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Re: Facial-Flex for toning Orbicularis oris muscle

Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2022-05-21 23:41

I am coming to the conclusion that there are several different ways of getting to the same final result in terms of a really good sound (probably calls for far more discussion than bullet points). As a young student I had access to the finest players in the Mid-West of the United States; Robert Marcellus, Clark Brody, Larry Combs, John Yeh (and others). The discussion of embouchure was always approached with the idea that it needed to have attention and required significant effort (at least in understanding) to get it right.

Fast forward to my discussions with Dutch clarinetist Bas DeJong who was as perplexed as many of his colleagues why the "Yanks" were so obsessed with embouchure, when he and his peers just put their mouthpieces in their mouths and just blew (some support of course....but). The standard German set up he used was a mouthpiece of small tip opening (0.95mm) and long facing (actual 29mm.....not the gauge #29). This is paired with a VERY soft reed strength 2 1/2 (perhaps the German 2 1/2 is closer to a French #3).

I believe the Fedele/Donald Montanaro approach is closer to the traditional German method of producing a sound. There is no real embouchure effort required. Don't forget, he turned his mouthpiece upside down and got really good results. It is merely a matter of achieving the correct air pressure for the note and the dynamic of the note at hand. I started this method in just the last eight years or so upon retirement so there was time, and wiggle room for relearning.

If you already have a great playing career doing things the hard way, that's fine. But if you have the opportunity to try an easier way to produce an amazing sound, I'd suggest at least trying it out.

To answer Liquorice, the control of the note is in your midriff not your tongue. I don't change tongue shape or position......ever.

Here is an analogy to what I refer in air pressure:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVqqNigImtU
Listen starting at 4:20

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

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