Hi guys/gals,
I've been playing the clarinet for a year and a half now, and now I started to develop this thing: my embouchure starts to hurt after playing only 15 minutes. I can push the practice for half an hour, but that's it. And since I can't practice enough, it's getting worse...
I have a Vandoren B45 mouthpiece with Gonzalez 2 3/4 reeds. Before that I used Vandoren 2.5, but that was too easy, so my teacher advised me to go for a stronger reed. I bought Vandoren 3, it was too much, so I bought the Gonz 2 3/4, but they seem to be too strong. So I went back to Vand. 2.5, and now they also tire me out in no time! I can only do long tones and a couple of scales, and basically that's it. I'm going nuts! Sometimes I just want to throw the clarinet out of the window, and the only thought that holds me back is that I know I could do more damage to it by smashing it to pieces on the wall... Yet, I pick it up every day for this miserable half hour, which is so short I don't improve at all...
Does anyone have any idea what I'm doing wrong? Should I go and get weaker reeds? Or is there any secret "Arnold's Iron Embouchure" video I don't know about?
Big thanks for your help in advance.
I've been playing the clarinet for a year and a half now, and now I started to develop this thing: my embouchure starts to hurt after playing only 15 minutes. I can push the practice for half an hour, but that's it. And since I can't practice enough, it's getting worse...
I have a Vandoren B45 mouthpiece with Gonzalez 2 3/4 reeds. Before that I used Vandoren 2.5, but that was too easy, so my teacher advised me to go for a stronger reed. I bought Vandoren 3, it was too much, so I bought the Gonz 2 3/4, but they seem to be too strong. So I went back to Vand. 2.5, and now they also tire me out in no time! I can only do long tones and a couple of scales, and basically that's it. I'm going nuts! Sometimes I just want to throw the clarinet out of the window, and the only thought that holds me back is that I know I could do more damage to it by smashing it to pieces on the wall... Yet, I pick it up every day for this miserable half hour, which is so short I don't improve at all...
Does anyone have any idea what I'm doing wrong? Should I go and get weaker reeds? Or is there any secret "Arnold's Iron Embouchure" video I don't know about?
Big thanks for your help in advance.