Klarinet Archive - Posting 000792.txt from 1999/12
From: Tony@-----.uk (Tony Pay)
Subj: RE: [kl] Tschaikovsky No. 6, 1st clarinet - Responses
Date: Thu, 23 Dec 1999 11:07:46 -0500
On Thu, 23 Dec 1999 10:46:33 -0500, kkrelove@-----.com said:
> There really is no secret bullet that's gonna lick these licks. You
> need to be certain of the obvious basics:
>
> 1) Don't bite or pinch. There is an especial tendency to do this up
> high when you're tonguing - you can start bouncing your jaw up and
> down with each attack, which is absolute death in the passages you're
> talking about.
>
> 2) Do be certain you're maintaining a constant stream of air. If
> there's any tendency to puff separately on each note, they won't speak
> quickly enough and you'll either get slow or have some notes not
> respond. Make each set of sixteenths move toward the eigths that
> follow, and the conductor will probably want the eights long (but in
> tempo).
As a supplement to Karl's excellent advice, I'd say that it's worth
experimenting with both tongue position and area of reed/tongue contact.
Changing tongue position alters the resonant chamber (ie the mouth
cavity) surrounding the reed, and this changes the resonance of the
sound. You don't want it too resonant -- think of how easy an oboist
would deal with this passage -- so keep the chamber relatively small.
Then, choosing an appropriate degree of contact between reed and tongue
helps you interrupt the vibration of the reed cleanly. This vibration
is driven by the pressure difference between the inside of your mouth
and the inside of the mouthpiece, and so begins again when you 'stop
stopping' it. In the high register, the interruption is best effected
by the smallest possible area of contact and the lightest touch, whereas
in the low register a larger area is needed.
You might find:
http://www.sneezy.org/Databases/Logs/1999/09/000395.txt
helpful.
Another trick to reduce resonance, and therefore 'blurt', is to let the
embouchure 'creep' just slightly towards the tip for the whole passage.
But that might not work at all for your setup.
> 3) Be careful not to be late - to give too much time to the
> sixteenth-note rest (or the tie) that appears on the beat before each
> of those passages. The conductor will probably complain about lateness
> anyway, because it's one of those things conductors learn to complain
> about whether they hear it or not, until you're certain you're
> actually ahead of his beat, but practice with a metronome so you are
> pretty sure going in that your entrances are on time.
Something I find helpful here is to think of beginning on the beat, but
slightly later, rather than thinking of the entry as coming afterwards.
It's a very tiny change of mental emphasis, but it's significant for me.
I'd also say the passage is best played with medium to strong support.
You can use the trick of 'breathing in against abdominal flexion' to
good effect, certainly for the first entry, and for the other ones too
if you find it convenient.
For a more detailed explanation, you might find:
http://www.sneezy.org/Databases/Logs/1999/04/000785.txt
helpful.
[snip]
> No magic or funny fingerings (at least that I know about).
Nor me. But I wouldn't choose 'sharpish' fingerings, unless you find
that embouchure 'creep' lowers the pitch slightly.
Tony
--
_________ Tony Pay
|ony:-) 79 Southmoor Rd Tony@-----.uk
| |ay Oxford OX2 6RE GMN family artist: www.gmn.com
tel/fax 01865 553339
... If a man in a forest speaks and no woman hears him...is he still wrong?
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