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Re: Reed Placement in Mouth

Author: RobinDesHautbois
Date: 2010-11-17 16:56

In my opinion, mentioning Albrecht Mayer is simply the best thing anyone can ever do!

But everyone in this post seems to be ignoring two crucial factors:
1. the reed is in VERY intimate relation to the lips and teeth: VERY different from person to person!
2. how you support your breath with abdominal pressure will GREATLY alleviate the need for mouth work (biting, pushing in the reed, etc.). I personally work my mouth a lot, but I find that if I stop and concentrate on the abdomen, I don't need to tire my jaws and lips so much.

I am a short-scrape and hybrid long-scrape player. All my reeds are different as I scrape them to suit the characteristics of the individual piece of cane.

I am a big proponent of method above measurement. Where the reed goes will be decided naturally as the result of doing reed exercises. The following are those I remember and use. I'm sure many students out there can suggest more.

Best of luck to all!

=== reed only ===
1. while walking from work to home: blow the bejeebers out of some bad reed!
=> do it rhythmically and focus on keeping your jaw low and working your solar plexus
=> gradually add rhythmic staccato patterns
=> the point is to build facial muscles and rely more on the abdomen

**NOTE** even reed in oboe, I have found it easier to play super-softly (pppp) when I practice only really loudly. This is evidence of the importance of abdominal strength.

**NOTE** if your cheeks start puffing and you can't prevent it, chances are your muscles are tiring and over extending. Reduce the blow force until you can control your cheeks. I have found supporting the cheek with a finger helps 'heal' more quickly.

2. while blowing long tones (reed only) practice pulling in and pushing in the reed with lips only - fingers are only to prevent the reed from falling

3. practice starting and stopping the note by opening/closing the mouth: concentrate on the opening the jaw as much as possible

=== reed in oboe ===
(apart from long tones and slow dynamics on arpeggios and octaves)
"Drunken Scales" consist of saying "Wa-Wa-Wa-Waaaaahhhh" on each note.
=> purpose: NOT tuning but getting your mouth to find its natural comfort position
=> really work on extreme opening (mouth) and extreme closing while sustaining the note
=> your mouth will eventually develop a muscular memory and examining different player's embouchures will become irrelevant.

Robin Tropper
M.A.Sc., B.Mus., B.Ed.
http://RobinDesHautbois.blogspot.ca/music

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