Last night I went to our local community orchestra’s practice, trusty old clarinet in hand. Of course my playing was a bit rough since I hadn’t played the thing is well over twenty years… but, it was fun and I thought- "it’s coming back to me, I can do this.
Today my teeth reminded me of why I had to get braces in my mid twenties- all that biting on the mouthpiece for hours on end. I’m not about to jeopardized my recent dental work to play clarinet. Particularly since it was never my instrument of choice, but my penance for playing oboe. Since I don’t own an oboe, playing that is not an option.
Here I was, all set to see if I could find an old bass clarinet, which I think would be fun, but that dang mouthpiece is the same…
I can’t stand to be defeated by this. I am in major crisis/depression mode.
Oh I don’t mean to play…I can’t make a sound on an oboe anyway.
I can work on a flute…no big deal.
Piccolo is a touchy/testy little beast just because the pads are so small and the tolerances are so tight. I can work on 'em but I don’t…in much the same way as I could do long division in my head in my spare time, and yet choose not to.
But oboe…
The keywork on an oboe is a cthulhuoid nightmare. Try to adjust one linkage and the whole damn thing goes out of whack and you may spend hours trying to get it back as good as it was before you touched it.
So, those of you who can actually play these things, I have quite a lot of respect for you.
And those few who can actually work on the g-dd-mn things, you have my lasting respect…you are the steely-eyed missile men of the music world.
A long time ago in college I took an instrument repair class. There was an oboe. It wasn’t in good shape before I started on it, and I’m reasonably sure I didn’t improve it any.
Hey, Cowtime, before you give up on an instrument you love–a totally unacceptable thing, in my opinion–try something, will you?
This will sound a bit odd, but humor me. Starting with your reed very well soaked, turn the barrel and/or mouthpiece so that it’s sideways, 90 degrees off normal; in other words, the reed’s pointed roughly at your armpit instead of your belly button.
Now, put it in your mouth, form your embouchure, and try to get the reed to sound by squeezing sideways. It might take some practice, but you can do it unless your mouth is horrendously malformed or something.
Once you can make a reasonably clear, at least semi-controlled sound, turn the mouthpiece back to its normal position. Put it in your mouth and–now, here’s the important part–play with your mouth the same way as when you had the reed sideways. Don’t bite down; there should be almost no pressure pushing on the reed. Concentrate on squeezing from the corners.
See, the key to playing the clarinet without damaging your dental work and/or moutpiece is to squeeze sideways. Firm corners, nice padded lips.
Try it. If that doesn’t make sense, let me know and I’ll try again. I am a terrible clarinet player myself, and this little exercise was given to me by another teacher. If I do it occasionally I actually quit sounding like I’m torturing a cat. I can play those wonderful rich low notes without squeaking. I can cross the break. The world is a beautiful place, full of wonder and goodness.
Thanks for the idea Badger…I’m gonna try it. I HATE defeat.
I spent some time last night looking at other mouthpieces. I’ve got the original and then a Boozy&Hawkes that I got while still playing in school. I wonder-and please correct me if I’m wrong) if a shorter facing mouthpiece might help- since I read that it relies more on breath control than mouth pressure on those high notes… what do you think?
Of course if I find your suggestion works then my old mouthpiece will do fine.
If you have any other suggestions, let fly. It’s been so long since I played it’s almost like I’m starting over.
Well, you’ve got the right attitude. It works for a lot of people. Let me know.
If it doesn’t work, let me know that too (I’ll probably suggest finding a teacher locally to work with you–did I mention I’m a really terrible clarinet player?)
Above all, there’s really no reason you should have to quit. Clarinet and (normal) dental work are not incompatible unless you’ve got something wrong with your embouchure.
Good luck and keep us posted!
Tom
edit: The mouthpiece, in my experience and understanding, can change your sound quality and make certain notes sound better/worse. But getting your mouth right is going to do more for you than any change of mouthpiece.
Also, you might try a different reed. I like a 2 1/2 or medium soft for beginners.
I may be wrong, and cowtime, please correct me if I am, but I got from the original post that the problem was that the clarinet (not her preferred instrument) exacerbated displacement of her front teeth, resulting in enough problems that she had to have orthodontic treatment for her bite, and that because she doesn’t currently own an oboe (her preferred instrument), she was having to settle for playing the clarinet in order to play in the orchestra like she wishes… but upon practicing the clarinet again, is immediately reminded that it affects her bite, and is loathe to allow that to happen. That makes me think that getting an oboe is a better solution than risking highly costly and uncomfortable disruption of her orthodontic health.
So, since oboe is what she wants to play, and it doesn’t require the dental disruption, it seems that, despite thier relative rarity, the ideal solution would be to get hands on an oboe. Surely it’s within the vast reach of this community to locate one.
They make pad things that stick to the top of sax and claranet mouthpieces and apparently make it easier on the teath. I don’t know if they’d help you, but you might want to look into them.
I twisted the mouthpiece to about 45degrees and it worked if I also balanced the weight of the horn on something other than just my thumb. ! I did not clamp down with my teeth to hit a high note. Yaaay. I’ve ordered a neck strap to see if that will also help. I’m gonna try it some more in a little while. I am also going to get some 2 1/2 reeds and see if that helps. All my old ones are higher and they are very very old.
Annie- you are correct. Clarinet is not my instrument of choice, it’s just what I have and use to know how to play well back in the day. I do love oboe but have no funds to buy one right now. That’s why I’m fighting this clarinet. I want to play with the orchestra, and it is now becoming a challenge. But, if I find that I can’t retrain myself to NOT bite that mouthpiece then I will have to call it quits.
PA, I am going to try the pad thingy. Thanks for the tip.
I am giving up on this clarinet in utter disgust. Here I’ve been worrying about my embouchure and now- I spent a good long while this afternoon looking at the music we are to learn. All but one piece are in E Major I can’t tell you how much time I spent figuring out alternate fingerings because the usual ones wouldn’t work in combination. It dawned on me - this is gonna take a lot of time due to these weird fingerings due to the weird key sig. I am not spending that much time learning stuff on a horn I never really liked.
If I find something else to play, I’ll persevere- otherwise, nah, I’ll just play my piano more.
I’m reminded of the words of W. C. Field:
“It at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. If you still don’t succeed, quit. There’s no use being a darned fool about it.”
Hi Cowtime, as a trumpet player, I would encourage you to defect from the woodwind section and join a real section. You can also check out the percussion section. Since you can read music and count, you’d be miles ahead of the other percussionists.
In all seriousness, I hope you can find a way to make it work. I’ve been tooting for 33 years since I first picked it up in 4th grade. It’s still a big part of my life, whether playing in the band, in small ensembles, in church, or just solo. I know it would be disappointing to give it up.
That’s exactly what I’ve decided to do- my brother suggested the same- he’s played percussion with this orchestra for years and says they don’t have enough percussionists to play all the parts. I’m just gonna leave the clarinet at home and take my Scottish tenor drum to practice. Maybe one day I’ll get hold of an oboe or bass clarinet but until then…
I am giving up on this clarinet in utter disgust. Here I’ve been worrying about my embouchure and now- I spent a good long while this afternoon looking at the music we are to learn. All but one piece are in E Major 
