Clarinet Clinic

March 13, 2021

Remember the T’s

Tone:

Air, air speed, amount of air

Posture

Embouchure

Long tones

Tongue:

Articulation

Tongue position

Technique:

Hand position

Finger position

Finger movement

How to build technique, how to practice!

Time:

Rhythm

Practicing with metronome

Sub divided counting

Tuning:

How to tell when you are out of tune

Practicing with a tuner

Audition/Performance Preparation:

Suggestions for practicing

Practice smarter not longer!

Being organized. Have a plan and goal for your practice session.

Additional discussion:

Reeds, mouthpieces, reed storage, reed strength

Selecting an instrument

Instrument maintenance

Keeping your instrument clean!

Mouthpiece and instrument suggestion

CHAPTER IIThe External Embouchure-Lip Position Development

'Anyone can whisde."Stephen Sondheim

A beautiful clarinet sound depends upon the correcr use of the lips, coupled with awelLsupported column of air We will b.grn with a description of the best way to hold thelips.

The proper lip position can be learned easily. Start by looking in a mirror.

1. Stretch the lower lip taut against the lower teeth and extend the chin, making aflat, pointed, "long chin".

3. Be sure the lower lip is stretched against the teeth-relatively little lower lip goesover the teeth.

3. Bring the corners of the mouth in, and form a very small, round aperture at thecenter of the lips. Say "oo"-be sure the comers are not stretched outq/ards ina smile. You will note that your lips are in a position similar to a "whistle',.

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Mouth at Rest Embouchure: Front Embouchure Side

This lip position is not difficult to learn; the real challenge lies in maintaining thisposition at all times, no matrer what music you are playing. This handbook is designed tohelp you strengthen your lip muscles, and contains exercises that will teach you how tomaintain a good, steady lip position while playing many different kinds of music.

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Be sure you are not tensing the muscles o{ your neck when you make

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You will be using iust the muscles of the lips' cheels' and chin-the area inside the

dotted lines of this illustration:

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Building your Embouchure Separately from the Clarinet

The best way to build the embouchure is seoarateh from the clarinet. using amirror because once the clarinet is inserted into the *"ffi"rf.er ideas and concepts comeinto play. These distractions can be detrimernal to forming the best embouchure, and themain building blocks of the embouchure will quickly i. f"rr"".n if the they are not firmlyestablished and felt before the mouthpiece is iruerted.Feel the comers of the mouth with the thumb and index finger, and gently pinchtowards the center of your lips. The corner muscles, by resisting this pinching, should feelfirm, like two parallel ban& running perpendiculr. io y**orth.

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You can practice the look and feel of this embouchure ar any time of the day, evenwhile dorng other activities. Once the look and feel have been leamed, make theembouchure and observe it in a mirror. you should be able to blow throrgh yowembouchure for at least 10 seconds without obsewing or feeling any lip or jaw movement.The corners of your mouth may get tired after tO ,.lord, or so. This is good; it,s a signthat you are developing these important corner muscles. Take frequent rests but persevere!

lffi:* pracrice of this little exercise will rid ,o, oi-{ "qlirr..ir,e" which can distorr your

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So the best relationship is lower lip AGAINST the reed,rarher than INTO the reed.

This illustration will give you an ideaof the use of the muscles of the mouth andlips while playrng. Note that the lower lipstretches against the lower teeth while thechin points dovrnward. It is important tokeep this stretch taur.

The key to keeping the chinstretched taut is to im4gine a pointnear the bottom of the chin, andhave that point constantly pu"hforward and down as you plav. Uthe point relaxes from its position,your chin will tend to bunch andsoften up too much. RobertMarcellus used to admonish hisstudents to ttKeep the pointlr,

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Now you are ready to blow some notes through your new (or. modified)

embouchur.- St"rd-"g"it' in fro"t of a mirror' \7hi1e playrng these notes sure you

see no changes in your lip and jaw position: your empLsis will be maintaining the long'

flat, pointed chin"

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before you begin.

Blowing Through the Embouchure

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After playing this exercise and monitoring your embouchure position' take a short

break. After Zor 3 deep breaths, pt"v tf" ne:rt"exercise' Set your embouchure carefully

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Now stop, take a short break with deep breaths' build your embouchure away fro:n

the clarinet, and play the ne:rt exercise' Keep-monitoring in the mirror carefully-you want

no change in that long, flat, chin: if it star'a to quiver or bunch-up' s@P' re-form the

embouchure, and start again'

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play:Here are a few more more. Take some deep breaths, build the embouchure, and

After doing a few of these, your corner lip muscles may feel tired. Take a short rest,then continue:

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I recommend playing these scale exercises from pages g arrd 9 as awarm-up each day fot at least one week before proceeding to the nextmaterial.

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*.^$rhnrr-..SUGGESTIONS: Practice rlowty, rccurrtely: ta tpced devclop neturalty. Uec e vrricty of erticuletions, plus f'uttrlur. Do not conccntr.tc oa rcelcs et the crpenrc of erpcggios end thirds; all lre importent flr rooothness of tcchniquc.NOTE: R=-right.r_idc rl-ridc- Ley (rigbt) I h:tst finger each hanilL=left side 2sL=2 ridc Lcys (rigbt) t/S:lst L.8., Znd R.H.K:chroraatic B-F1 key

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