Author: GMac
Date: 2006-03-14 04:12
Lots of interesting stuff, just thought I'd put in my 2 cents...
My teacher (James Mason) talks about the two ways you make a reed vibrate...
1) by making it (blowing harder)
2) letting it (opening up your mouth, by rolling out with your lips)
If you do only one of those things, as in, if you only change your air with no embouchure adjustment, you'll find that you start really flat and get higher in pitch as you get loud, and vice versa as you get soft.
If you keep the airstream steady, and only roll in and out with your lips, you will also find your pitch rising and falling. If you roll out, this opens up your embouchure and pitch falls. Roll in (NOT bite!!), and the pitch will rise.
Therefore, starting and stopping the tone while keeping a consistent pitch involves combining these two factors. Start with little air and a rolled-in embouchure, and relax and increase your air at the same time to keep the pitch consistent (this takes some practice, but the idea is not complicated).
Anyway, in answer to your original question, ending the note should never, with very few exceptions, be done with the tounge. Reduce the amount you're blowing, and roll in slightly with your embouchure. Keep the air pressure up as much as you can, remember that you still have to keep the reed vibrating to make any sound at all! This is a very simplistic way of doing it, but the basic concept is good. When you can do that, as you get softer think of blowing the air to the top of your head. This enables you to keep up the air pressure while making a softer sound.
Ideally, the best thing is to get a teacher. Nothing will help you as much as having someone there with you to really listen to and analyze your playing.
Graham
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