -but thats another story
I wonder what s happening here
Thanks for any thoughts on this
Avins
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2019-06-20 17:10
avins wrote:
> But . I also get these squeaks with the cane reeds ,mentioned
> I wonder what s happening here
"Squeaks" is a really generic term that includes any out of control harmonic that's higher than the intended note. To track down the cause and stop them, you first have to zero in on when they happen. Is it mostly as you go over one of the register "breaks?" As you slur, tongue or both? In one register more than another? Totally random but infrequent? Any reed or a specific one? Etc...
Figure out when the squeaks happen. Some squeaks come from embouchure unsteadiness or outright pinching, which is more likely to happen when you tongue - sometimes you can develop a (bad) habit of moving your embouchure with your tongue. Some squeaks come from a finger that misses the edge of a tone hole. Make sure your fingers are shaped so they completely cover the holes reliably. If squeaks happen over the breaks, check to be sure you aren't changing your embouchure or your air stream in an unconscious attempt to avoid the squeak or letting the clarinet lurch.
I do think it's harder to squeak with a Legere than with a cane reed that's the wrong strength or even slightly unbalanced. Reeds that are either too hard or too soft or just unbalanced can be more prone to squeaks. One of the advantages to Legeres is that they are balanced out of the box. So you just aren't dealing with a reed that wants to vibrate one way on the left side and differently on the right or has a hard spot in the tip encouraging it to divide it into partials. Most cane reeds have some degree of imbalance. With enough embouchure control you can avoid bad consequences, but if you're used to Legeres and don't play very often on cane, you may not be adjusting well to the cane's natural unevenness.
One last after-thought: be sure the cane reed is thoroughly moistened - not waterlogged, but evenly wet (no crinkling across the tip). You can get all sorts of unstable responses from a reed that is unevenly moist. This is obviously not a problem with Legeres.
Karl
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Author: avins
Date: 2019-06-20 19:14
Thanks Karl
I think you brought up good points related to unevenness of cane reeds , and another on hardness
Firstly , I dont get squeaks on all reeds the same strength (3) reeds
Secondly, I dont get squeaks on the v12 3.5 , unfortunately I think they are not compatible with my VD BD5 . I will ask a question reffering to m15 mouthpiece in the next message as I dont want to hijack this thread.
Avins
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Author: richardstone
Date: 2019-06-26 01:40
Thank you everyone for your responses. I ended up deciding that I should try a Legere reed and found that the European Cut Signature reed in 2.75 worked great and solved the problems I was having. The reed speaks instantly and is giving me a sound that I really like. I would recommend this reed to anyone who is fairly new to the instrument. I tried the European cut in 2.75 and 3.0 and also the regular Signature reed in 2.75 and 3.0 The European cut gave me a better, fuller sound than the regular Signature. Hope this helps anyone who is having similar problems.
richarddstone@mac.com
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