Klarinet Archive - Posting 000561.txt from 1996/09

From: Neil Leupold <nleupold@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: soft pallate and clarinet playing
Date: Wed, 25 Sep 1996 07:00:45 -0400

On Tue, 24 Sep 1996, GREG BAKER wrote:

> Is it possible to raise the soft pallate while playing
> clarinet? Does it rise automatically, even if the muoth is closed? What
> difference would (or does) it make to the tone of the instrument?

Yes, it is possible to raise the soft palate while playing clarinet. It
does not rise automatically when the mouth is closed, but can be
conditioned to do so by practicing the pronunciation of a certain
vowel while playing. Raising the soft palate is the technique by which a
clarinetist typically focuses the sound. What one often hears from
beginning players is an airy, flabby, and frequently flat quality of
sound when they play - something remediable by teaching them to support
the tone with ample abdominal pressure, coupled with a raised soft palate
to focus the supported air stream.

Being able to focus the air stream is absolutely vital to achieving a
centered tone which will project well at any dynamic. Beginning players
often equate air quantity with volume and projection, so they blow more
air into their instruments (and faster) in order raise the decibel level.
Focusing the air stream also has the effect of facilitating proper
intonation, as well as good connections between adjacent and disjunct
groups of notes. And the higher in frequency range one plays the
instrument, the more important air focus becomes. It is virtually
impossible to play with proper intonation and a full centered tone in the
alitissimo range when using a diffused and unfocused air stream. Perhaps
the most concentrated verbage to use in describing the effect of a raised
soft palate - and therefore a focused air stream - is that it facilitates
the consistently even and efficient vibration of the reed, which affects
all of the areas noted above.

How to play with a raised soft palate? The idea is to maintain firmness
but relaxation in the embouchure, while simultaneously raising the back
of the tongue and the soft palate. The embouchure should retain its
"ooh" shape, where the upper lip and sides of the mouth press inward and
the chin is directed downward away from the reed. That's easy enough to
achieve. In order to maintain a proper embouchure while focusing the air
stream, try "mouthing" the letter E in the back of your mouth while
forming the syllable "ooh" with your lips. First sing "Eeeeee...", and
then form the "ooh" with your lips while still singing "e" with the back
of your tongue. It has the effect of pronouncing the syllable "eew".
Blow a well-supported air stream across the reed while pronouncing this
vowel/syllable. Practice achieving the unique sensation which accompanies
playing this manner, and pay attention to how it affects the quality of
your sound.

What the duality of the "eew" syllable illustrates is that we are actually
possessed of two "embouchures". The external embouchure consists of all of
the facial muscles, which are more numerous and powerful than most people
realize (take a look at a physiology textbook diagram of the facial muscles
some time - it's pretty impressive). The "internal" embouchure is made up of
the oral cavity itself, influenced by the shape of the tongue in the
mouth while playing, as well as by the configuration of the throat and
soft palate. If playing with the "eew" syllable doesn't work right away,
try doing it while playing on a double-lip embouchure. For some, the
double-lip embouchure has the effect of raising that soft palate all by
itself because the oral cavity is automatically enlarged and the only way
to create a sound is with a focused air stream. I had a colleague at
Southern Methodist University who revamped his entire playing technique,
adapting his embouchure to the double-lip style on a permanent basis
precisely because of this natural quality to open up the oral cavity,
prevent pinching of the reed by the jaw, and focus the air. That person
now studies with Richard Stoltzman at the New England Conservatory of
Music, in pursuit of his Master's degree in clarinet performance. This
is only a suggestion that the double-lip technique be used for remedial
purposes, but many find it beneficial enough to make the switch on a
permanent basis.

Good luck to you.

Neil