Saxophone and clarinet players: look in the mirror, place the mouthpiece in your mouth with your normal embouchure and DON’T PLAY.
Look at the lips and chin surrounding the mouthpiece, start to blow air into the mouthpiece until the reed vibrates. There should be NO CHANGE in your lip, chin or face muscles from not playing to playing. If there is a clenching or tightening of the area of the face surrounding the mouthpiece, you are choking off the reed and not allowing it to vibrate properly. The reed must be free to vibrate across the tip and BOTH side rails. This will produce a more focused, rich, resonant sound full of overtones.
Mike Iapicca
Parsippany Hills High School, Morris Palins, New Jersey
