How to Form the Clarinet Embouchure

Hopefully, you've figured out how to put your clarinet together, hold it, and you are now ready to figure out how to play! If not, refer to my guides on how to hold your clarinet and put it together. The following guide is goes over how to form the clarinet embouchure (the proper formation of the facial muscles used to play an instrument), and how to use it to play the clarinet.

What to do:

1. Before you play, make sure you soak your reed, either in your mouth, or in a small container of water. Somewhere around 5 minutes should be good. Be careful that the reed does not become waterlogged. Once the reed is ready, place it on the mouthpiece.

2. Cover your bottom teeth with your bottom lip.

3. Place the mouthpiece in your mouth, and make sure your bottom teeth are not touching the reed. They should be covered with the bottom lip.

4. Place your top teeth on the top of the mouthpiece.

5. Firm the muscles around your mouth, and blow! Make sure all of your air goes into the instrument, and not out the sides of your mouth.

Finer points of the clarinet embouchure

The clarinet embouchure can be very similar to the saxophone embouchure. However, there are some key differences. A good clarinet embouchure includes the following:

1. Lower lip- Do not cover your lower teeth with too much of your lip. You should put just enough lower lip over your teeth to prevent your teeth from touching the reed. This should amount to less than half of your lower lip.

2. Corners- The corners of your mouth should be firm, and very slightly pulled back. Do not over exaggerate pulling your corners back, you do not want to look like you are smiling.

3. Chin - You chin should be flat, drawn down, and pointed.

4. Mouthpiece- To figure out how much mouthpiece should go in your mouth, check to see if your reed is sealing on the mouthpiece. To do this, make sure the reed is damp, and on the mouthpiece. Place your palm flat against the open end of the mouthpiece, and while doing so, suck out all of the air in the mouthpiece with your mouth. When you release the mouthpiece, you should here a pop sound. When your reed and mouthpiece do this, take a piece of paper, and slip it in between the reed and the mouthpiece. The point at which the paper stops, is the point where the reed and mouthpiece meet. This is the point that should be directly over your bottom teeth when you play.

Common Problems:

1. Too much mouthpiece- If you sound honky, have poor control, or the higher notes drop down an octave, you may be taking too much mouthpiece. Try less. Refer to #4 under the finer points section.

2. Too little mouthpiece- If your sound is pinched, small, or the lower notes jump up, you may be taking to little mouthpiece. Try a little more. Refer to #3 under the finer points section.

3. Biting- This is a common problem among beginners. The sound may be pinched, respond poorly, or lower notes may be jumping up. In severe cases, you may be choking off the reed entirely resulting in no sound at all. The proper saxophone embouchure does not clamp down on the mouthpiece as if you were chewing. Think of your mouth as a rubberband or drawstring closing in around all sides around the mouthpiece. This will put your mouth in more of an O shape.

4. Teeth on the reed- Make sure you cover your bottom teeth with your bottom lip! Teeth on the reed will result in squeaks. And lots of them!

5. No teeth on the top of the mouthpiece- Remember, the top teeth need to be placed on the top of the mouthpiece. Not doing this will result in a loss of control.

6. Puffy cheeks- This can be especially problematic with beginning clarinet players. Make sure everything is firm (lips, mouth, corners, chin). This well alleviate the puffing cheeks. Also make sure you are not biting down on the mouthpiece, this will create even more back-pressure while you play.

If you are just starting to play, remember that you are exercising new muscles in your face (unless you have played another instrument). It is common to become fatigued after a short time. Build your practice time slowly. In addition, it is also common for the bottom lip to become calloused from playing. When this happens, you will find that it becomes easier to play for longer periods of time without the bottom lip hurting.

Also, this is just a guide to forming the saxophone embouchure. There are still plenty of skills to be learned as you begin playing. The next skill that should be learned is how to tongue. Refer to my guide on How to Tongue on Single Reed Instruments for further instruction.