As my former amazing teacher Julie DeRoche would say, the embouchure is built around the structure of your face, not the structure of the mouthpiece. This really aligns with all of the myths you pointed out.
Interesting, I don't think that much about my embouchre anymore, and when you mentioned the paper test, I was so glad I wasn't the only one who noticed it was too much reed. Regarding the warm air to make a darker sound myth, definitely agree. I found that the clarinet naturally has a more rich, vibrant sound (whether that's dark or not it's definitely up to personal preference) as long as you use fast enough air and don't overblow the reed. Definitely plays into the how-much-reed test as well. Thanks as always for such a thoughtful video!
Great tips! And I love that you mentioned Joe Allard. I studied the Saxophone with him at the Manhattan School of Music and I took one clarinet lesson with him. He gave me golden practice tips. 🙂
John, thank you so much for this excellent video! I studied with Harold Wright during his final year as principal clarinetist with the Washington NSO and with Joe Allard the following year (1969 -70). You couldn’t have chosen two more perfect clarinetists to demonstrate your points. I’m 77 years old and I still do Joe’s harmonics warm-up every single day. I regret to write this, but most high school and college band directors, “mus ed” types (in Mr. Wright’s words) don’t know a hoot about clarinet playing / embouchure tone production, etc. Please keep up the great videos!!
Great video! It's a shame how many music educators fall for "wives' tales"; I've seen so many band directors and conductors tell clarinets to use slow warm air or do the paper mouthpiece gimmick.
It's true. To be fair, it all comes from a place of trying to help and make things sound better, but too often, we don't actually examine and analyze what passes for common knowledge.
Love your videos - we're going to have a discussion about embouchure today in our Beginning Band class and we are using your video for clarinets! Would you consider doing a video guide about tonguing/articulations at some point? No pressure, obviously! :)
Thank you sir for sharing many great concepts - I too have steered away from the paper measurements as it is a roll of the dice with the variety of mouthpiece dimensions etc. - again, these points are great to get started! I would encourage to check out the Embouchure building book from ‘Larry Guy’ - a lot of what you stated continue with more detail. Nevertheless, appreciate the love of sharing a great instrument!
Love your video, it's nice to hear and see a different approach. What do you think about the absolute taboo named "biting" ? Concerning the hissing concept, I feel that it contraints my airflow and contracts my throat. In my playing I'd rather have the tongue the more relaxed possible as I feel it more ready to articulate. But what works is what is ok and you sound beautiful. Be well and thanks for the video
Thanks for the kind words! I’m not in favor of biting, but I tend to play lighter setups to avoid doing so. I have played mouthpiece and reed combinations in the past that required a much more pressure oriented approach to the mouthpiece. As to tongue position, if a higher tongue position makes your throat tighten, it’s probably too much, as that shouldn’t be the result. I do know some clarinet players who play with a very open voicing who sound beautiful. As you said, what works, works. 🙂 Thanks for watching!
I agree, especially about the amount of mp to put inside the mouth. I see too many students following this advice from youtube teachers. This forms a very large aperture and consequently a slower air speed.
So as a sax guy, this is counterintuitive. I will work on it. I'm pro sax and to a lesser extent flute, but my pitching on clarinet starts to flatten around C, and everything above D sounds flat and squeeky to me. My tone and technique is reasonable for a doubler, better than some, but clearly I've got fundamental technique issues.
A friend told me about the "gentle smile" at the mouth corners & SUDDENLY, all the throat tones of my clarinet finally came up to pitch!!! I double, so the clarinet usually sounded BAD...but not anymore! 😂 Your vid helps a lot so thanx. 😂
The "smile" embouchure can also tend to produce tightness in the throat. Per Joe Allard's single-lip method, you simply curl the lower lip over the bottom teeth with just enough effort that you cannot pull the lower lip out of position while pulling the skin immediately below your lip with your fingers. The upper lip is completely limp, and the corners are neutral. With Allard's method, air speed comes solely from the shape and position of the tongue, and you don't use the lips and cheeks to try to help control the tongue position and shape.
I agree that if the smile is overdone it can lead to tension in the throat. I am a firm believer in engaging the upper lip for control and for how it helps to open the oral cavity. Thanks for watching!
John, are you playing with a double/single lip embouchure? I really can not determine it.... some times it looks to me a double lip, some times a single lip. Can you please provide a video for a proper embouchure not only about the mistakes? Thank you in advance. Dan
It's fascinating, how for popular saxophone it's nearly all the other way round. Maybe that's why for both instruments there are these "suboptimal" Tipps
Hey John, can you talk about Martin Frost’s clarinet tone please? His tone is the type of tone that I am trying to achieve because it’s dark, round, and clear.
