 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Chloe
Date: 2008-03-25 14:20
This is my first post after having read many posts on this forum for several months, and want to express deep gratitude to those who so generously share their wisdom. Thank you, all, you've been a great help and encouragement!
After having searched quite a while on this topic, I haven't come up with much information............is it more proper to take a breath from the corners of the mouth, and is it improper to take a breath by keeping the teeth firmly planted on top of the MP, while lifting the upper lip to take in air? I've been using the former method for years and am having a lot of trouble unlearning this ingrained habit. I want to learn to take in air the best way, but don't especially want to keep looking like a gasping fish, either. Obviously, I use a single lip embouchure. I don't know how I got started taking breaths by lifting my upper lip. Is it terribly wrong?
Chloe
Post Edited (2008-03-25 14:27)
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2008-03-25 14:31
Breathing at the corners or lifting your upper lip are both a serious no-no.
To take a good breath (and I mean a good deep breath), drop your bottom jaw and open your mouth to breathe while keeping the mouthpiece against your top teeth, and your top lip in contact with the mouthpiece.
If you think of it, taking a breath through your top teeth isn't efficient as your teeth are obstructing the air flow (your teeth are in the way!), so opening your mouth by dropping your jaw is the least resistant way of taking a breath (and most natural) as there's no obstruction.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2008-03-25 14:34)
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Author: Joarkh
Date: 2008-03-25 14:46
Nono!
You should absolutely not breath by dropping your bottom jaw. The way I have learned, is to lift your upper jaw. This ensures that your bottom jaw's position stays the same, and is not affected by your breathing.
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Author: feadog79
Date: 2008-03-25 15:19
No, I agree with Chris P.
I also think it's more natural to drop the bottom jaw a little bit, while keeping the mouthpiece firm against your top teeth...you can keep your lips in the snug "o" shape they should be in to begin with, just opened a little at the bottom.
How do you breath by "lifting the upper jaw," anyways? You would either have to move your head without moving your instrument, or move your instrument without moving your head. The upper jaw itself is immobile...
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2008-03-25 15:30
I agree with Chris as well. Go for a big breath, the embouchure will remain fairly well aligned even if you don't want it to (but you do!!).
Also don't forget you need to EXPEL the unused air as you take the next breath..............sorry, kinda sorta off topic.
...........Paul Aviles
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2008-03-25 15:31
I normally use my nose. Unless I'm gasping anyway (eg because of uphill marching) in which case I drop my jaw (or a bar before I faint).
--
Ben
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Author: Chloe
Date: 2008-03-25 15:56
Paul,
So, are you saying that the lower lip and tongue should leave the reed when the lower jaw drops?
Chloe
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Author: William
Date: 2008-03-25 16:24
Drop your jaw maintaining contact with your upper lip (& teeth if applicable), open up your corners and get your breath as deep and quick as possible. Fill your lungs and play with a "full tank". For a quick little breath, just opening the corners is sufficient--but don't get into this breathing method as a habit. Too many winds players fail to breath properly and effectively.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2008-03-25 16:25
"So, are you saying that the lower lip and tongue should leave the reed when the lower jaw drops?"
Yeah, but the mouthpiece should still be against your top teeth when you open your mouth. As soon as you close your mouth again, you'll still be forming the correct embouchure.
You'll probably find it weird at first, but you'll get the hang of it pretty quickly.
I see a lot of young players as well as adults that do this as they've never been taught how to breathe. It may seem funny, but we do need to learn how to breathe (inhale) correctly as part of playing.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2008-03-25 16:26)
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Author: Chloe
Date: 2008-03-25 16:52
Chris,
You're suggesting that inhaling by lifting the upper lip (even in combination with opening a little at the corners,) is always wrong? Was it ever considered an acceptable method?
Chloe
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2008-03-25 17:02
If Chris doesn't say it, I'll say it. As stated above, your jaw is hinged off the skull. The lower mandible moves, not the upper one. SO, if one has to take a breath, it is only natural to drop your jaw, leaving contact ABOVE as the "anchor."
As long as your clarinet/head position does not change, the lower lip over the lower teeth REMAIN at the same point when it returns to the reed. Raising the UPPER lip just sounds bizarre.
