Klarinet Archive - Posting 000380.txt from 1998/03

From: Roger Shilcock <roger.shilcock@-----.uk>
Subj: Re: Altimetry register
Date: Fri, 6 Mar 1998 14:44:03 -0500

Cynthia:
Do you mean "G'' / A''" or the octave higher (throughout)??
If you use the RH F/C key for the A''' rather than the A flat/ flat key, I
think you will find the note easier to sustain - it can be a bit awkward
to slur to, if you ever need to, though. The A''' is a flat 7th harmonic;
the G''' can be all sorts of things, as there are tens of fingerings for
it. This is probably the reason for the remark about a "break".
Roger Shilcock

On Thu, 5 Mar 1998, Cynthia M. Lee wrote:

> Date: Thu, 5 Mar 1998 21:24:37 +0100
> From: "Cynthia M. Lee" <cle-ork@-----.no>
> Reply-To: klarinet@-----.us
> To: klarinet@-----.us
> Subject: Altimetry register
>
> I need some help and advice. And I can think of no better place to turn to
> than the klarinet list. I am having a difficult time with the altissimo
> register.
>
> Perhaps a little background would be helpful. I played clarinet through
> high school, then took a 20 year hiatus to work as a chemical engineer. I
> have rediscovered my love of the clarinet two years ago. I play in a local
> community musikkorps in Norway. I started serious study with a really good
> clarinet teacher 6 months ago. My teacher focuses on the fundamentals of
> tone and technique, though the daily ritual of long tones, followed by
> scales, broken arrpegios, etudes, articulation and trills. I am using
> Rudolf Jettel's, "Klarinetten-Schule". I play a Buffet Prestige RC with a
> Vandoren B45. mpc with Vandoren Optima ligature and Vandoren V12 3-1/2
> reeds. My teacher and I are very pleased with my tone, and my technique is
> slowly improving.
>
> My problem is playing 4th's, 5ths, 6ths, etc. back and forth from the
> clarion register to the altissimo register. In particular, a'' and d'''
> tend to jump up to notes above g'''. I generally have to tongue the note
> to get it back down to the proper note. My teacher tells me that I must
> focus the air stream directly down the clarinet with lots of support from
> my abdomen. He also tells me to try and "think" the note without changing
> the direction of the air column or the embouchure. I feel that I am doing
> that. I have what I feel is a really good tone when playing long tones and
> straight scales to g'''. When I start broken arpeggios through the entire
> range, the problems begin. My teacher mentioned that the is a break
> between g'' and a'', and that is part of the problem.
>
> Needless to say it is a little frustrating. I know that I am at a plateau
> on my learning curve, and my teacher says that I must work through this
> period. Practice, practice, practice... I do practice at least an hour
> every day, (more on weekends, but I still have to make a living in the
> engineering world) I have the same problem on my old E-11 clarinet, so the
> problem is me.
>
> Also any good fingerings for a'''? All my fingering charts show the same
> fingering for e''' and a'''.
>
> Any thoughts, ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. My
> neighbors would probably pay a handsome sum...
>
> By the way, football in Norway is soccer, and so there is no half-time show
> and thus no marching band. We do march in parades however, every 17th of
> May, which is Norway's independence day. We also march during a weekend
> long gathering of area bands, which we call "musik stevne". Every band
> marches throughout the town, playing marches. The public turns out in
> great numbers, just to hear the marches. Each band also performs an
> outdoor concert and an indoor concert. Nothing but great fun and
> entertainment. Every little town and village in Norway has a musikkorps
> and thus a significant number of the population, both adults and students,
> are involved in music. The only motive is the love of music and
> fellowship. Just a little perspective from outside the US.
>
> hilsen
>
> Cynthia Lee
>
>
>