 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: C.R
Date: 2001-09-29 17:37
What can I do to stop leaking air from the sides. Is my embouchure wrong?
I leak air when I play staccato notes. What can I do to have a firm embouchure.
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Author: John
Date: 2001-09-29 20:44
If air is leaking only when you play staccato, then you may be changing your embouchure as you play those staccato notes. That shouldn't happen. Try checking your embouchure while you play in front of a mirror to see what happens, or have a friend your a teacher take a look. Once you know what it is, then you can take steps to change it.
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Author: Bob T
Date: 2001-09-29 20:54
As a denalt surgeon I see a huge variation of lip pressure from patient to patient. The circular mouth muscle (orbicularis oris) can make life for my assistant and myself either very difficult or very easy ! One or two points here :-
1. sealing your lips round a small diameter object is more difficult (ie it takes more constrictive pressure) than sealing around one of a larger diameter. You could therefore experiment with going slightly further onto the mouthpiece. Not only do mouthpiece patches buffer the upper teeth from vibration and protect the top of the m/p from tooth marks, they also slightly increase the diameter of the object to be sealed. There are also sticky semi circular buffers which attach to the m/p at either side of the reed - they do a similar job. You may find because your lower jaw has to be more open the resonating chamber will produce a rounder tone and there may be less "harmonic squeak activity" ie fewer "surprise solos".
2. most importantly too hard a reed or too tough a m/p-reed combo will require
a) greater intraoral pressure to generate reed vibration and therefore -
b) greater lip pressure to seal this within the m/piece and to control the reed.
experiment with reed strengths (principally coming down in strength) to see if this helps.
You may find a combination 1 and 2 plus a regular short toning practice routine may pay off. Hope this helps, BobT
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Author: Bob T
Date: 2001-09-29 21:06
Sorry - part 2 !
I can't help thinking that you may be making some unorthodox embouchure change when playing staccatto passages. You will probably need an expert eye help to detect the exact nature of this.
Suggestions 1 and 2 will still be a help to reduce the pressure required and reduce lip fatigue.
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Author: Carmen Izzo
Date: 2001-10-01 03:26
the only thing that should move in staccato passages is the very tip of the tongue.
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