Also, if you rely on just the corners of your mouth for air, you are NOT going to get sufficient air in many cases.
...........Paul Aviles
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Author: hans
Date: 2008-03-25 19:24
I breathe through my ears, but for those who have not learned to do this, the proper way is through the corners of the mouth.
Hans
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Author: Tony Pay ★2017
Date: 2008-03-25 21:06
I read this thread with ever-increasing amazement.
Why do YOU want a RIGHT way to do it, and why do Y'ALL want to tell her what it is?
What you have to do is to open spaces -- any spaces -- round your embouchure that allow you to take in air. Obviously your embouchure is better off if it doesn't change too much in the process; so you don't want, for example, to alter lower lip pressure, because you'd have to reinstate it.
Other parts of your lips, sides and top, seal the connection between your mouth and the instrument, so they need to get out of the way to allow the air to get in. And, they need to get out of the way ENOUGH that they don't create turbulence, or hiss, as the air comes in. It's worth ensuring this, otherwise you'll find yourself in trouble with microphones at some point.
If it were hard to do this, I would understand the problem.
But it isn't.
Tony
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Author: hans
Date: 2008-03-25 22:25
Tony Pay,
You seem annoyed.
Re: "why do Y'ALL want to tell her what it is?"... obviously if you had responded more quickly there would have been no need for anyone else to, because you are the greatest living authority on the clarinet, but you didn't and others wrote to attempt to fill the temporary vacuum with their humble efforts - this is how a bulletin board works.
If you want to answer all the questions from inexperienced players from now on, please let the rest of us know so that we can spend more time practising.
Cheers,
Hans
Post Edited (2008-03-25 22:30)
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Author: Avie
Date: 2008-03-25 22:40
I agree with Hans. I learned to breath out of the sides of my mouth. I am not sure what I do now since I have stopped worrying about it its not a problem except for maybe taking in too much breath at times.
In my case, trying to do things by the book takes a lot of pleasure out of playing. Of course its differant for a serious musician. Whats best for your embouchure is probably best. I also think the your wind strength builds up over time.
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Author: Liquorice
Date: 2008-03-25 22:41
I just read this thread and was also getting annoyed until I read Tony's post. I was getting annoyed because people were starting to prescibe "correct" ways of doing something, based on:
1. What their teacher told them
2. What they do themselves
I do it differently from the "proper" methods described, so I guess my breathing must be improper or incorrect? Strange, considering that my method also works.
Hopefully Chloe can disctiguish between humble efforts to fill a temporary vacuum and responses of people who actually know what they are talking about.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2008-03-26 00:00
Isn't the path of least resistance the best way? I must be doing something wrong by doing something right in that case.
It's not going to bugger up your embouchure if you breathe by dropping your jaw to inhale, is it? It's only a matter of a couple of seconds at the most.
And do you really want to see a load of players baring their front teeth at you with every breath? Breathing through the gaps around your front teeth is hardly an open space - anyone can see that. And you can breathe MUCH quieter with an open mouth than through gaps around teeth.
Practice breathing quietly, and see which method works best. And dropping your jaw works best.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2008-03-26 00:11
Tony - "... and why do Y'ALL want to tell her what it is?"
'Coz we're merely answering a question. That's the whole point of a messageboard, or have I got that wrong as well?
No doubt you'll answer, but do use simple words of no more than two syllables for us that haven't got a thesaurus to hand, and make your answer short and to the point - I don't intend on reading a lengthy novel when you can answer with a single short sentence.
We all have our differing views and solutions, and ones that work for us. So there's no harm in making a suggestion or trying out any suggestion given if it happens to remedy the problem.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: bstutsman
Date: 2008-03-26 01:52
WOW! We are all over the map on this one.
So, why not my 2 cents?
The only real no-no I can think of in all this is to breathe through the nose. This is because most of us can get more air faster through the mouth.
I don't always breathe the same way. I might use one corner or the other. I might drop the jaw or I might lift my upper teeth from the mouthpiece.
I have found that I can use breathing to give my chops a mini-break just like your heart rests between beats. How my embouchure is tiring has a lot to do with how I get a breath. If it doesn't have to be a quick breath, you can use the interval to really stretch out your chops. For me the longer my embouchure stays formed without a significant break, the less the blood circulates through it and the more it fatigues.
