Author: Dutchy
Date: 2005-10-02 02:14
And I'm going to add that if you're forcing your embouchure in order to "keep pitch", I'll bet you any amount of money you like that you're doing what we call "biting", which is where you're actually physically biting down on the reed, with your teeth cushioned by your lips, to make it come up to pitch. And this is a MAJOR serious no-no in oboe-playing, and is a tremendously terrible bad habit to get into. Pitch control MUST be done only with the lips, never-ever with the teeth. You see why this isn't something you can "just pick up".
When you rush learning, you get into bad habits, being focused on "results" rather than on "the process".
And if your mouth is incredibly sore after only 5 or 10 minutes of practicing, that's your body trying to TELL you something. Hello? "Pain is a warning"? You never heard that? You're hurting yourself, plus getting into bad embouchure habits. The mouth muscles should cushion the reed, not squeeze it, so if it hurts to play, then you're "squeezing", not cushioning.
Dunno much about flute-playing, but I'll bet that beginnning flutists can "force" the sound, too, directing the stream of air much too hard against the plate in order to "make" the sound come out. So that's the equivalent of what you're doing.
Also, beginners NEVER start out on Medium reeds. You need a soft or medium-soft. And you practice only until your mouth muscles turn to jelly, NOT "until it hurts".
Soaking the reed more won't make a difference. You need a softer reed, and a lighter practice schedule.
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