Klarinet Archive - Posting 000036.txt from 1994/05

From: "Calton L. Cooper Jr" <ccooper@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: Vibrato
Date: Tue, 3 May 1994 09:53:02 -0400

According to Anthony Corman:
> Those of you who do use vibrato -- how do you produce it? I
>
When I use vibrato, I believe I use very small jaw movement (I
know that's it on sax). And yes they are _very_ small. If you
weren't looking you'd probable miss it.

As to the other discussion going on about sound production, I
have to say that while construction does play a part the
resonance of the mouth and mouthpiece combination is primarily
responsible. I have come to the conclusion while doing
research for a graduate paper on the clarinet. I don't
remember the source, but I think it was primarily from the
Groves and the Groves Dictionay of Musical Instruments.
Also, if you have spent any time playing sax, it is amazing how
many different sounds you can produce using the same setup.

As for reeds, I use V-12's out of the box with minimal
finishing. I do however subscribe to a reed theory I found in
the Instrumentalist several years ago. The theory was that the
reeds need to be played in over a period of a week before any
changes are made to them.

Another contributing factor in clarinet sound is the ligature.
I play a good deal of 20th century music, and I favor a bright,
open sound. I had been using a Bonade inverted ligature for
about 10 years, but recently I ordered a Luyben ligature for a
private student. I decided to try it before I gave it to her,
and I was amazed at how much it opened up my sound! Also reeds
that were on the verge of being spent played well again.
Another of my private students was having problems squeaking,
and by changing only from his stock (el cheepo) ligature to the
$6.00 Luyben, we eliminated the problem.

--
Later,
_____
Lee Cooper ccooper@-----.edu

"It occurred to me by intuition, and music was the driving force behind
that intuition. My discovery was the result of musical perception."
Albert Einstein [in speaking about his theory of relativity]