I would advise you to learn to use all of the ways mentioned, except nasal, and do what works for you.
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2008-03-26 06:51
"It reminds me of"
Haha! 
But seriously (ok, not really) I think most of my breaths (while playing) in the last few years have been through my nose This could actually be true.
I'm trying to think how I'm breathing through my mouth when I play and to be honest I can't remember. I'm going to try to remember checking this today in rehearsal. I think though that a good guess is that I probably do it in one of the ways that was described as a no-no and will ruin mankind forever....
Post Edited (2008-03-26 06:54)
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2008-03-26 12:11
Eyes open, but with soft lighting......preferably a scented candle.
...............Paul Aviles
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Author: Chloe
Date: 2008-03-26 13:03
Dare I ask for a vote from other professionals?
Chloe
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2008-03-26 13:04
The thing is, more discussion is generally spent on breath pressure and support, embouchure types and embouchure control, tongueing, reeds, altering with reeds, mouthpieces, fancy expensive ligatures, all manner of after-market barrels, bells, endless ones on why Buffet R13s are 'the best clarinets and no other makers should bother trying to compete', why so-and-so is the best player of them all, etc. etc. but hardly any discussions on HOW we actually inhale.
We all NEED to inhale, though there's hardly any mileage on the subject in conjunction with embouchure or breathing.
Right or wrong, I know what works best for me. So imparting a bit of info on this topic isn't going to hurt anyone, and at least it can be tried and tested without any expense on anyone's part. If it doesn't work, then try something else.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: hans
Date: 2008-03-26 14:45
Chloe,
Re: "Dare I ask for a vote from other professionals?", Everett L. Timm, who was director of the Louisiana State University School of Music, wrote the following in his book "The Woodwinds", which was used in university woodwind courses:
"Quick inhalation is accomplished through the corners of the mouth, never through the instrument. Slow inhalation usually is through the mouth but may be through the nose and mouth. It is desirable to inhale as inaudibly as possible. Therefore the larger the amount of air and the faster it is inhaled, the bigger the openings at the mouth and throat must be."
I hope this helps.
Hans
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Author: Avie
Date: 2008-03-26 21:36
Not to change the interesting subject of breathing but I thought Hans brought up a good point about unexperienced players filling the temporary vacuum of BB questions.
We BB posters should keep in mind that a question is asked and answered within the various experience levels of the BB posters. It may be a bit repeticious and boring to some.
I appreciate reading intelectual helpful discussions on the BB reaching many differant levels. It is interesting that we are all at differant levels on the endless journey of clarinet playing.
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2008-03-27 04:41
I wrote: "I'm going to try to remember checking this today in rehearsal."
I actually had two rehearsals and forgot to check.... Maybe better memory today.
Chloe wrote: "Dare I ask for a vote from other professionals?"
How do you know if a poster is a professional or not...?
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2008-03-27 08:00
clarnibass wrote:
> I wrote: "I'm going to try to remember checking this today in
> rehearsal."
>
> I actually had two rehearsals and forgot to check....
> Maybe better memory today.
Improper breathing may affect your memory. ![[tongue]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smilie6.gif)
--
Ben
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2008-03-27 11:44
>>It reminds me of....>>
But the real question is: While sucking your cut finger and playing the clarinet at the same time, with one eye closed in sorrowful mindfulness of the poor cut finger and the other eye open in order to read the clarinet music, or with one eye closed to convey an impression of blissful empathy with the clarinet music and the other eye open to watch out for any inadvertent dribbling of blood from the damned finger onto your trousers, should you breathe through your nose or through the corners of your mouth or by lowering the mandible or by curling the upper lip into a ferocious but silent sneer whilst sucking in wind through the upper teeth, assuming a sufficient gap between the teeth? And should you insert the cut finger into the right side of your mouth and the clarinet mouthpiece into the left side, or vice-versa? Or is verse a vice and twice as nice?
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
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Author: Chloe
Date: 2008-03-27 12:54
clarnibass,
I realize many would like to think of themselves as a professional, but are not. I have no idea which among the past responders are professionals. I made my statement out of courtesy to those who previously posted and to those who would be so kind as to join in the discussion.
