 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: arcmessenger
Date: 2002-09-24 22:13
hi, I have been playing clarinet for about 10 years and for the past year i have been getting this airy sound. a lot of air escapes from the corners of my mouth. any ideas on how to fix this? thanks in advance
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Author: Keil
Date: 2002-09-25 00:21
a conscious decision must be made to keep the corners of your mouth pulled firmly in like a drawstring. Whenever the air leaks just "pull the drawstring" to allow flexibility without the airy sound.
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Author: Jean
Date: 2002-09-25 03:41
Have you changed anything? Different reeds, mouthpiece, ligature? Have you had something done with your teeth? I find that if I am really tired I leak. Is there something you are overlooking that may be making your mouth "fatigued"?
Good luck.
Jean
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Author: Robert
Date: 2002-09-25 07:47
Many clarinet teachers talk about the importance of "smiling" to form the embouchure. If you pull back your lips too far into this "smile", air starts to escape from the sides of the mouth. If you think this might be the cause, try experimenting with different shapes in your mouth- everything from "ee" (tightly drawn back) to "aw". But don't forget to keep your chin pulled downwards in all of these vowel-sounds.
Also- imagine pushing the corners of your mouth inwards towards you teeth.
You are not accustomed to playing this way, so you will quite quickly get tired using these new muscle patterns. Don't worry, you can build up stamina very quickly. If you feel the air coming out of the sides of your mouth, just take a break for a few minutes before continuing.
Hope this helps!
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Author: Cara
Date: 2002-09-26 22:20
well my instructer said that was either from (1) not practicing enough or (2)practicing 2 much!
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Author: Screecher
Date: 2002-09-27 12:32
I had this problem and I found it helped to check my embouchure in the mirror. Mostly I did long notes and gradually built up some strength in the muscles.
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Author: arcmessenger
Date: 2002-09-28 03:29
thanks for all the input.
I know it's not a "not practicing enough" situation, it's probably practing too much. i haven't changed mouthpieces or reeds recently.It just appeared over time and seems to get worse and worse, most noticeable this past month. Checking my embouchure in the mirror is almost an automatic thing with me.I'm thinking about taking a few days to rest my chops, then i'll get back at it with changing embouchures and such. thanks again
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