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"Chin" defined...or not?

Author: Fuzzy
Date: 2023-05-14 22:19

Silly question...but do we all agree on what the chin is?

I was reading an article on a somewhat popular clarinet blog today and ran across the recommendation for band instructors (when teaching clarinetists) to, "Make sure their chin is parallel to the ground."

This at first struck me as a humorous mistake - where the author must have meant, "...perpendicular..." to the ground.

I decided to make sure my understanding wasn't faulty, and looked up the definition of "chin." The results surprised me.

Example 1:
"1: the lower portion of the face lying below the lower lip and including the prominence of the lower jaw

2: the surface beneath or between the branches of the lower jaw"

What?! The first definition appears to refer to a portion of the (frontal) face, while the second does not.

Example 2:
"1. the lower extremity of the face, below the mouth.

2. the prominence of the lower jaw."

Okay, but then how can the "prominence of the lower jaw" be parallel or perpendicular...or even made to be "pointed?" How does one "scrunch up" the prominence of the lower jaw?

Example 3:
"1. The central forward portion of the lower jaw."

Fair enough, but where does the "forward portion" of the lower jaw" begin and end? Is the forward part measured from the front of the jaw, or from back around the ear? Does it include the jaw's underside? Does it start at the end of the slope from the ear?

The differences of these definitions made me wonder if folks around the world (or even regionally) might use the word "chin" somewhat differently. Some of the results in my query of dictionaries show the #1 and #2 meanings swapped around.

When folks read how the "chin" should be positioned - or even shaped - while playing the clarinet...will they be thinking of the same body part in the same orientation that the poster was?

Fuzzy
;^)>>>

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