Klarinet Archive - Posting 001017.txt from 2000/11

From: "Charles Schneider" <chnani@-----.fr>
Subj: Re: [kl] Article: Breathing and Support
Date: Thu, 30 Nov 2000 19:31:44 -0500

----- Original Message -----
From: "Tony Pay" <Tony@-----.uk>
Subject: Re: [kl] Article: Breathing and Support

> I've meant for some time to say something about an article that Abe sent
> me, all about tongue position related to played register, which
> concluded, on the basis of X-rays of the author taken from the side,
> that the position of the *back* of the tongue was correlated with the
> register. But I can't lay my hands on it at the moment -- so it'll have
> to wait.
>
In my saxophone teaching i use to explain
-the (back) tongue position-
with the vowels and it seems to work for us.

We practice also the 'sinus' resonnators : i made sometimes a l
ittle demonstration of some american Jazz saxophone sounds,
speaking very loud with "all resonnators" open :
saying "WAAAAOO MEEENN !" and playing this way.

We made trials with vowels : we play "a, e (from day), i, o, u"
on every notes of the saxophone. On low and middle register,
it works "easely". For some students i propose the "E" (day) as a
basic position, but i don't like to much saying this kind of stuff.
On high register we use mostly the"i" from the word "Tee".
We also practice high notes this way :
- for instance with the fingering of high D.
We play D, Db, C, B, C, Db, D, D# (nearly), D .
Trying to play them in a "vocal" way, with no big change of
the lip pressure. The sound must stay 'musical'.
We also compare every notes with all possible harmonics:
- High D with -low Bb- -low D- -G- searching
the better (and personnal) way to play a note or simply
searching for differant ways. I have students from "lot of"
countries and we found some fascinating differances in
the way to use the vowels.
I explain (not to much) that it is not only the toungue who act,
but also the larynx and the MIND. I know that it's a kind of gymnastic,
but it begin to help me on clarinet too.

Actually for me it is like was saying my italien grandmother :
-If it's not the truth , it's a good lie.
-si no ne vero, e bene trouvato ;-)

But maybe not !
I don't think (don't want to say) it's an original way to study,
again i thank you in advance for all advises on those things
(and my poor students too. ;-)

Charles Schneider

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