After watching many performances on YouTube, I realized that almost everyone took breaths from the corners. One performer dropped his jaw so much when inhaling, that the performer's molars were visible. That doesn't seem correct, either.
Chloe
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2008-03-27 13:14
"One performer dropped his jaw so much when inhaling, that the performer's molars were visible. That doesn't seem correct, either."
Yeah, you don't really want to see someone's breakfast while they're playing.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: hans
Date: 2008-03-27 15:04
Attachment: Breathing.jpg (837k)
Chloe,
The attachment is from the introduction to Artie Shaw's Clarinet Method. Artie was a professional clarinet player with few peers in both commercial and classical music so that his advice may be considered to be reliable.
Hans
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Author: Tony Pay ★2017
Date: 2008-03-27 16:32
Hans wrote:
>>The attachment is from the introduction to Artie Shaw's Clarinet Method. Artie was a professional clarinet player with few peers in both commercial and classical music so that his advice may be considered to be reliable.>>
Well, now we know.
Does he say, further on, which is the 'correct' hand with which to accept the cheque from your publisher?-)
Tony
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2008-03-27 17:48
My apologies.
It turns out that I keep the clarinet stable with the upper teeth and lower lip in contact and open up the sides AND upper lip to gulp a whole bunch of air.
Hmmmmm.
You always hear that all you have to do to throw a pianist into a downward spiral of self-critical self-examination is ask why he uses a specific fingering.
Now I know the feeling.
and again, sorry for the initial post of dubious information.
................Paul Aviles
P.S. Oddly enough I also just severly cut the tip of my index finger in an attempt to dispose of a credit card. I practice until it starts to bleed again and then must reapply a band-aid. It hurts with my eyes open AND shut, regardless of the lighting or the piece of music I'm playing.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2008-03-27 18:45
"P.S. Oddly enough I also just severly cut the tip of my index finger in an attempt to dispose of a credit card. I practice until it starts to bleed again and then must reapply a band-aid. It hurts with my eyes open AND shut, regardless of the lighting or the piece of music I'm playing."
Yeah, but when you yelp in pain, do you keep a stiff upper lip or drop your jaw to scream obscenities?
And have you considered closing the wound on your finger with superglue?
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2008-03-27 18:52
Well there is that new liquid band-aid product but it's too damn expensive. Besides, it's cool to say that I practice until my fingers bleed.
...........Paul Aviles
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2008-03-27 19:03
Having eroded enamel on my top side teeth, I know in my case it'll be unwise to inhale at the sides as the cold rush of air hits them.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: blazian
Date: 2008-03-28 02:55
So has anyone mentioned breathing ALL THE WAY AROUND your mouth? It works best when there's more than a beat of rest. ![[rotate]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smiley25.gif) Maybe you could add your nose too.
- Martin
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Author: Jkelly32562
Date: 2008-03-28 03:04
My college band director, Ralph Ford, always said breath with your ears, but I am sure he heard it from Dr. Long.
Jonathan Kelly
jkelly32562@troy.edu
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Author: Sarah Elbaz
Date: 2008-03-28 07:15
Hans ,
When I read your :"Tony, you seem annoyed " it reminded me a story that Mitchell Lurie told me.
Mitchell was a student in Curtis , and the winds of war in Europe brought many musicians to the US. One day they had a concert with some pianist and composer who just came from Europe and played his music.
The students were noisy, mocking him and loughing at him and Mitchell was the leader . That person finnished playing and left the place humiliated.
It was Bela Bartok and he was playing the Microcosmos.
Sarah
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2008-03-28 08:24
OK I finally checked how I breath. I was too concious compared with when I usually play so I'm not sure this is exactly right....
Basically I open my mouth, and although my bottom lip still just touches the reed (in the same place) I completely free my jaw to breath from both sides. So to everyone who said you shouldn't move your bottom jaw, I'm standing at the edge of a cliff and waiting for you to push me.
I also lift my upper lip with my teeth just barely still touching the mouthpiece, and sometimes they slightly move away from the mouthpiece. So everyone who said that's a no-no I'm sure you are at the bottom of the cliff waiting to throw stones at me.
