 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Joel Clifton
Date: 1999-06-02 20:46
Is putting the upper teeth directly on the mouthpiece and tightning the lower lip and all that really neccessary? Ever since I began playing the clarinet, I have been holding both lips on the mouthpiece, and gently biting down with my teeth, and it seems to work just fine. Is that wrong, or are both ways equally OK?
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Author: Kylene
Date: 1999-06-02 21:11
a double lip embrochure will work just as well as putting your teeth on the mp, but you should choose the one you think works best for you. I tend to use both...double lip for slower, more expressive parts, and teeth for fast and more technically difficult parts. I feel the double lip gives me more control, but it hurts my mouth if I use it too much.
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Author: paul
Date: 1999-06-02 22:13
The single versus double lip embouchure debate rages on in this BBS. Perhaps that's a good thing. You will find folks who prefer a single lip embouchure and they perform very well. You will also find double lip fans, too.
For what it's worth, I use a single lip embouchure as an adult novice. At my level of playing, the single lip embouchure gives me a more stable platform that is less tiring with better control. It also seems to work better with my particular mouth and teeth anatomy. Please note that I referred to both my skill level and my personal requirements to arrive at my decision for an embouchure style. Your situation may be different. Consider seeking the advice of a professional clarinet tutor. Your tutor can suggest tips and tricks to help make your embouchure better no matter which style you use, which will in turn help you play better.
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Author: Dee
Date: 1999-06-03 02:08
Both are OK. The single lip embouchure (i.e. upper teeth on the mouthpiece) is typically easier to learn and master for a beginner and many people use it all their lives (including highly respected pros). Usually (but not always) the double lip is more difficult to master although there are some such as yourself who come by it naturally. The nice thing about double lip is that it is virtually impossible to "bite" or "pinch" when playing as the pain of your teeth will stop you! This leads to very nice tone. Single lippers have to pay attention to prevent developing the habit of "pinching". However for the double lip, a little more work is often necessary to develop the higher registers.
Both work and both are used by beginner through pro players.
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Author: John
Date: 1999-06-03 22:03
Joel--
Congratulations on your double lip playing! You are in a small but select minority.
As was pointed out in a previous posting to your inquiry, some of us play both ways. allow me to share some personal experiences:
When I was a young clarinet player back in the late 1950s, I was taught by a most respected teacher to play single lip with tightly drawn lower lip, a pointed chin, corners back embouchure. I played the clarinet and saxophones single lip for over ten years, achieving a fair degree of proficiency, before I learned double lip. Since then I play both ways, alternating between the two depending on the requirements of the music. I envy those players who can play double lip ALL of the time, but I never could master playing technically difficult passages in the remote keys with double lip because the clarinet (or saxophone) moved around too much.
The best written source of information and instruction on double lip playing is Keith Stein's book "The Art of Clarinet Playing". I used it to learn double lip (the book was fairly new at the time). It is still in print. You can get a copy shipped to you through amazon.com for about $15.00. Also please check out Sherman Friedland's Corner on this website for information on double lip by a top professional clarinetist and a great human being.
In my experience, successful double lip playing requires patient development of two interrelated abilities: 1) the ability to play with lip pressure only; NOT jaw pressure transmitted through the teeth and lips and 2) the ability to control and vary the shape, direction and velocity of the air stream to a much higher degree than is typically achieved by most single lip players.
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Author: William Fuller
Date: 1999-06-04 02:05
I agree with all of the above. What I personally use is a combination of both single and double. I do play with the upper teeth on the mouthpiece, but I always try to use plenty of upper lip support as well--almost half teeth and half lip. This gives me the best parts of both worlds of clarinet embrouchureology--how's that for a new word?
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Author: Don Poulsen
Date: 1999-06-04 11:12
Using a neck strap (and a peg), I find that I play my bass clarinet with a double-lib embouchere. If I try to play without the neck strap, I find myself using a single-lip embouchere because I need my teeth to help stabilize the instrument. Based on this, would it not be easier to use a double-lip embouchere with a soprano clarinet if you use a neck strap?
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Author: Kerri
Date: 1999-06-08 00:53
Yeh, I use to play double-lipped on the clarinet for my first 4 years of playing it. But when I joined the marching band, it hurt to play double-lipped because I was playing for so long. So now I play single-lipped. I think either way is fine depending on your preference.
:-) Kerri
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