Klarinet Archive - Posting 000982.txt from 1998/11

From: "Kevin Fay" <kevinfay@-----.com>
Subj: [kl]
Date: Wed, 25 Nov 1998 18:23:41 -0500

Roger Garrett wrote:

<<<I wondered which absolutes I actually place on the young clarinetist?
Here is a short list:
1. Embouchure - specific structure
2. Air - lots in, lots out - and the proper way to do it
3. Hand Position - 3rd fingers straight, slightly curved fingers, etc.
4. Articulation (tip to top of reed)
5. Tone - if it isn't good, nothing else will be>>>

But for the hand position thing, perhaps (refer to other string), I
think that these are absolutes, not only for beginners, but all of
us--sorry to those who believe that everything is relative.

These are pretty basic components. Mont Arey was of the opinion that,
boiled down to essentials, clarinet playing was nothing but tone &
articulation. Stanley Hasty was even simpler, noting that tone isn't
everything, it's the only thing.

There is a relatively thin range of what most of us would consider a
"good" clarinet sound (with some additional leeway on the jazz side of
things). The variation in tone is really much narrower that what a
group of trumpet players or saxophonists would find acceptable.
(Indeed, from recordings it's hard to know if Marcel Mule and Sigurd
Rascher were even playing the same instrument). Within that narrow
range we find our "absolutes."

kjf

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