Basically I'm breathing from the entire mouth except that very small area that my bottom lip barely touches the reed. These are the details that I never really thought about. I've just always done it intuitively (unlike many other things in playing music). Of course no one has to do it the same way. I've never had any problems doing it this way other than being pushed off a cliff and having stones thrown at me....
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2008-03-28 11:02
Fwiw (I'm an amateur), I breathe through my nose unless I get so overly-ambitious that I totally run myself out of air, take the clarinet out of my mouth and pant like a dog. If that happens, then I go through the passage with a pencil and find a reasonable place to mark in a comma. Composers who don't play wind instruments need to talk with the musicians who do. (This fallacy arose once on the sibeliusmusic.com chat site: "They all learn how to circular breathe now." Uh, no. Not all of us.)
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2008-03-28 11:45
I only breathe through my nose if I'm circular breathing - but that's only on oboe and cor as I can't circular breathe all that well on clarinet or saxes.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Chloe
Date: 2008-03-28 12:03
I guess we agree, for the most part, that the air should be taken in through the corners, including some lower jaw opening. I'm having a really, really hard time switching. It's okay when I'm consciously thinking about it, i.e. during a slow passage, but when playing fast and furiously it feels too cumbersome to remember to breathe a different way. Very frustrating. I wish someone had corrected me X number of years ago....then I wouldn't have to work on the very tedious unlearn/relearn thing.
Chloe
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Author: ABerry
Date: 2008-03-28 14:59
Chole,
Like Tony, I find this thread somewhat amusing…
Is there a truly “correct” method for taking a breath?
It appears (at least from your last post), that you have become more preoccupied with what you look like while taking a breath and doing it “correctly” than with making music.
Forget about what you look like and concentrate on the important things, the notes, intonation, phrasing, making music…
Allan
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Author: Chloe
Date: 2008-03-28 15:06
Allen,
You're right...... thanks for the advice. That's ultimately what it's all about.![[up]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smiley24.gif)
Chloe
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2008-03-29 00:05
Well Chloe, you got plenty of good, and not such good advise. I believe most professionals will tell you that you should not remove your upper teeth or lower lip from the mouthpiece or reed when taking a breath. You really don’t want to reset your embouchure every time you breathe. Just think about the consequences of doing that. I suggest you open the sides of your mouth as much as possible without actually removing your teeth from the mouthpiece or you lower lip from the reed. ESP
www.peabody.jhu.edu/457
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2008-03-29 04:41
"I only breathe through my nose if I'm circular breathing - but that's only on oboe and cor as I can't circular breathe all that well on clarinet or saxes."
I also only breath through my nose when circular breathing, which is why I probably breath through my nose just as much if not more than my mouth. I circular breath much better on clarinet than oboe, but maybe that's because I don't know how to play oboe!
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2008-03-30 05:37
"Circular breathing is almost always done way, way too much and its usually at the expense of the phrase."
What do you mean? Can you explain a bit more please? It sounds like you are talking about music that can be played without circular breathing too. I and many others use circular breathing to play things that would have been impossible without it. Many times it's not the type of music I think you are describing and it just have different ideas. The "phrase" you are talking about, how would it be played without circular breathing? Does it have a place to breath? In that case, why circular breath? It's not clear to me what you meant.
Thanks.
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Author: NorbertTheParrot
Date: 2008-03-30 09:37
Chloe - you might want to take a look at Karl Leister on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1cb6T2w368.
It can be seen quite clearly that he opens the corners of his mouth to breath. It looks to me - though I'd be less sure of this - that he also relaxes the pressure both above and below the mouthpiece.
I am a little surprised by Tony Pay's comment "so you don't want, for example, to alter lower lip pressure, because you'd have to reinstate it." If this were true, then surely we'd keep the instrument in our mouths during short rests? Well, Leister doesn't. If he has a rest for more than a bar or so, he takes the instrument out.
I'm sure there are better videos out there - this is just the first one I found featuring a player that we all recognise. Unfortunately I couldn't find any of Tony, nor of Liquorice (I searched on his real name).
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Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2008-03-30 15:55
"'so you don't want, for example, to alter lower lip pressure, because you'd have to reinstate it.' If this were true, then surely we'd keep the instrument in our mouths during short rests?"
