Author: concertmaster3
Date: 2023-06-15 07:04
I actually use the mouthpiece pitch to have the students hear feedback on their "grip". I teach them the correct tongue position, lip/teeth placement, how to blow into the instrument and we only use the mouthpiece. I can demonstrate how if they're too tight, the pitch will be too high, or if they're too loose, pitch will be too low. It allows them to instantly hear the sound and adjust.
I do tell my students to aim the air down, and to put pressure from the top of the mouthpiece, and not the bottom, allowing the reed "to breathe" (as if they would be choked by too much pressure). And sometimes use the analogy of a mother dog picking her puppies up by the scruff of their neck. Too hard, and you bite a hole in their necks, not firm enough, and they fall.
Ron Ford
Woodwind Specialist
Performer/Teacher/Arranger
http://www.RonFordMusic.com
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