Author: vboboe
Date: 2006-06-10 21:39
Hey, welcome aboard this bboard!
... lips get very tired, normal! never knew we have lazy muscles there, did you :-)
... practice every single day, better several short practices daily for about 6-8 weeks before able to do single longer sessions
... don't go beyond muscle tolerance today, quit earlier, not later. If your lips are 'comfortably' sore, they'll recover by tomorrow. If painfully sore, you won't want to get started tomorrow.
... do just a tiny bit more each day, adds up gradually over weeks, months!
... upper lip out of balance with strong lower clarinet lip, must build upper lip to equal strength, biting is compensation, wrong, but understandable
... well-chewed gum (no sweetener left in it) can cushion upper lip from sharp young teeth to begin with, but you're already deep into drac-bite so what you really need to do is a lot more pro-active practice at kissing the reed instead of biting it
... reed collapse is mostly due to drac bite, correct that first, reeds happier
... getting this will take time, patience and persistence are essential friends
... strengthen embouchure exercises -- pack reed-size pieces of ordinary plastic drinking straw in your daily pocket, keep on bedside, armchair or computer table, goes anywhere, doesn't break like a reed, doesn't need pre-soaking, ready to use when you're doing other things, like reading, computer assignments, getting dinner ready, etc.
Practice puckering up, pressing with lips only up and down, mona lisa smile embouchure formation and hold to count, roll-over and roll-outs, etc.
Do this several times a day for a few months, will develop embouchure a lot faster this way, works, i did it my first year, amazing!
... upper register, good tone -- so you can already play low D and low C in sweet resonant tone at pp, can you? No ducks and geese? Until embouchure's really in good shape to manage that, upper register tone challenge should probably wait until you can, but of course you just have to go up there right now anyway, yes?
So try this exercise, when you lever your 1st octave key, drop your lower jaw one notch at the same time. When you snug your 2nd octave key, drop your lower jaw a second notch. Co-ordination.
A440 = neutral embouchure in relaxed comfortable jaw drop position.
Half-hole, half a notch drop (remember to roll half-hole open and shut)
1st 8ve, 1 notch drop
2nd 8ve, 2 notches drop
and vice versa returning to mid register
When dropping your lower jaw, lower the *back* of your tongue to increase the space inside between lower and upper mouth
When lips are ready, tone will improve, and reeds will be friendlier to you
Later on, when lips are ready, can add coordination of air-booster for upper octave, but until your lips can hold the extra pressure you'll only get rude noisy air leaks, so for right now, work on the jaw lowering technique, you'll hear a good difference in tone just by doing that
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