Klarinet Archive - Posting 000769.txt from 2000/08

From: "Ed Maurey" <edsshop@-----.ca>
Subj: Re: [kl] Beethoven 8th 3rd Movement Solos
Date: Thu, 24 Aug 2000 09:57:26 -0400

Ken,
That was was simply magnificent.
Ed Maurey
----- Original Message -----
From: <MVinquist@-----.com>
Subject: [kl] Beethoven 8th 3rd Movement Solos

> I began this as an answer to a fingering question, and it grew to this.
> Comments, anyone?
>
> Dennis wrote:
> -------------------------------
> I am practicing the first clarinet part to the Third movement of
Beethoven's
> Sym. #8. The part calls for the High G (4 ledger lines above the staff) to
be
> played PP. I was wondering if anyone knew an alternate fingering to
> make this note just pop out. I have checked the charts on this site but
> haven't found anything. Thanks for reading my problem and helping.
>
>
> Dennis -
>
> Your question has a (fairly) simple answer. Most people use the following
> fingering, particularly for the leap from B to high G in the second solo:
>
> TR 1 - - | 4 5 - Eb
>
> That is, use your left index finger rather than your left middle finger.
This
> is actually a better note than the standard fingering -- more stable,
better
> in tune, better tone, easier to get to from the G below, and not that
> much harder to get to from the altissimo D below.
>
> If that fingering is too bright, a more covered alternative is:
>
> TR 1 - 3 | 4 - 6 Eb
>
> If these are too hard to get to from the D in the first solo, try:
>
> TR - 2 - | 4 - 6 Eb or
>
> TR - 2 3 | 4 5 - Eb (though this tends to be loud) or
>
> TR - 2 3 | 4 - 6 Eb (doesn't work on all instruments)
>
> See Tom Ridenour's altissimo fingering book, which has over a dozen
> fingerings for high G, with excellent descriptions of the sound, tuning
and
> stability of each.
>
> However, your question is like pulling a thread that unravels the whole
> garment. I know you just want to get out those high Gs reliably, but
there's
> a lot more you need to understand to play the solos well, and I'll have to
go
> back to the very beginning to start the explanation. So, here we go.
>
> GET THE FULL-SIZE FULL SCORE
>
> You need to have the full score in front of you when you practice this
> movement. You simply can't understand what's happening if you don't. If
you
> play out of an excerpt book, or even off the complete 1st Clarinet part,
you
> miss essential things. In particular, you see a bunch of solos,
> some 3-4 measures long, and some only 3 notes long. The impulse is to
neglect
> the short ones and think of each of the longer ones separately. Nothing
could
> be further from what's actually going on.
>
> Get the full size score. Really! It's cheap in the Dover edition, and you
> can't do without it. The miniature score is too small to read off of as
you
> play. Turn off your computer and go get it, now!
>
> ***********************************************************
>
> So. You're back. With the score. REALLY!
>
> The first thing to do is listen to a recording of the complete symphony,
> following along in the score. When you do, you will recognize the most
> important thing about the Beethoven 8th:
>
> THE SYMPHONY IS A BUNCH OF JOKES
>
> The Beethoven 8th is a giant, rather elephantine comedy.
>
> The first movement is jolly and outgoing.
>
> The second movement, with its tick-tick opening, is a tribute to Maelzel's
> metronome, which had only recently been invented. When done right, it's
> laugh-out-loud funny, with rat-a-tat-tat repeated chords and bits that
> double, then triple, then quadruple in speed, ending with frantic
32nd-note
> scrubbing in the strings.
>
> The third movement is marked "Tempo di Minuetto." That is, it's not a real
> minuet, but only the speed of a minuet. The first part is a sort of
> anti-minuet, full of cross-beats and false entrances. There's no "dance"
here
> -- just snarling trumpets and banging timpani. It's gruff and vigorous --
a
> match for the second movement.
