Bandmasters Review - September 2019

Texas Bandmasters Association Bandmasters Review • September 2019 21 with the thumb and two fingers on the octave key. The students should form the embouchure first and then become a statue with their head level. The bottom lip should not be over the teeth prior to inserting the mouthpiece (the students should be able to talk while forming the embouchure). To better understand this, the students can form the embouchure and then place the index finger on the bottom lip to feel how the back of the lip will fold over the bottom teeth. Place the reed on the bottom lip and the back part of the lip will fold over the bottom teeth as the reed slides in until the top of the mouthpiece hits the top teeth. The students should use air to start the tone and articulation should not be discussed at this time. The best way to determine if a student has the correct amount of mouthpiece in the mouth is to listen for free vibrations of the reed. When the sound starts to spread or squeaks occur, the student generally has too much mouthpiece in their mouth. If the reed does not vibrate easily, the student may not have enough mouthpiece in the mouth, or they could be biting. Students must understand that the top of the mouthpiece must be anchored and that there will be some pressure into the top teeth. The cheeks should not puff on clarinet, and if the corners are anchored to the teeth, air cannot get into the cheeks. It is fine if the cheeks puff slightly on saxophone, because this helps to produce a darker, more velvety saxophone sound. The clarinets should produce a F# or flat G on the mouthpiece and barrel. On saxophone, do not worry about a pitch on the mouthpiece/neck. You do not want to push the mouthpiece too far on the cork, because if the cork is compressed too much it will have to be replaced. Just listen for an open tone quality and free vibrations instead of listening for a specific pitch. Make sure you teach the vowel sound at the initial stages of tone production. Clarinet should use an “eee” vowel sound and saxophone should use an “ooo” vowel sound. Some of the main issues I see pertaining to tone production are: • Too much lip over the bottom teeth, which leaves too much lip touching the reed and the reed cannot vibrate freely. • Not anchoring to the top teeth. • Using reeds that are too hard. If the sound is airy or harsh, the reed may be too hard, and this can also make the students bite. • Trying to use a clarinet embouchure on the saxophone or vice versa. They are not the same! Once the students are comfortable producing a sound on the mouthpiece, start discussing instant sound, steady sound and natural ending so they become aware of the ultimate goal. • Instant Sound - No pause, air or extraneous noise • Steady, Constant Sound - demonstrate correct and incorrect • Natural Ending - Explain by demonstrating how the sound ends when singing. Tell the students to just stop blowing and make sure the tongue does not touch the reed to stop the sound. When you are ready to start producing a sound on the entire instrument, start each day on the mouthpiece/ barrel/neck and then move to the instrument. For the first few days, YOU place the instrument and then eventually transition to the students doing it themselves. On clarinet, have the student hold the instrument with the right hand in correct hand position with the fingers down and hold the barrel with the thumb and two fingers of the left hand to insert the mouthpiece. The first note should be a G with the right hand down. As the students become comfortable and consistent in producing the G in this manner, have them start the note and then take the left Single Reed Success ( Part 1 ) To get the most out of this article, download “Single Reed Success” by Greg Countryman from the 2019 TBA Convention/Clinic. The handout can be found on the TBA website: www.texasbandmasters.org. Select Resources / Publication Archives / Convention Handouts / “Single Reed Success”