Klarinet Archive - Posting 001103.txt from 1997/10

From: Dee Hays <deerich@-----.net>
Subj: Re: Long Tones
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 1997 10:31:00 -0500

HatNYC62@-----.com wrote:

> >>By holding long tones, the embouchure gets better developed and develops
> more
> quickly then if a person only plays his etudes and band music. <<
>
> Why would this be the case? An embochure is not made to play only one note at
> a time, is it? I wish I had worked with Stanley Hasty more than one master
> class, but I do remember one thing he said very clearly. I paraphrase: anyone
> can sound good playing one note, you can barely tell the difference between a
> poor player and an outstanding player on the basis of one note. However, the
> minute in INTERVAL is produced, any and all technical and tonal deficiancies
> will be immediately exposed.
>
> >Almost all tone problems require this as a remedial exercise. <
>
> Please explain what you mean by this. What are "tone problems?"
>
> >Also, when the student plays long tones, he has more of an opportunity to
> really listen to his own sound. He / she will then make both conscious
> and subconscious adjustments to obtain a sound more pleasing to himself.<
>
> Pleasing on one note only. What if producing that one pure note involves
> using an embochure adjustment which will not allow proper registration in
> passagework? Just stirring the pot here.

Very thoughtful questions. Again as I said before, it works. But here are some
more thoughts. If your can not play with good tone on a long note, you have
little chance of good tone in passage work. Your embouchure muscles have no
"built-in" position. The long tones build "muscle memory" of good embouchure.
For most embouchure problems, it's easier to find what the problems are. Yes, in
theory every note requires a very slightly different embouchure for absolute
perfection on that note. In practice this is not a problem.

The embouchure muscles are like any other muscles. They need slow exercises as
well as fast.

Dee Hays
deerich@-----.net
Canton, SD