Author: GMac
Date: 2006-04-14 14:45
Oh, the endless debate...here are my 2 cents.
First off, I play on an American scrape reed, and I'm studying with James Mason who studied with Richard Woodhams and John De Lancie, who are both exponents of the "Philadelphia" style of playing. This style of playing (and consequently, my style of playing) is to play way, way out on the tip. For me, this means that the tip of the reed never goes farther into my mounth than the line on my bottom lip (except a tiny, TINY bit in the extreme high register) that divides the outer from the inner part (do you know the line I'm referring to? The inner part starts where the lips get much more smooth, and it's a different shade of red). When I set up my embouchure, I put the end (tip) of the reed right on that line, and I do roll in a bit, but that also depends on what register I'm playing in.
I have experimented a lot with playing with a bit more reed in my mouth, and I can honestly say that I think that while it 'feels' easier at first (it feels like you have more control), it's kind of like when you're biting the reed...it feels as though you have more control but really you actually don't. It's a false sense of security. The main differences that I find between the two schools of playing are...
With more reed in your mouth...
- The pitch will tend to be higher in general, but particularly in the upper register (A above the staff and higher)
- You will produce a louder sound with less effort (louder, but not necessarily one that projects better, more about that later)
- You will also produce a brighter sound
- The low notes will not speak as easily
- The pitch is more even between registers, meaning that you will not have to put as much effort into changing your embouchure between the low (low Bb-G#), middle (A-G#) and high (A-above) registers
- However, often when you have more reed in the mouth, certain notes will tend to 'stick out' on your instrument, particularly middle C will be really bright/edgy, the F natural (top line of the staff) will probably be sharp and loud, the G at the top of the staff will be sharp, and there are others.
When you play way on the tip...
- The sound is much warmer, and softer. It is a very dolce sound
- You are able to get quieter with much less effort
- Notes do not stick out of the line. Generally, tone quality is much more consistent with this embouchure
- Low notes speak much, much easier at any dynamic (I was very surprised at what you said about low notes being harder to get when on the tip, the conventional wisdom is that the exact opposite is true)
- To really be on the tip you absolutely have to have a very stable, tight reed. Otherwise, you really will be flat overall and your upper register will be really flat.
The thing about playing on the tip is that it enables you to really, really blow and support without the sound getting edgy. This produces a really resonant sound that will project really well without having the brightness/edge that I find I get when I play with more reed in my mouth.
Are your reeds really tight? By that, I mean a few things...
- Do they seal really well, all the way up to the top of the reed? Put your finger on the bottom of the tube to block it and suck on the reed, starting from the bottom of the cane and moving up the reed to the very end. You'll be able to feel if it's leaking (and hear it). Make sure it's not leaking because your lips aren't sealed around the reed properly (i.e. it's leaking from between your lips but you think it's the reed).
- What are they like when you crow them? Put your lips where the bottom of the cane and the top of the tube meet, and play a long tone on the reed like that, without trying to influence how it's going to sound. Just start with blowing softly and then blow harder and harder. The crow should be around a C (or a really sharp B) with a hint of lower octave coming in. If there's too much lower octave in the crow or the pitch changes a lot as you do this exercise, the reed is flabby and you will have a lot of pitch problems if you're right out on the tip.
The thing is that when you play with more reed in your mouth, it gives you a false sense of ease because you don't have to blow as much to get a big sound, and have to put in less embouchure effort. However, I really think that you will find that if you really, really blow as hard as you can that you'll be getting an edgy sound doing that. You can argue that you should just not blow as hard, but I think you'll really find that having a setup where you don't have to support as much as you possibly can is going to be really detrimental to your playing. When you're not blowing as much, small changes in the embouchure can have a large effect on tone quality, pitch, etc. When you're blowing a lot, all of the reed is vibrating all of the time, and changes in embouchure will not affect the tone quality and pitch as much. When you play on the tip, you will not only get a darker, warmer sound, but you will also get that added resonance and depth because you can afford to really blow and support more. Don't fall into the trap of learning to blow and support less because it feels easier at first! Yes, you will have to change your embouchure between the high/mid/low registers more when playing way on the tip, but I feel that this is a lot less work than learning to compensate with your embouchure for the problems that you get when playing with more reed in your mouth.
I have also found that articulation is easier when I'm way on the tip. It's a smoother attack, and I can simply get it a lot faster.
One thing to think about as well is that you really have to have a pretty strong reed to play on the tip. This does not mean that it has to be a hard, resistant reed!! This just means that there have to be good rails in the back and a decently prominent spine right down the heart and the back. If the reed closes down easily, playing on the tip won't work.
To play the devil's advocate a bit, there are some great players out there that play with more reed in the mouth, and they've made that work for them, and I admire that a lot. However, I simply think that making a reed that will sound good with this style playing is too much effort for the benefits that you get.
So, can you tell which school I favour?? :P
Graham
|
|
The Oboe BBoard
.jpg){kind=small}
