 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Brenda ★2017
Date: 2010-12-20 02:18
OK, this is a new one for me. A older student came to me who has potential but has played a lot on his own. He prefers to turn the mouthpiece quite a bit to the right and plays the clarinet in a saxophone-like position. I asked if we could compromise and asked him to turn it just slightly more towards centre. I could hear air escaping from the left side but didn't want to cause too much of a shock to his embouchure for the moment. We had other things to review.
I don't intend to make this an issue since he won't be playing professionally, only to allow him to improve his musicianship more. Hopefully he'll be able to play with a small ensemble better as a result of his lessons.
Any thoughts?
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Author: Katrina
Date: 2010-12-20 03:03
So just to clear up a question about your post: Was the air leak happening after you made the embouchure change or before?
If after, that'll probably go away, but if it was before, it's probably a good thing to have changed!
At any rate, I don't really understand how he could play the clarinet so crookedly. I admit to playing a little "off-center" but that's cause of a chipped front tooth I've had since age 12.
As you said, I'd lean away from making it an issue and, if the air leak is pre-change, then put that out there as a reason to alter the embouchure slightly. Make the lessons and music making fun, concentrating on rhythm. In my experience, self-taught students who play for fun and most often alone need lots of help there in order to eventually "play nice with others!"
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2010-12-20 05:01
Anatomy is destiny. You adjust the instrument position to account for it. Irving Fazola played great with his clarinet at a severe angle http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/1058722/a/Faz.htm.
If your student plays well, and, as Katrina says, without air leaks, there's no reason to change his embouchure. Take a look at this teeth, which may be crooked (or missing), so he's making the best available adjustment.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Brenda ★2017
Date: 2010-12-20 12:17
Yes, the air leak was before making the adjustment to his mouthpiece. Even so, he's past retirement age so his goals are modest, just trying to play better with an ensemble that he wants to join. So as long as we can get him to a reasonable skill level and work on his listening skills, that's all we're really working on.
It's nice to know that others have faced this challenge. The more we learn, the more we see that many "musts" are really personal preferences of the teacher and not as vital as we may assume. I just like to know the difference between those things to insist on (like tuning, rhythm and timing) and the other things that fit more into the class of "options".
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Author: Philcoman
Date: 2010-12-20 13:43
I discovered a number of years ago that turning the mouthpiece counterclockwise a bit helped with both my embouchure and my fingering.
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2010-12-20 14:24
Philcoman -
Steve Girko, who's one of the best players around, has an uneven jaw and teeth. He turns his mouthpiece about 15 degrees to adjust. He studied with Stanley Drucker, who said that the only criterion is that your setup to lets you play your best.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Philcoman
Date: 2010-12-20 19:33
Thanks, Ken! Good to have that validation! As it happens, I have both uneven teeth and a wrist issue that made my playing a little awkward until I learned to adjust the mouthpiece. The improvement was immediate and, to me, miraculous.
Too bad I still don't play like Steve Girko!
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Author: Katrina
Date: 2010-12-20 20:10
In looking at that photo of Irvin Fazola, I'd comment that my positioning is probably half-way between his and "straight." Sometimes I turn my head instead of the clarinet though!
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