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Re: More open mouthpieces

Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2018-12-21 03:36

So my assessment of the mouthpiece issue is that the mouthpiece is what can make your articulation and pitch better by accommodating how you play. That is, the amount of mouthpiece you are more comfortable placing inside your mouth, the angle at which you hold the instrument and the type of reeds that you use.

I don't agree with the premise that more open mouthpieces inherently gives you more sound or a more vibrant timbre.

I use a particularly small tip opening and a short lay and I would say most people you would ask probably would say they could use LESS of my sound.

We recently had a thread here that pointed out that the clarinet sound is created by the pressure differential between the air column in your horn vs the the pressure within your mouth. There are many ways educators have described this, such as "blowing a steady stream of air," "blowing cold air," etc.

Bottom line is that you have a good standard mouthpiece. If the articulation and feel of it work for you, I would give another shot at creating a better pressure differential. You do need to actively PUSH the air continually as you play. One way to arrive at a sense of the "feel" required all the time is to take a deep breath and hold it back just with your lips, AND allow your cheeks to puff out (just to really get the "pressure" thing). Once you release that immediate puff of air, things equalize. But when you play, it should continually feel like that initial holding back of the air........through the point where you take your next breath.

.....................Paul Aviles

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More open mouthpieces new

GenEric

2018-12-21 03:05