Klarinet Archive - Posting 000189.txt from 2001/03

From: "Karl Krelove" <karlkrelove@-----.com>
Subj: RE: [kl] sounds
Date: Wed, 7 Mar 2001 18:45:49 -0500

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Wildfire Coconut [mailto:chateau_swamp@-----.com]
>
> Since I'm amongst all of these professionals here, I might as
> well ask for
> help on this. I think I need help producing a better sound.<snip> And
> I'm sure a
> lot of it comes from experience.

Neither experience nor practice will improve things if you don't have a
sound concept in mind that you're trying to achieve. Developing an internal
concept is the most basic thing you can do to improve your sound.

> Do I need to adjust my
> embouchure or blow
> through the instrument a different way? I've tried adjusting different
> things but nothing seems to have worked. Thanks and such.

I trot this advice out from time to time here, so please don't take it
personally - it isn't meant to attack you or your question, and I've said
the same thing in response to similar questions a number of times. The old
timers here are certainly tired of reading it. There are a hundred (or more)
things that can interfere with a beautiful tone quality and, therefore, at
least that many things that can be done to improve a tone even when it's
already quite good. The trouble is, the correct (i.e. most productive) fix
depends on which problems are actually present in your own playing. None of
us here can do any more than recite our favorite prescriptions for the
problems we have found in our own experience to be most often involved. Many
things from poor equipment to shallow breathing technique can be at fault in
causing tone problems. Since nobody here can hear you, we're only guessing
based on someone _else's_ problems, someone whom we _have_ heard in our own
teaching studios. And each time you try a fix that doesn't really get at
_your_ problems, you get a little farther away from where you started, maybe
discarding practices that were good. Confusion and wasted energy are as
likely to result from that approach as real progress.

The only person who really can diagnose what _you_ need to do differently to
solve your individual problems is someone who both knows the clarinet well
and is listening to you in person. Find a clarinet teacher in your area who
can help (how to find one is a whole other process for a different post).
Pay the fee for a few lessons and see what you and the teacher can
accomplish together. It doesn't need to be a long-term relationship - a lot
of tone quality issues can be solved in a couple of lessons (depending, of
course, on what they are).

Probably you will get many suggestions from the Klarinet members. Most of
them will be good ideas. Some of the suggestions, if you are lucky, may even
help your situation. But we're taking shots in the dark. Remember, none of
us can hear you play.

Good luck. Your success so far shows that you're interested in making your
playing the best it can be.

Karl Krelove

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