Clarinet and saxophone embouchures and the “chin”

ByBret Pimentel

The chin is much-discussed in clarinet pedagogy. Keith Stein suggests a “stretching” of the chin, making it feel “long and pointed” and “rather hard.” David Pino, a student of Stein’s, echoes this. Jane Ellsworth describes a chin that is “drawn downward” (while the jaw provides a “controlled” “upward pressure.” Michele Gingras advocates a “flat” chin. Bil Jackson indicates that the chin “flattens naturally” when the lip configuration and voicing are correct. Tom Ridenour explains that the chin should be “down and flat” and that this happens “virtually automatically” as a result of proper voicing.

The chin gets somewhat less attention in saxophone teaching, but some pedagogical examples can be found. Larry Teal indicates that the “chin muscles” should support the lower lip (as the jaw drops downward), and Timothy McAllister agrees. Tracy Heavner recommends that the chin muscles be “held flat against the chin” with a sensation of those muscles “pushing … down and away from the body.” Brian Utley advocates a “firm but relaxed [chin] position.”

Most of these sources seem to generally agree that the “chin” (or something) must be flattened or stretched or firmed in some way. Let’s look more closely at exactly what is being described, and how it does or doesn’t differ from the clarinet to the saxophone.

“Chin” is probably not a specific enough term for our purposes. Is it a bony structure? a muscular one? The pedagogical literature is rather unclear and contradictory about exactly how the “chin” moves, and even whether it is actively engaged or whether its movement is a result of some other thing moving.

Additionally, there is a common misconception in single-reed teaching that the lower lip forms a “cushion,” without which the teeth would contact the reed. This creates an embouchure that is formed by pressure from the jaw, with the lips serving passively as a gasket, and the lower lip taking quite a bit of abuse from the lower teeth.

A better way to form the embouchure is to bring the jaw (and teeth, and chin) down, away from the reed, and allow the muscles of the lips to form the embouchure. This moves the effort from the larger, stronger jaw muscles to the smaller but more supple muscles of the lips (of the citations above, Teal’s describes this the most clearly). For early beginners (or those who have played for many years with unnecessary jaw pressure and the resulting shredded lower lip) it may be necessary to gradually develop a little endurance in those muscles.

Taking this approach, it becomes clear that the pointing/stretching/whatever, which is actually mostly jaw movement, must be more extreme for the clarinet than for the saxophone, to accommodate the clarinet’s steeper angle.

Left: clarinet jaw position (more open). Right: saxophone jaw position (less open).
Left: clarinet jaw position (more open). Right: saxophone jaw position (less open). Note that the lower teeth clear the reed; the lip will rise to meet the reed and form a muscle-based (rather than jaw/teeth-based) embouchure.

However, the chin area does have muscles, too, and these play an additional role. The lower lip has an acoustical damping effect on the reed, which plays a role in response, tone quality, and volume. Pulling the muscles around the chin downward around its bony structure (this is independent of jaw movement!) firms the lip slightly, reducing the damping. Allowing the muscles to relax softens the lip, increasing the damping. To take an oversimplified view of one aspect of this, we could say generally that the smaller clarinet requires a slightly firmer lip (and thus less damping) to accommodate its higher frequencies (pitches), while the larger saxophone needs less firmness (more damping) to accommodate its lower ones. Note that firmness of the lower lip should not be confused with overall embouchure “tightness.”

Understanding better the anatomical and acoustical aspects of the “chin” (and, of course, the skeletal and muscular systems that combine there) lead to clearer, more accurate teaching and better single reed playing.

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    Fingering awkwardness. The clarinet’s fingering system and unique overtone series provide tremendous advantages: an expansive range, clean and precise technique, and lots of useful alternate fingerings. (It’s superior to the saxophone’s “easier” system with awkward palm keys and relatively few alternates. Fight me.)

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    Ledger line catastrophes. Because of the clarinet’s broad tessitura, clarinetists have to be fluent in ledger lines above the staff (maybe more than you’re used to if you’re an oboist) and below the staff (more than you’re used to on any treble-clef woodwind). Hit the Baermann or Kroepsh books for thorough workouts spanning the clarinet’s range.

    Remember the best money you can spend on your clarinet playing isn’t another mouthpiece or barrel or book—it’s some lessons with an excellent teacher. Learn the instrument on its own terms, and, whatever you do, try not to sound like a doubler.

4 Comments

  1. <>

    Hi Bret, I enjoy the breadth of your blog. I believe that a careful study of the physics involved demonstrates that the lips are a gasket exactly, regardless of how the structure is “believed”. The common misconception is actually that the lower lip need take any “abuse” from the teeth. The single reed embouchure (single or double lipped) is fundamentally different than the double reed embouchure. In holding single reed the same principle as holding a pencil (and the same muscular exertion) is employed. The abdominal muscles controlling the air stream and the jaw muscles manipulating the distance between the reed and the mouthpiece are the two factors involved in single reed sound production. The reed is controlled by the amount of pressure, the location of pressure and the speed and volume of air.
    I usually don’t comment in this sort of forum, but you do some nice academic work here and I appreciate the effort. I don’t mean to engage in controversy, and I freely admit I got most of this from Joe Allard years ago, but the most simple solution is often the most effective.

    Reply

  2. I never was able to produce the flat chin demanded by my clarinet teacher back in my school days. Years later, after hours in front of mirrors or just sitting around trying to form the desired shape, I’ve decided the relative positions of my jaw and teeth result in it being physically impossible for me to get a textbook flat chin. Maybe it’s a good thing I had no aspirations to be a pro!

    Bad things happen if I try to play clarinet with a sax embouchure or vice versa. My clarinet embouchure is firmer, especially just below the corners of the mouth. The area at the front of the chin is firmer. I especially notice the differences when I brush up on doubles I play less commonly, such as soprano sax, bari sax or bass clarinet. I’m not sure if it’s the result of different muscles being used or the same muscles being set in a different position.

    Think of the effect of mouthpiece angle, what is your recommended angle for a straight soprano sax? It seems to me the angle has to be between that of the lower saxes, but higher than the clarinet.

    Reply

    1. I can’t see any (tone-production-related) reason for the angle on a straight soprano to be different from that of a curved soprano, or any other saxophone for that matter.

      Reply
  3. Pingback: Why You Might Be Struggling To Play The Clarinet – ScionAv

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