Klarinet Archive - Posting 000143.txt from 1995/04

From: Neil Leupold <Neil_Leupold@-----.COM>
Subj: RE>Poser......
Date: Mon, 10 Apr 1995 20:59:39 -0400

intouch Reply 4/10/95
Subject:RE>Poser...... 5:00 PM
Jeremy Krider wrote:

"Excerises for the tongue, anyone?"

Exercises for the tongue involve many other aspects of clarinet technique (the
air column, most predominantly), but the fundamental tenet for proper
articulation technique resides in physical relaxation. It is impossible to
effect clear articulation when the tongue (which is just another muscle) is
tense. While not set in stone as a rule, it is highly recommeded that tonguing
exercises be performed in conjunction with a metronome, in order to develop
rhythmic sensitivity, as well as to guage one's progress in the quest for even,
accurate, and rapid articulation.

One possible exercise: Set your metronome at around 50 beats per minute, where
each beat is a quarter note. This is a legato exercise, intended to develop
sensitivity between the tip of the tongue and the tip of the reed. Begin with
a full breath, tonguing one note per beat on, say, throat G (or throat E for
stability, if you like) for as long as you can sustain the note. Attempt to
create as smooth a connection as possible between each repetition of the note,
allowing the tip of the tongue to merely brush gently across the tip of the
reed, creating as miniscule a separation as possible between each rendering of
the note. Do this exercise a couple of times, taking in a full breath each
time and playing the study until you run out of air. Attempt to sustain the
note with the air, allowing the tongue to "ride" on the stream of air, as
relaxed as possible.

Performing a slow exercise such as the one above will allow you to concentrate
separately on a number of different aspects pertaining to well-defined
articulation:

* The tip of the tongue should not be very far from the tip of the reed
* The same area of the tongue's tip should strike the reed _every single time_
* The tongue should be raised in the back, focusing the air stream, allowing
the air to relax the tongue muscle (which means you're supporting amply from

the diaphragm) and sustain the vibration of the reed without any distortion
of sound with each release of the tongue from the reed
* The embouchure must be firmly set (not tense, mind you), such that the reed
is allowed to vibrate evenly and without inhibition

MOST important:
* The AIR initiates and sustains the sound - not the tongue. This is why it's

so important to relax the tongue - in order to allow the air to do its work.

If the tongue is tense, that tension will carry over into the embouchure
(and
vice versa), interfering with vibration of the reed and frustrating the
player.

It is common knowledge that articulation studies also have a remedial effect on
a weak or poorly defined embouchure. Basically stated, it's impossible to
effect a good staccatto when the embouchure is improperly or inadequately
developed. Interestingly, the simply act of articulation studies has a way of
exercising the muscles of the embouchure, as well as conditioning one to
properly focus the air stream in order to effect the most desirable
articulation style.

Another possible exercise: Set the metronome between 50 and 60 beats per
minute, where each beat is a quarter note. This whole exercise should be
played in the key of C, with no accidentals. Starting on chalumeau C (below
the staff), slur from C to G in 16th notes (as if you were playing the scale)
and back down again. Upon arrival at C again, play it staccatto and reverse
direction, ascending up the first five notes of the scale STACCATTO, and
staccatto back down again. You are, in effect, playing up and down the first
five notes of the scale - legato the first time, staccato the second. When
descending the scale the second time, in staccato, do not continue all the way
back down to C again. Instead, stop at D and use it as a new starting point.
When you reach D on your staccatto descent, play it twice - once staccatto as a
completion of the first scale, and then play it legato as the starting point of
a new scale beginning on that note. All of this should be done in tempo.

The logic behind playing a scale segment legato first, and THEN staccatto, is
that you are first acquainting yourself with the sensation of allowing the
notes to be created and sustained solely by the air column. Repeating the
segment staccatto is merely an introduction of an interruptive mechanism to the
reed (not the air!), wherein the reed is momentarily prevented from vibrating,
but the air column remains CONSTANT. This is crucial. Allow the air to do the
work, sustaining the note, sustaining the vibration of the reed, and allowing
the tongue to relax as it moves ever-so-slightly forward (assuming it isn't
very far from the reed tip to begin) and lightly brushes across the tip of the
reed to halt its vibration for a fraction of a milisecond.

Continue the exercise from chalumeau to clarion C, and then back down again,
five notes at a time.

If you're wondering where I got all of this from, the exercises are from my
teacher. The logic and rationale behind them were gleaned purely by
experience, by doing the exercises consistently and understanding their worth
as my articulation technique developed. All aspects of clarinet technique
ultimately come down to physical relaxation, as facilitated by proper use of
the air supply, which in turn fuels the rest of the technical mechanism of
clarinet playing. I'm rusty nowadays, but the above exercises, in combination
with a balanced approach to technical development in all areas, enabled me to
reach a smooth, effortless, and (perhaps most relevant) sustainable
articulation speed of 160 - single tongue. I'm doing those exercises now, and
expect to regain proper and refined articulation technique in a very short
period of time.

- Neil