Klarinet Archive - Posting 000300.txt from 1999/11

From: GCalzati@-----.com
Subj: [kl] Major tuning/pitch problem with student
Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 07:16:17 -0500

Hi all,

I really could use some practical advice on a problem I have never
encountered before.

I have an 8 year old clarinet student. She started playing at 7. I tried to
get her to start on an Eb clarinet because she is so tiny for her age. The
KinderKlarinet was an option also, but the man selling them said that in all
honesty they are a piece of junk. I didn't know about the Lyons clarinet and
I'm sure the mother of this girl wouldn't even have considered it for the
same reasons as the Eb.

This girl is very ambitious, absolutely LOVES the clarinet and can play notes
from the Bb2 down to A1, she has difficulty with the low G because of her
small fingers but can manage it with a lot of effort. She has good tonguing
skills, note reading skills, great rhythm skills and is playing with great
breath support.

So, after all that background, here is our major problem:

My students have a concert coming up that they are all preparing for and this
girl will be grossly out of tune. Her playing is a half step pitch under. I
have tried having her adjust her embouchure, experimented by changing
barrels, even had her play on my clarinet. We still arrived at the same
result. Next week we will experiment with a harder reed and different
mouthpiece.

Does anyone know how to solve this problem? Our concert takes place on the
28th of this month. It is for the general public so I want it to sound the
absolute best it can.

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks so much,
Georgette Calzati

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