 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: music_is_life
Date: 2005-03-14 01:57
I was hoping someone might have some advice on how to keep from biting. I have all the symptoms of biting (i.e. sharp pitch, a rather shrill and thin quality to my altissimo notes, my reeds tend to have short playing life, I have been told my lip muscles could be stronger, and I have the feeling I have tension throughout my body, as well as a cut lower lip, though that is more pronounced after LONG playing periods)
I was told double-lipping would help, but all it does is give me horrible tone quality and hurts my upper lip. I know that to discontinue biting, I might have to deal with that pain and perhaps bad tone for a while before I get used to it, but I was wondering if there are any other (more effective?) ways to discontinue biting? then maybe I could improve and stop spending so much money on MP patches, since I always bite through them...
-Lindsie
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Author: diz
Date: 2005-03-14 02:14
Lindsie ... there is some good advice on here about this subject, try doing a search ... in the interim dental wax can be effective, I've used it myself as I have quite sharp lower teeth.
Without music, the world would be grey, very grey.
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Author: music_is_life
Date: 2005-03-14 02:31
diz wrote:
> Lindsie ... there is some good advice on here about this
> subject, try doing a search ... in the interim dental wax can
> be effective, I've used it myself as I have quite sharp lower
> teeth.
no, I don't want to just help my lower lip by getting a guard... I want to fix a problem which does more than just cut my lip. But yes, when i have time I shall commence my BBoard search!
-Lindsie
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Author: Liam
Date: 2005-03-14 03:09
Hey, here's a few suggestions on what you could try...
1. take your mouthpiece and barrel off of the clarinet, put ur hand on the bottom of the barrel so that no air can get in, and suck through the reed so that it creates a suction with your mouth. After you feel your lips pulled in, blow into the mouthpiece with your best tone. I have heard that this helps to prevent biting.
2. the double lip method works well for this problem. Someone I know played with a double-lip embochure for about 15 minutes at the beginning of each practice session, despite a bad tone quality or a little bit of pain on his top lip, and he was able to fix the problem after doing this for a while.
3. start with your loosest embochure possible and blow an open G, at first producing no sound, and then gradually tightening your lower lip until you find the best tone that you can produce without making your embochure too tight.
As far as the problem with your lip muscles not being strong enough, that will go away the more you play. Just make sure you do at least 45 minutes of solid, productive practicing each day. However, I would recommend a lot more if you want to strengthen the muscles of your embochure quickly. Clarinet playing is just like any sport in that there are muscles that you have to use all the time and the only way to make them stronger is by practice.
hope that helps,
Liam
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Author: Brenda
Date: 2005-03-14 15:26
Clarinet literature recommends double-lipping as a good cure for biting since the consequences of doing otherwise are immediate.
Try, though, to use a soft reed at first to save your upper lip. Your tone will be pretty awful and the clarinet will wobble, but resist the temptation to quit. Prop the clarinet between your knees at first. Set your timer - give yourself a full 10 - 15 minutes of this while doing your warm-ups, then return to your normal set up for the rest of your practice. Your embouchure will have learned a new position and your tone should be much better pretty quickly.
Like any athlete your muscles need training and sometimes specific muscle groups need attention. They'll be like little kids and set up a real fuss, but persist with this and you'll find some very satisfying results.
While you're at it, check out the often-mentioned clarinet books to find out more neat tidbits that you might be able to use.
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Author: luckyclarinettoenla
Date: 2005-03-14 15:52
Lindsie,
My college professor suggested a really quick technique to recognize if I was biting and it was definitely a wake-up call. Place your clarinet in your mouth as if you were about to play. Play an open G. Now remove your left hand. Play the open G again. While playing start to lower your right hand (keep your left hand near so that you don't drop your instrument). If you are not biting, the note should immediately stop as you lower your hand. If you are biting, the note will continue and sharpen. I still do this, especially if I am working on a piece of music that raises my tension level. If I find that I am biting, I always have something that removes me from the current situation ( an etude or scale exercise). That way I'm not as tense, and I still get in good solid playing. If you learn to relax and take this advice, (Charlie Niedich once told a friend of mine this during a Master Class) nothing is hard, only unfamiliar, you'll find that your biting days will soon be long gone.
Lucky
Never fool yourself into believing that today's 'good enough' will do tomorrow!
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Author: music_is_life
Date: 2005-03-14 15:56
luckyclarinettoenla wrote:
> Lindsie,
> My college professor suggested a really quick technique to
> recognize if I was biting and it was definitely a wake-up call.
> Place your clarinet in your mouth as if you were about to
> play. Play an open G. Now remove your left hand. Play the
> open G again. While playing start to lower your right hand
> (keep your left hand near so that you don't drop your
> instrument). If you are not biting, the note should
> immediately stop as you lower your hand. If you are biting,
> the note will continue and sharpen. I still do this,
> especially if I am working on a piece of music that raises my
> tension level. If I find that I am biting, I always have
> something that removes me from the current situation ( an etude
> or scale exercise). That way I'm not as tense, and I still get
> in good solid playing. If you learn to relax and take this
> advice, (Charlie Niedich once told a friend of mine this during
> a Master Class) nothing is hard, only unfamiliar, you'll find
> that your biting days will soon be long gone.
oh, I already know that I am biting, I have all the symptoms of it. luckily this bored made me aware of it, so I did some research. unfortunately I haven't found any ways to reverse the problem without biting off my top lip in the process! ![[tongue]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smilie6.gif)
-Lindsie
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Author: clarinets1
Date: 2005-03-14 17:25
hey, the double lip thing is good for targeting the muscles in your face that you should be using. my university teacher is a double-lipper, but he doesn't make his students adopt this playing style. he did, however, have me experiment with the position to feel which upper lip muscles should be used when creating a tone.
remember to flatten your chin--pull down--push the clarinet up slightly into your mouth, and give a good steady stream of air. also, keep the horn close to your body, not straight out in front of you like a oboe, you need lots of reed surface area. experiment with different embouchures. relax, but not too much. use the muscles around your lips, not your jaw.
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Author: Brenda
Date: 2005-03-14 18:01
The beauty of double lipping is that you don't even have to think of which muscles to use, they just get used. And do they ever get developed in a hurry! Muscle memory kicks in after awhile so that the benefits last when reverting to single-lipping.
While doing this I found that I have to think of sealing the sides rather than what's happening with the top or bottom. But a softer reed helps a lot to reduce pain. Somebody might think of a way to cover the top teeth - a mouth guard or something else normally on hand. (But then the effects of immediate consequences is reduced, isn't it?)
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Author: music_is_life
Date: 2005-03-14 21:05
Quote:
keep the horn close to your body, not straight out in front of you like a oboe, you need lots of reed surface area.
are you sure about that one? I see plenty of clarinetists sticking it way out in front of them! I would say I do it all the time...but that doesn't make it right... I just feel like I play better if the thing isn't stuck between my knees...
-Lindsie
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