 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: seabreeze
Date: 2015-12-21 18:53
On YouTube-- Julian Bliss Reviews the Leblanc L210 Clarinet-- it appears that Bliss is not playing his usual gold BG Duo ligature. The new single-screw model he's using looks unfamiliar to me. Anybody know what it is?
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2015-12-22 18:18
Looks like a simple metal pouch design (whatever it is).
To me, the interesting things here are that twofold:
o Bliss doesn't seem to have a complicated embouchure; looks like he just blows
o The reed is adjusted pretty high up on the mouthpiece.
Never noticed these things before about Bliss.
..............Paul Aviles
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Author: seabreeze
Date: 2015-12-22 19:34
Yes, there's nothing fussy or strained about his embouchure and he doesn't seem to vary it as he plays across the entire range. He doesn't seem to be drawing the corners of his lips up or smiling or even pursing his lips much or trying to point his chin. His embouchure looked the same way when he was 11 or 12--precociously set.
He does play with the tip of the reed high on the tip rail. Jose Franch Ballester does the same and in master classes says that position adds stability and removes harshness, especially in the upper register.
Post Edited (2015-12-22 22:58)
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Author: CEC
Date: 2015-12-22 21:53
Yep, he's a natural. Bliss studied for a long while as a kid with Howard Klug. Professor Klug used to remark that as long as you sounded good, he never got concerned about what the embouchure looked like.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2015-12-22 22:21
Well, my point is not to be critical but to bring up how there are those among us who don't necessarily "work that hard" and produce wonderful results.
This was brought to my attention by Bas de Jong of Viotto mouthpieces. He asserts that this is a matter of fact amongst the Germanic players. You just "blow" with a German mouthpiece and and a 2 1/2 strength reed.
I know that Bliss also spent some years studying with Sabine Meyer. Even though this is clearly a French mouthpiece, he may have taken on some German technique along the way.
..............Paul Aviles
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Author: CEC
Date: 2015-12-22 22:41
I didn't think you were being critical I knew a guy in college that had a cosmetically ***gorgeous** embouchure. His upper lip was something to behold. My teacher used to say that if you looked up "embouchure" in the dictionary, there'd be a picture of this guy's face accompanying the definition :D He sounded pretty average, though. Maybe Bliss has picked up some german technique or maybe he was just born to play and has natural physical characteristics that assist him - I've heard players that have amazing technique but by looking at their fingers it's puzzling how they're pulling it off. Or maybe it's just the slight facial doughiness hiding the mechanics
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2015-12-22 23:47
No, it's not "doughiness" (though I like the word!), just a very relaxed posture.
I don't want to misquote Bas de Jong, but he said something like, "I can't understand all the things American clarinet players do with their embouchures. Is that necessary?"
The reason this is important to me, is that I am in the process of "fixing this" for myself right now.
.................Paul Aviles
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2015-12-23 08:38
I've adopted more of a sax embouchure. Specifically relating to, seal the mouthpiece with your lips, and just let the reed vibrate". I don't bite, don't pinch and don't draw any corners or "smile" or any of that stuff. Just stay relaxed and let the air do the work.
This means a slightly lighter reed than those that like to apply pressure, but I feel is more akin to what a double lip embouchure would be (of which I like to use when I get bored in concert band - double lip is fun!!!)
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: Jeroen
Date: 2015-12-23 13:30
Looking at the video I cannot notice anything 'strange' in his embouchure. But that may be because I am from Europe ;-) He seems to play a soft reed indeed. And yes, with this kind of embouchure you could also play the Viotto mouthpieces with soft reeds.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2015-12-23 16:06
Hey Alexi,
If you don't mind, could you share what mouthpiece you use (or mm open and mm length facing), and the strength reed that you use.
Currently I am in the middle of a complete retraining with a German mouthpiece of 1.00mm tip opening and 23.00mm length facing. I am alternating between Legere German cut 2 1/2 and the 2 3/4. So far the results are WONDERFUL !!!!
................Paul
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2015-12-23 16:17
Paul,
I've been sticking with mouthpieces advertised as "chedeville" styles. Specifically, Greg smith chedeville 1, genussa GE, and a mouthpiece that Walter grabner used to sell on a chedeville blank. Using Rue Lepic 3.5+ on these mouthpieces.
I gave cane another shot after using legeres for years. Liking it. If I do use legere, it's probably a signature 3.25-3.5 for outdoor playing.
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: seabreeze
Date: 2015-12-23 18:46
It certainly is easier to use a low pressure embouchure on a closer facing/softer reed combination. The rage for hard reeds and open facings seems to have started with players trying to emulate Robert Marcellus by playing Kaspar 13 or 14 mouthpieces with heavy Morre reeds imported from Germany by Marks Music back in the 1960s.