>
> A minuet, of course, has a "trio" section, which is always more relaxed
and
> usually a bit slower than the first part. And that's what happens here.
The
> trio begins with a horn duet, sweet and velvety. Then you join in. After
> that, it goes back to the beginning. (More on this later.)
>
> The fourth movement finale is a mad dash, with short phrases ricocheting
> around, bassoons blatting, trumpets screaming and the free for all at the
> end.
>
> Thus, the trio section of the third movement is the only place in the
whole
> symphony where things relax, and it's up to you and the horn players to
make
> this happen.
>
> IT'S NOT A GROUP OF SOLOS.
> IT'S A SINGLE SOLO WITH 3 SOLOISTS -- YOU AND 2 HORNS.
>
> When you look at the excerpt book, or even at the 1st clarinet part, you
see
> a bunch of solos, some of them just 3-note ascending scales. It's easy to
> play them as if they mean nothing, and when you look only at the part, or
> practice them alone, it's nearly impossible to do anything more. However,
all
> those solos are part of a single line and must be played that way.
>
> You are one of 3 soloists -- you and 2 horns. And it's the horns that take
> the lead. Your job is to both match them and contrast with them. Only by
> listening to and playing with the horns can the 3 of you do your job of
> knitting all those little bits into a coherent fabric.
>
> The best possible way to work this out is to get together with a couple of
> good horn players. (They also practice the 3rd movement trio from their
own
> excerpt books.) Work it out so the three of you play as a unit.
>
> To do this, you will have to teach yourself to do things you're not used
to
> doing, particularly if you tend to practice by yourself in a practice
room.
>
> MATCHING INTONATION
>
> All valved brass instruments have intonation quirks. When a horn player
opens
> the second valve, it adds tubing that lowers the pitch 1/2 step by adding
a
> certain percentage to the length of the tubing. However, if, for the
example,
> first and third valves are already open (lowering the pitch by a fourth),
> opening the second valve does not add the same percentage of length to the
> total, and in fact lowers the pitch quite a bit less than 1/2 step. That's
> why you see good trumpet players (and even tuba players) moving
> their valve slides in and out, depending on which valves are already open.
>
> Horn players can't do that, except by pre-setting their valve slides to
the
> best compromise position. It's up to you to learn which horn notes go
which
> way. Good horn players can bend the pitch with their lips, or by opening
or
> closing off the bell with their right hand, but as a good clarinetist, you
> need to talk with them and work it out so that you both do what's
necessary
> to meet in the middle.
>
> And don't even think about the problems when the horn players are using
> natural (valveless) horns, and you're playing a 10-key clarinet.
>
> MATCHING TONE COLOR
>
> One of the really important things about playing in a group is that it's
not
> enough to have a good tone. You must have *many* good tones.
>
> The horns have a brassy but covered tone. The instruments speak slowly.
Also,
> they can play *much* louder than you can. They're constantly holding back.
>
> The clarinet is naturally bright in the altissimo register. Thus you have
to
> put some velvet in your sound to match what the horns have begun. You also
> have to put a gleam of "brass" in your sound, once again to match the
> horns.
>
> The most important part of the process is mental. You need to form and
hold
> an intense image of a horn sound in your mind and then match it.
>
> Physically, you do several things to change your tone: change the vowel
shape
> in your mouth; roll your lower lip in further over your teeth, or pull it
> out; increase or decrease lip pressure; pucker your lips out or pull them
in
> tight; vary your breath pressure; vary the tension in your throat; and
vary
> your jaw position and pressure.
>
> Some of these things are anathema to clarinet teachers, particularly doing
> things in your throat or with your jaw, and beginners or intermediate
players
> shouldn't try them until they can do the basics right and reliably make
one
> consistently good sound. But to get beyond that stage, you
> have to know when to break the rules and do what's necessary.
>
> Listen to the trio section on recordings over and over, and play along.