As mostly an orchestral player, I tend to gravitate towards the sounds of other orchestral players because that’s a large part of what I do for a living. However, I do believe Martin Frost is extremely talented and enjoy his performances that I have seen. Thanks for watching!
Not at all. As long as you’re not playing a setup where putting your right hand down makes your throat tones too flat… check out my other video on the throat tones. 😁 Thanks for watching!
@@john.kurokawa Thanks John. I tend not to do it myself, but as an all round woodwind teacher (I know, I know) people fight with the transition. Sometimes I do it myself, like if I have 8th notes moving from throat A to C, but most of the time I don't, but folks find (me too) this transition difficult.
Hi, I have a question about myth #1. So essentially what my teacher taught me for embouchure was 1. say leeeee whilst spreading the corners of your mouth outward (to get the tongue in position,) then make a sharp "heee" hissing sound (to put back of tongue in position.) Then finally he told me to push inwards (towards the mouthpiece and my face) with the corners of my mouth to form this tight O. The thing is I've never really noticed my bottom lip leaving my bottom teeth when I play so is it a if it ain't broke angle or would you recommend for me to change my embouchure to fit what you said in Myth 1?
At the end of the day, if it works it works, and I’ll always advise you listen to your teacher. The question I would ask is, if you’re tying ‘corners outward’ with tongue position, wouldn’t bringing the corners in have an undesirable effect? Just wondering. Thanks for watching!
@@john.kurokawa Hi thanks for the response, you bring up a good point, honestly I'm not too sure now. I guess I'll have to do a bit of figuring things out.
@@john.kurokawa Hi thanks for the response, you bring up a good point, honestly I'm not too sure now. I guess I'll have to do a bit of figuring things out.
The air speed through the mouth is not the air speed through the reed/ mouthpiece. The tongue movement is related to embouchure effort. It has nothing to do wirh air "speed"
I’m not familiar with the use of the tongue when playing/voicing the trumpet, thus I would never offer a correction on a statement relating to it. Thanks for watching.
When I try the different approaches you describe, especially bottom lip closer to end of the reed, I can get no sound at all. I go back to my usual position and ll is well. I suppose it is different for different mouths. Also i cannot do thhhh with a closed embrashure. I am totally confused now
Try the Joe Allard test in the video to determine how much mouthpiece to have in your mouth. It’s not necessarily about being at the very end of the reed, it’s about having the correct amount in your mouth for YOU. We’re all different, and in teaching this for many years, experience tells me the right amount is different for everyone. Best of luck and thanks for watching!
La receta es no apegarse a ninguna receta. Ya vi a tantos maestros afirmar tantas cosas como algo infalible y rígido que las probé y la mayoría apesta de malo, como afirmar que todos deben apuntar con su pera o mandíbula hacia abajo. No somos todos iguales. Podemos sugerir imágenes y formas nada más. NOSOTROS MISMOS TENEMOS NUESTRO MEJOR SONIDO CON NUESTRAS HERRAMIENTAS.
As my former amazing teacher Julie DeRoche would say, the embouchure is built around the structure of your face, not the structure of the mouthpiece. This really aligns with all of the myths you pointed out.
Agreed! Thanks for watching!
Interesting, I don't think that much about my embouchre anymore, and when you mentioned the paper test, I was so glad I wasn't the only one who noticed it was too much reed.
Regarding the warm air to make a darker sound myth, definitely agree. I found that the clarinet naturally has a more rich, vibrant sound (whether that's dark or not it's definitely up to personal preference) as long as you use fast enough air and don't overblow the reed. Definitely plays into the how-much-reed test as well. Thanks as always for such a thoughtful video!
Instant subscribe.. I've learned more from you in three videos than in the last 30 years.. many Blessings. Love the sense of humor.
Wow, thank you- I really appreciate the kind words! Thanks for watching- more videos to come!
The pictures of Harold Wright and Marcellis prove that you are right. Thank you for a very good video.
Wright and Marcellus- two of my heroes! Thanks for watching!
You can't imagine how useful these tips are for beginners! So many teachers hammering those old myths can lead us to frustration. Many thanks, BRAVO!
Glad it was helpful!
Great tips! And I love that you mentioned Joe Allard. I studied the Saxophone with him at the Manhattan School of Music and I took one clarinet lesson with him. He gave me golden practice tips. 🙂
That is awesome! I’m always grateful for musicians who pass on their knowledge. Thanks for watching!
Please do the complete and definitive embochure guide!! Great videos!
Will do! It’s on the list. Thanks for watching!