When I started playing clarinet, most classical teachers recommended the Selmer HS* (HS single star), which had a tip opening under 1.0 mm. The Kaspar 13s and 14s, by contrast, had tip openings over 1.10 mm. These were open, just like the HS** (double star), which most classical teachers considered "dance band" mouthpieces suitable for sax doublers playing commercial music. The Smith and Grabner Ched copies have rather close facings, between 1.01 and 1.03, I believe.
Flash forward a few decades, and you see the Vandoren M40 and M30 becoming all the rage for classical, probably beginning in Europe and spreading to the US. These two have facings with tip openings above 1.10 mm. They also have longer lays which are supposed to make them play well with heavier reeds but, in my experience, stress the embouchure and quicky bring on fatigue. The reasoning behind the longer facings is that Viennese mouthpieces have very long facings and are traditionally played with heavy reeds (not the light 2.5 that Bas de Jong recommends for his German or German-hybrid N and N+1 pieces). Actually, Leopold Wlach, of the Vienna Philharmonic, played on a long Koktan mouthpiece that was open at the tip less than 0.80 mm! (Bill McColl measured it). This is really nothing like the Vandoren M40, which is very open. Kuckmeier says Vienesse born Wenzel Fuchs plays a 0.76 mm closed tip mouthpiece, which would be very much in the tradition of Wlach. A facing like that, even if it is very long, would not require much embouchure pressure even with a fairly stiff reed.
Anyway, Paul, I'm glad to hear that you are no longer trying to "match" your embouchure and your mouthpieces to "#4 reeds" as you once said you did. That is very much like me trying to force the unholy match of hard reed (oldtime Morre, not today's bright buzzing reed of the same name, ) to an open Kaspar mouthpiece. I wasted many years trying to do that, and when Don Montanaro got his M13 out from Vandoren, the difference was like night and day. Less pressure, lighter reeds, more center, better projection, natural ease of playing, and many other benefits (including maybe a few years added to my life).
If you find a "German" mouthpiece/reed combination that plays with the kind of embouchure you want, it will be especially interesting to see if you can tranfer that embouchure back to any of the French style mouthpiece/reed combos.
I had been struggling through the Robert Stark Study #21 in the second volume of his Virtuosity Studies, Op. 51 on the Kaspar + hard reed combo, which required from me quite a few embouchure contortions to get through; then, on the Vandoren M13 with a #3.5 reed, the passages (from "Thema con Expressione" till the end) just wafted out, light and easy. Another great Stark study in embouchure stability from the same book is #19, also from a "Thema con espressione" marking. These two are the "acid test" for a soft and supple embouchure that does the job without tying muscles into knots.
Post Edited (2015-12-24 17:40)
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Author: CEC
Date: 2015-12-24 00:56
Jeroen,
Indeed. That was part of my point. I don't think anything can be gleaned by simply looking at someone's embouchure.
Post Edited (2015-12-24 01:30)
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2015-12-24 04:33
CEC,
That's a REALLY loaded statement !!!!!
Bottom line is that being musical is what makes you a musician. So yes, one's instrument choice, reed choice, embouchure choice or any other detail is just a means to and end......... and a personal means at that.
However
We (at least those of us that perhaps put a great deal of physicality in their embouchures.....for example) CAN learn quite a bit about how others go about what they do if we bother to observe correctly.
It took me over 40 years to learn this "easy" approach. This demonstrates that proper guidance is an invaluable aspect to learning.
I did also want to add that I have never had success with this "easy" posture on French mouthpieces before. I still believe it is very difficult to achieve a good, full sound with the French mouthpiece acoustic and a very soft reed.
................Paul Aviles
Post Edited (2015-12-24 04:36)
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Author: CEC
Date: 2015-12-24 05:52
Hi Paul,
It's not a loaded statement in the least.
Observation of a musician performing is misleading at best. Personally, I don't think one learns much by watching and making assumptions. Do you really think you can surmise what set-up Mr. Bliss is using by simply looking at him (or even just listening)? In my experience, close mouthpieces are much easier to play, but by just looking at Vandoren's Youtube feed of artists that play the M13 Lyre, one gets the impression that not only are they making music, they are also attempting to eliminate something from their bodies. So does that mean that close-faced mouthpieces are arduous choices?
I'm well aware of physicality in performing. I'm primarily a bass clarinetist, and playing the soprano is like playing flag football by comparison.
Most certainly, we all gravitate toward the types of set-ups that suit us. I've played many types of mouthpieces and reeds and ligatures and horns. I choose based on what feel right to me and gives me the results I seek, not on what's easiest. Do I prefer instruments that are inherently more in tune? Yes. Do I prefer designs with better ergonomics? Certainly. If you achieve more satisfying results with a German-style set-up, that awesome! For me, it's not difficult to achieve a colorful, deep, huge, resonant sound with a French set-up.
Chris (yet another one)
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