> Pretend that you're actually playing a horn and learn to make it sound as
if
> there were 3 horns playing, rather than 2 horns and clarinet.
>
> Finally, when the horn players adjust their intonation by opening or
closing
> the bell with their right hand, this brightens or dulls their tone. Good
horn
> players adjust for this with their lip pressure or by playing a little
louder
> on the dull notes. Still, as with the intonation, it's part of your job to
> meet them halfway. And, once again, the problems are multiplied with old
> instruments,
> where some of the notes have to be played "stopped," so you have it easy.
>
> MATCHING RESPONSE
>
> You also have to lift and put down your fingers quite slowly. The horns
don't
> (and can't) "click" from one pitch to the next. Part of "sounding like a
> horn" is slowing down your movement from pitch to pitch - "floating" your
> fingers up and down as if you were trying not to break a soap bubble.
>
> MATCHING AFFECT
>
> Also, you have to match the "affect" (i.e., the emotional temperature and
> feel) of the horns. Once again, you have to get yourself in the same mood,
> and phrase the same way. Physically, this is complicated. You have to play
> fairly loud to balance the two horns, and they have to play quite soft to
> balance with you. You can't give the impression of having to play really
loud
> and put out a lot of effort. It always has to stay sweet and liquid.
> Fortunately, you're much higher in pitch, so you can play the altissimo
notes
> pretty softly without having to worry about being covered up. As before,
you
> need to "hear" yourself playing horn and match what they're doing.
>
> YOU'RE STILL PLAYING CLARINET
>
> Then, of course, once you can sound like 1 of 3 horns, you have to go back
to
> playing clarinet. You both play with the horns and balance off them, as if
> you were on opposite sides of a seesaw.
>
> IT'S MORE THAN A SOLO FOR YOU AND THE HORNS.
> ITS A SOLO OVER AN ARPEGGIATED BASS.
>
> Think you've got it down now? Fagetaboudit! You still have to put it in
the
> context of the orchestra. That's another reason you're reading from the
full
> score.
>
> Look at the cello part. They're playing continuous arpeggios, up and down.
> That's a variety of Alberti bass, named after a composer who made it his
> trademark (though the pattern is usually broken arpeggios). The bass
creates
> a continuous rippling, "nervous" motion underneath you. Also, it's in
> triplets, so it continuously goes in and out of phase with the duplet
motion
> of you and the horns. The contrasting motions and energy levels play off
of
> one another. You and the horns need to play particularly smoothly, with
long,
> singing lines, to contrast with the jumping, non-singing bass line.
>
> Imagine the bass line as a pond, with a breeze rippling the surface. You
and
> the horns are like 3 swans, gliding along, buoyed up by the water. The 3
of
> you don't simply play alone. You're sitting in and on top of the water.
> You're floating without effort. It takes no effort to stay on top of the
> water. All you do is use it to push against to move over the surface. You
> have to feel the cellos carrying you in their arms, so that all you need
to
> do is glide along. Just as it takes a conscious effort to make yourself
part
> of the trio with the horns, the 3 of you (and the cellos) must make a
> conscious effort to become a single entity.
>
> Therefore, you need to get a good cellist to join your trio, start at the
> beginning and work it out once again.
>
> This leads into the next area, harmony.
>
> PHRASING IS BASED ON HARMONY
>
> (Of course, since you're playing a Bb instrument, each note sounds a step
> lower - F instead of G, for example. I'll give your written (transposed)
> notes in what follows.)
>
> Your skeleton supports your body. It also determines its shape. You
couldn't
> have three arms, because there are no bones for a third arm. Artists study
> anatomy, beginning with the skeleton, because you can't draw something
> without knowing what's possible and not possible. Even if you
> decide to draw a person with 3 arms, you'd have to imagine what the bones
> would look like.
>
> Harmony is the basis of phrasing. A chord is like a bone in the skeleton.