@@john.kurokawaI’d be interested in that too
John, thank you so much for this excellent video! I studied with Harold Wright during his final year as principal clarinetist with the Washington NSO and with Joe Allard the following year (1969 -70). You couldn’t have chosen two more perfect clarinetists to demonstrate your points. I’m 77 years old and I still do Joe’s harmonics warm-up every single day. I regret to write this, but most high school and college band directors, “mus ed” types (in Mr. Wright’s words) don’t know a hoot about clarinet playing / embouchure tone production, etc. Please keep up the great videos!!
Thank you for the kind words, and will do!
Great video! It's a shame how many music educators fall for "wives' tales"; I've seen so many band directors and conductors tell clarinets to use slow warm air or do the paper mouthpiece gimmick.
It's true. To be fair, it all comes from a place of trying to help and make things sound better, but too often, we don't actually examine and analyze what passes for common knowledge.
Sounds good!
Practical advice is always welcome for nubies.
Thank you! Thanks for watching!
Thanks a lot, a new beginner with chalumeau found this very help. And I appreciate the short, effective way of doing this video. Subscribed.
You're very welcome! Best of luck on your clarinet journey! Thanks for listening.
Fantastic - thank you.. I've approached clarinet embouchure too much like sax, and it's not the same at all.
Glad it was helpful! I love the saxophone, but the sax and clarinet are more like cousins than brother and sister. 🙂 Thanks for watching!
Love your videos - we're going to have a discussion about embouchure today in our Beginning Band class and we are using your video for clarinets!
Would you consider doing a video guide about tonguing/articulations at some point? No pressure, obviously! :)
I'll add it to the list! Thank you so much for watching, and best of luck with your beginner clarinets!
Thank you sir for sharing many great concepts - I too have steered away from the paper measurements as it is a roll of the dice with the variety of mouthpiece dimensions etc. - again, these points are great to get started!
I would encourage to check out the Embouchure building book from ‘Larry Guy’ - a lot of what you stated continue with more detail. Nevertheless, appreciate the love of sharing a great instrument!
Agreed! Larry Guy’s books are excellent! Thanks for watching!
very informative, thank you!
Thank you for watching!
Love your video, it's nice to hear and see a different approach. What do you think about the absolute taboo named "biting" ?
Concerning the hissing concept, I feel that it contraints my airflow and contracts my throat. In my playing I'd rather have the tongue the more relaxed possible as I feel it more ready to articulate. But what works is what is ok and you sound beautiful.
Be well and thanks for the video
Thanks for the kind words! I’m not in favor of biting, but I tend to play lighter setups to avoid doing so. I have played mouthpiece and reed combinations in the past that required a much more pressure oriented approach to the mouthpiece. As to tongue position, if a higher tongue position makes your throat tighten, it’s probably too much, as that shouldn’t be the result. I do know some clarinet players who play with a very open voicing who sound beautiful. As you said, what works, works. 🙂 Thanks for watching!
Great vids! Is the "hissing" just to get the tongue in the correct position? If so, should the throat be open or in it's natural shape?
Thank you!
This video is soooooo helpful, thank you from Japan❤
You're so welcome! Thanks for watching!
I agree, especially about the amount of mp to put inside the mouth. I see too many students following this advice from youtube teachers. This forms a very large aperture and consequently a slower air speed.
Yes. Taking too much mouthpiece requires you to bite and chew the focus and response into the sound.
So as a sax guy, this is counterintuitive. I will work on it. I'm pro sax and to a lesser extent flute, but my pitching on clarinet starts to flatten around C, and everything above D sounds flat and squeeky to me. My tone and technique is reasonable for a doubler, better than some, but clearly I've got fundamental technique issues.
A friend told me about the "gentle smile" at the mouth corners & SUDDENLY, all the throat tones of my clarinet finally came up to pitch!!! I double, so the clarinet usually sounded BAD...but not anymore! 😂 Your vid helps a lot so thanx. 😂
Wonderful! Glad it helped!
I like John's explanation of why. If you pull the corners in it really does limit the surface area of smooth lip muscle on the mouthpiece.
Definitely prefer "no captions," just speaking, you are a great speaker lol. And undoubtedly a great teacher.
Thanks for the kind words and for watching!
The "smile" embouchure can also tend to produce tightness in the throat. Per Joe Allard's single-lip method, you simply curl the lower lip over the bottom teeth with just enough effort that you cannot pull the lower lip out of position while pulling the skin immediately below your lip with your fingers. The upper lip is completely limp, and the corners are neutral. With Allard's method, air speed comes solely from the shape and position of the tongue, and you don't use the lips and cheeks to try to help control the tongue position and shape.
