Klarinet Archive - Posting 000877.txt from 2000/10

From: Neil Leupold <leupold_1@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Saxophonist problems
Date: Sun, 15 Oct 2000 17:05:13 -0400

--- Charles Schneider <chnani@-----.fr> wrote:

> i'm new in this list, i'am a swiss-french jazz saxophonist (40 years old) who
> begin (again) to study the clarinet at the little conservatory of the town
> where i live near Paris. And i have a lot of problems with my clarinet playing!

Welcome to the list Charles. You're in very good company here. We have quite
a few players who are returning to the clarinet after decades-long breaks from
the instrument. Many of them may be able to help you by relating their own ex-
periences.

> First I hope you can understand my very bad english.

Your English is a lot better than most of our French! There will be
very little difficulty understanding what you are trying to say.

> One of my saxophone's student offered me a Festival Buffet in good shape, i
> use a Vandoren B4O profil 88 , with vandoren 3 and half . I' ve tried the Grand
> Concert 3 but it seems to be too soft.

This is all good equipment -- an excellent foundation for any developing
clarinet player.

> I am quite shure the way Joe Allard use to do is better (for me) than the
> "french way", but i like to have your advise on that. Because i cannot prove
> that on my teacher ;-) who is a very good musician nevertheless. What is
> your advice about the lips position ?

When you say things like "lips out" and "french way", I assume you're re-
ferring to playing with the teeth on the top of the mouthpiece vs. playing
with both the upper and lower lips curled over their respective sets of
teeth. There is such a broad representation of players who are success-
ful with each method, I don't believe there exists a clear indication that
one is better than the other. It is possible to become a world-class player
using either one. Your decision about which type of embouchure to use should
be based on what feels most comfortable to you. It sounds like your experi-
ence learning to play "lips out" with Joe Allard felt more natural to you
than using the traditional French method. Your current teacher should not
have a problem teaching you to play clarinet, whether you adopt the French
method or not.

> Do you think i have to play with a shorter barrel like my friends? I am not
> shure to be capable to made a good choice myself.

What matters most is how you sound and how it feels to you when producing
that sound. As the old golf analogy goes, "Never mind the swing. Just get
the ball in the hole." The social pressure games that musicians play with
each other are generally not productive. If the Chadash barrel allows you
to play in tune, produces a good clarinet tone, and offers a level of re-
sistance appropriate to your preference, you should ignore what your friends
are doing and continue to do what works. As you become a more sophisticated
player, you may find yourself inclined to experiment with your equipment, but
getting hooked on these issues at your current stage will only generate frus-
tration and distract you from more fundamental issues of technique and musi-
cianship.

> I know it's sounds a little crazy, but i feel like i don't use may air in
> the right way.

You may, in fact, not be using your air in the most effective way. From your
description, it sounds like you're filling up your chest without expanding your
diaphragm. This method will produce the problem that you describe, namely that
you feel like you have a lot of excess air at the end of a phrase. Try breath-
ing from your diaphragm first -- from the lower belly, where your pants wrap
around your waist. Expand there first while taking in air, slowly filling up
your lungs with air. Expand upward to the chest *last*. After taking in a
full supply of air, maintain the expanded feel in your belly while playing,
such that you push downward and outward from there, allowing you to control
the flow of your air stream while actually using less air to produce your tone.
No matter how free blowing or resistant your clarinet is, proper breathing tech-
nique remains the same.

I hope you find this information helpful.

-- Neil

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