Well, I guess it depends on what you mean by "short" rests. But, if your meaning includes rests of more than a measure or two, then ... not necessarily. There's really no problem in altering lower lip pressure or even taking the clarinet out of your mouth as long as long as you have (and take) plenty of time to reestablish your embouchure before the next note, e.g., when you're counting 72 bars. But altering lower lip pressure becomes a problem when there is only a short time between notes to allow for the breath, e.g., an eighth rest or a quarter rest, or even a measure at fast tempo. Then, the need to reestablish the embouchure can result in a late entrance or a muffed note. And, that being the case, wouldn't it be better to develop a basic approach to breathing that does not require you to reestablish your embouchure after each breath?
FWIW, I never really thought about this before but I find that I usually breathe by opening the corners of my mouth and flaring my upper lip back slightly to create an opening without really changing the position of my lower jaw or my upper teeth. At that point, I breathe through my mouth and nose simultaneously (and I see no reason not to use my nose, particularly when the goal is to take in as much air as possible in a short time).
Best regards,
jnk
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Author: feadog79
Date: 2008-03-30 19:47
I paid a lot more attention to how I actually inhale during a rehearsal the other day. I leave my upper teeth AND lower lip in place, open my upper lip a bit, and breath mostly through the corners. Sorry for advising otherwise! I guess its something I never thought about that much!
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Author: Iceland clarinet
Date: 2008-03-30 20:27
I always take a breath coners because otherwise I have to reform my embouchure every time I take a breath.
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Author: Robert Moody
Date: 2008-03-30 23:51
This thread, interestingly enough, is the first I've read in quite a while and it both amused and annoyed me. It was certainly a good "Welcome Back!" thread for me...reminding me of the same emotions more than a year ago.
Tony was to the crux of the matter with his post, as usual. Whether you agree with everything posited by Tony, the point with any playing is not to unduly change everything around while playing.
Of course, you CAN change EVERYTHING around and do just fine if you are a circus performer, or whatever. But the point is not what CAN you get away with as to rather what is the most efficient way for someone trying to discover such.
I was a little disappointed to read some of the ideas offered to Chloe in the beginning. Tony's point of moving as little as possible to breathe in what you need is exactly to the essence of the question.
If we move our teeth placement (or upper lip for double-lip players) and attempt to reset it in the heat of the moment, we are introducing unnecessary room for error. If we remove our lower lip/teeth/jaw from contact with the reed in order to take a breath we again subject ourselves to unnecessary risk. There simply is no need for either of these scenarios for most people. Keep your anchor in place (upper teeth/lip) and your source of reed control in it's ideal position and open everything else enough to get what you need in the way of air.
Of course there are all kinds of scenarios we can conjure up (and indeed many of us have encountered!) but Chloe's question appears to be about what is correct...or "most correct". I believe Tony's point (and I use his out of respect and the fact that he was the first to mention it) is most correct. Why move anything that does not need to be moved in order to take a good breath. Move what you need...and no more. (Don't we take that approach to finger work as well?)
As for Leister, when we become clarinet deities like Leister and Pay, then we can breath through our ears, as some suggested. But the point really is that neither became the clarinet deities they are by doing so. They, like us, went through the rigors of mastering proper breathing technique as has been FINALLY uncovered after some 50+ posts.
Thanks for listening. Glad to be back. ;-)
Robert Moody
BTW, Chloe, I am a professional clarinetist. I am CERTAINLY no Tony Pay or Karl Leister, but you can hear some of my live recordings on my personal site at musix4me.com.
Robert Moody
http://www.musix4me.com
Free Clarinet Lessons and Digital Library!
Post Edited (2008-03-30 23:54)
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Author: Upper left tip
Date: 2008-03-31 00:00
I always think that it's important to remember that you're dealing with systems or groups of muscles rather than anything specific. So I would be very weary of imitating any specific individual. I believe what matters is whether what you're doing allows you or inhibits you when you play your instrument. A good place to start might be the book "Wind and Song" which summarizes Arnold Jacobs teaching as well as describes other things such as his background.
http://www.windsongpress.com/books/song%20and%20wind/song%20and%20wind.htm.
While I realize that we play the clarinet and not the tuba I think his pedagogical approach and understanding of the breath has elements which are applicable to any wind instrument. I hope this helps.
Post Edited (2008-03-31 23:43)
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