> Changes of chord are like joints. The muscles have a shape and can move
parts
> of the body only because they are attached to the skeleton. To understand
how
> phrases work, you must know what the underlying harmony
> is and what it's doing.
>
> Thus, you should take a pencil and look at the harmony in the score. Put
in a
> vertical mark every time it changes. These marks will show you where your
> phrases begin and end, or at least change direction.
>
> When you do this, you will see that the high G is not the important note
in
> the phrase, either time it appears.
>
> The first time (B-D-G-B-D-F#-G), it's part of a G arpeggio (B-D-G-B),
moving
> to D (D-F#) and back to G (i.e., a I-V-I progression). The important notes
> are the ones where the harmony changes - the first B, the second D and the
> final G. Straighten out the notes into a simple rising pattern, beginning
on
> low (chalumeau) B, and ascend to clarion G. When you play it that way, the
> first G doesn't stick out - it's just part of the arpeggio. That's the way
it
> should be played in the actual solo. You have to play through it and keep
it
> from sticking out.
>
> The second time, you take over from the horns, playing a G chord, move to
a D
> chord on the first three notes (B-A-G) and then finish the section,
resolving
> once again to G (G-D-D-D-G-B-D-B-G). However, the harmony is ambiguous at
the
> end. You and the horns stay in the (clarinet) G chord for the entire two
> final measures. However, the cellos and basses continue the pattern of a
> (clarinet) G-G-D, I-I-V7 chord alternation, producing a clash on the third
> beat of the next-to-last measure. It's difficult to say why Beethoven did
> this. Maybe it's to make the dynamic get softer by not having the top
lines
> be harmonically the same as the bass line, and thus not having the bass
line
> underpin and reinforce the top lines. At any rate, you have to stay on the
> same G chord all the way through.
>
> To do this, you must taper the phrase through the entire series of nine
> notes. You must therefore NOT emphasize the third-note-from-the-end D
(since
> there is no chord change there), but continue your decrescendo, with the
> final high G the softest note of all.
>
> Practice playing the final G an octave lower, in the clarion. That is,
make
> the final three notes (D-B-G) a downward arpeggio. When you do that,
moving
> down a third rather than up a sixth, you will naturally taper the phrase
to
> the final G. You must produce the same effect when you jump up the sixth.
The
> D must be mezzo forte, the B must be mezzo piano, and the G must be only
> piano. This isn't easy, but it is necessary. Once again, working with a
> cellist is essential to understanding what's going on and learning to do
it
> right.
>
> STRUCTURE
>
> The final high G must be soft for a second, structural reason -- it ends
the
> trio. On the da capo, the orchestra jumps in forte or even fortissimo.
It's
> your job to soothe the audience, singing sweetly all the way to the end to
> set them up for the big bang on the DC.
>
> BREATH, EMBOUCHURE, VOWEL
>
> Finally, there's the technique stuff. Before you can play those high Gs
the
> way they need to be played, you need to have your breath working right,
your
> embouchure set right, and the vowel shape inside your mouth correct (not
to
> mention having a nearly perfect reed). This is not the place to describe
> these things in detail. They're essential to playing musically and have to
be
> under your control to let you do what I've been talking about, but you
should
> know about them and be working on them as part of your daily practice.
>
> Basically, you need to have enough breath so that you are "letting it out"
> rather than "blowing" to get the high notes. Your embouchure needs to have
> enough strength to support the reed and enough flexibility to let the
notes
> sound without pinching. Finally, you need to keep a warm, open vowel shape
to
> keep the high notes from being too bright. They will carry plenty well by
> being high. If anything, you need to tone them down.
>
> ***********************************************************
>
> A lot more than you bargained for? Well, that's why even the best players
> have to work so hard to make it to the top.
>
> Have fun. Practice with the full score. Always work it out with other
people.
> Mastering an orchestral solo in the practice room is less than half the
job.
>
> Ken Shaw
>
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