I agree that if the smile is overdone it can lead to tension in the throat. I am a firm believer in engaging the upper lip for control and for how it helps to open the oral cavity. Thanks for watching!
John, are you playing with a double/single lip embouchure? I really can not determine it.... some times it looks to me a double lip, some times a single lip.
Can you please provide a video for a proper embouchure not only about the mistakes?
Thank you in advance.
Dan
I’ll definitely add it to the list. I do try to practice double lip, but on the job I use single lip exclusively. Thanks for watching!
It's fascinating, how for popular saxophone it's nearly all the other way round.
Maybe that's why for both instruments there are these "suboptimal" Tipps
Hey John, can you talk about Martin Frost’s clarinet tone please? His tone is the type of tone that I am trying to achieve because it’s dark, round, and clear.
As mostly an orchestral player, I tend to gravitate towards the sounds of other orchestral players because that’s a large part of what I do for a living. However, I do believe Martin Frost is extremely talented and enjoy his performances that I have seen. Thanks for watching!
Hello to you. say that while playing you just have to close your mouth or press your lower lip horizontally or vertically
Could you comment on right hand down when moving from throat notes to the upper register, for instance that A to upper register B. Is it always bad?
Not at all. As long as you’re not playing a setup where putting your right hand down makes your throat tones too flat… check out my other video on the throat tones. 😁 Thanks for watching!
@@john.kurokawa Thanks John. I tend not to do it myself, but as an all round woodwind teacher (I know, I know) people fight with the transition. Sometimes I do it myself, like if I have 8th notes moving from throat A to C, but most of the time I don't, but folks find (me too) this transition difficult.
@@john.kurokawa Will do, you have been a great help
what a blast you are
the best
Hi, I have a question about myth #1. So essentially what my teacher taught me for embouchure was 1. say leeeee whilst spreading the corners of your mouth outward (to get the tongue in position,) then make a sharp "heee" hissing sound (to put back of tongue in position.) Then finally he told me to push inwards (towards the mouthpiece and my face) with the corners of my mouth to form this tight O. The thing is I've never really noticed my bottom lip leaving my bottom teeth when I play so is it a if it ain't broke angle or would you recommend for me to change my embouchure to fit what you said in Myth 1?
At the end of the day, if it works it works, and I’ll always advise you listen to your teacher. The question I would ask is, if you’re tying ‘corners outward’ with tongue position, wouldn’t bringing the corners in have an undesirable effect? Just wondering. Thanks for watching!
@@john.kurokawa Hi thanks for the response, you bring up a good point, honestly I'm not too sure now. I guess I'll have to do a bit of figuring things out.
@@john.kurokawa Hi thanks for the response, you bring up a good point, honestly I'm not too sure now. I guess I'll have to do a bit of figuring things out.
The air speed through the mouth is not the air speed through the reed/ mouthpiece. The tongue movement is related to embouchure effort. It has nothing to do wirh air "speed"
I’m not familiar with the use of the tongue when playing/voicing the trumpet, thus I would never offer a correction on a statement relating to it. Thanks for watching.
@@john.kurokawa my statement is still true. Irrespective of the particular instrument.
When I try the different approaches you describe, especially bottom lip closer to end of the reed, I can get no sound at all. I go back to my usual position and ll is well. I suppose it is different for different mouths. Also i cannot do thhhh with a closed embrashure. I am totally confused now
Try the Joe Allard test in the video to determine how much mouthpiece to have in your mouth. It’s not necessarily about being at the very end of the reed, it’s about having the correct amount in your mouth for YOU. We’re all different, and in teaching this for many years, experience tells me the right amount is different for everyone. Best of luck and thanks for watching!
I have been doing the paper trick for way too long, whoops!
Thank you ❤
You're welcome 😊 thanks for watching!
Hablando de afinación, las boquillas del señor Ramón a=440, o A =442, yo necesito 442
I would ask Ramón directly. I can play 442 with a shorter barrel without a problem, but usually play 440-441.
@@john.kurokawa muchas gracias por la respuesta
La receta es no apegarse a ninguna receta. Ya vi a tantos maestros afirmar tantas cosas como algo infalible y rígido que las probé y la mayoría apesta de malo, como afirmar que todos deben apuntar con su pera o mandíbula hacia abajo. No somos todos iguales. Podemos sugerir imágenes y formas nada más. NOSOTROS MISMOS TENEMOS NUESTRO MEJOR SONIDO CON NUESTRAS HERRAMIENTAS.
There's no way
You just debunked everything I was taught
And it makes a huge difference too
Glad it was helpful- thanks for watching!