Clarinet Embouchure: Why Less is More

[@fabianhuegli]

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[@nolancardenas]

I had some pretty extreme dental surgery last year and this is the first embouchure video that has helped me get back on the right track. Thank you!

[@barryfleischer5167]

Great advice.

[@fabianhuegli]

Thank you for watching barry!

[@joelewis]

So essentially- If I were to immensely oversimply it. Everything* you need for your sound that we're "taught" passively existing with the lips ( like High notes/low note/etc) are already there within your lips. So if you know that they already are there without us needing to make adjustments then your lips function should be to seal and support. This explains a lot where I can have reverse my students clarinet and play for them and get everything, even things like "high" C. Then their super confused when they try it themselves and they can't (at first) Its weird because ive been teaching my students to play this way without really having the words to describe it. For me it came from my lips just being tired and getting tired of them being tired. I had a embouchure that could probably crush rocks into diamonds.

[@liamclarinet]

I basically do nothing with my lips either. You're the first person I've heard who thinks about embouchure the same way I do... eerie.

[@liamclarinet]

I think many teachers want to overcomplicate embouchure. I started making a video on the topic, but realised I had almost nothing to say beyond the usual guidelines... It reminds me of a finance guy I knew who wanted to write a book on personal finance. He quickly realised all of his expert advice fit on one page! There's a saying in Greek: μέγα βιβλίον μέγα κακόν "big book, big evil". "Don't think about it too much" is the message few teachers have the courage to utter.

[@fabianhuegli]

@@liamclarinet haha yeah, airflow is i think the number one thing that will solve any embouchure problem someone has.

[@liamclarinet]

@@fabianhuegli "do it again, but take in 3x the air" was what my teacher always said to me... fixed most problems.

[@fabianhuegli]

@@liamclarinet haha exactly

[@joachimakerlind4453]

Is it a Reform Boehm you have there?

[@fabianhuegli]

Yes very good oberservation:) its a wurliter reform böhm from 1978. it belonged to Hans Rudolf Stalder and was built by the original Herbert Wurllitzer.

[@joachimakerlind4453]

@@fabianhuegli I have a pair myself, also Wurlitzer- Fritz, they are very early- larger bore. It makes very much sense what you say about the emboushyre. I agree. But it comes more natural on the german mouthpiece and reeds I think, because you can’t bite etc - I play historical clarinets a lot also so I hade to transform to a style that makes changing more easy. Did stalder use only Reform or did he change to different clarinets?

[@egandavid]

Thank you for this video. Got a question: I feel like some muscles are not developed in my mouth, so it becomes quite difficult to practice after a while. For instance, I can not close my mouth anymore there are leaks. Do you think I should keep trying always with 2.0 reed or should I go down 1,5 ? What I do is usually first start with 2 then go 1,5. I am not sure if it is a good strategy though.