Klarinet Archive - Posting 000693.txt from 2001/10

From: "Robert Moody" <LetsReason@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] When to teach voicing for altissimo notes
Date: Sun, 21 Oct 2001 16:59:29 -0400

> You are describing a little deviation from the norm in terms of teaching
> young students - what you described as a "traditional" approach - but it
> really seems to be most apparent in the timetable for moving them up to
the
> clarion. However, if it works for you and your students are successful in
> their sound production, their control of pitch, and their fundamental
> technique - by all means do it!

Thanks! I do...it is...and I will continue to. :-)

I am talking about the school band setting. The "traditional" approach IS
to wait until a good tone and developed embouchure is cemented into a
child's face before moving up to the top of the clarion and altissimo
registers. This is, if I may be blunt, "backasswards". :-) YES, the
student should have an understanding and be able to demonstrate the
understanding of good mechanics and architecture in embouchure formation,
but there does not-and in my opinion, should not-be a more mature tonal
center before addressing the altissimo register playing.

I came to this approach because I, myself, spent many a sore lip trying to
understand how to play upper clarion notes and altissimo notes soft and
controlled. I thought it had to do with learning to make my embouchure
correct (firm enough) and saying more "eeee" to allow the upper notes to
speak. And I know without a doubt whatsoever in my mind that many, many,
many highschool players had the same dilema. They were trying to come at
the problem from a back door after already locking the front. This is wrong
and needless frustration.

My approach/philosophy is the same as what educational psychologists espouse
for creating a multi-lingual nation. Children must be taught as early as
possible to hear and understand different languages. This development in
the brain area concerning languages ceases near the age of seven and without
a foundation laid in the formative years, learning new languages later can
be extremely difficult for older kids and adults.

Teaching the altissimo is best done DURING the formation of the embouchure
and developing of the mature tonal center. YES, the students contort things
to get the squeak. But they contort just as much to make their first e' or
g'. What do we as teachers do? We correct them slowly and step by step.
They practice each step and it becomes the foundation for the next. When we
create an embouchure and voicing setup in students that is NOT conducive to
the ENTIRE range of the instrument as the foundation, we are hindering their
later development.

Now, you can, and may, say, "I (or we, or the "traditional approach") do not
set up an embouchure and voicing that is not conducive to the entire range
of the instrument." I will make it clear for you (and this statement is
made from comparing success between the two approaches), if you approach
altissimo AFTER teaching the chalumeau, then jumping the twelfth and then
working UPWARDS, you are not NOT teaching a voicing and embouchure setup
conducive to playing in all ranges of the instrument. The student will, if
they are successful, learn to overcome obstacles that are built in with this
approach. This is not a sign for the success of the approach, it is a sign
that the student is diligent and intuitive. Take a similar student as a
youth (or group of students) and teach them the altissimo after about 3 to 5
weeks of chalumeau training (focusing on understanding the mechanics of a
good sound and demonstrating) and they will move through the range of the
instrument with much greater facility of development in tone production.

> To clarify - having youngsters create "fast air" is not as big an issue as
> forming the embouchure in a way that will contribute to good endurance and
> good pitch.

Ah, but it is an integral part in my approach. Again, the idea of fast air
is easily understood through coffee straw, water hose, etc. demonstrations
before students have let go of their visualization skills that abound in
elementary school. There has also been studies done to show that students
who are taught to visualize mentally as they learn to read and encounter new
vocabulary are generally better learners. Again, this may just be a
timetable issue, but an important one in my approach.

An understanding of fast airstreams vs. loud playing supports embouchure
development and helps to release tension in the face. I teach it from the
very beginning. In fact, often, after just telling them and showing them
the embouchure by demonstration, I can explain fast air using the waterhose
or coffee-straw and the embouchure will magically appear with nice firmness
in the upper lip, supporting the lower and closing any leaking air.
VISUALIZATION before they get "molded" into the mechanics of "firm lower
lip", "flat chin"...etc. [Note: I also use a big, fat rubberband to
demonstrate the mechanics and have the kids do in their lips what they think
they are seeing happening in the rubberband as I stretch it around.]

> I also believe in achieving a particular sound quality with
> beginners - that I feel takes several weeks to refine and strengthen. If
is
> unusual to have a first year fifth grader develop quickly and well enough
> to have a reason to be in the altissimo and play the high G when
> there are so many issues facing them down low.

I agree. There is a certain amount that *must* be accomplished first! But
the issue that must be dealt with do not take all year. They generally take
3 to 5 weeks if the kids are practicing at least a little at home. In the
very first week (there are many little things that go on in here) I
challenge the kids to see if they can play the lowest G on the clarinet. I
demonstrate how to make their fingers cover the holes properly and have them
showoff each day how far they can go. If they make enough progress, I have
them show off how far they can go down the G Major scale using leaps between
e' up to g' and then down to g (For example:
e'-f#'-e'-g'-e'-f#'-e'-d'-e'-c'-e'-b-e'-a-e'-g). These are just challenges
and not for a grade. I also give my kids rewards for doing these kinds of
"extra" things. Almost all of them do it almost everytime. Meanwhile, I
correct positioning of fingers casually and really make issues about speed
and consistency of air and embouchure (using illustrative and visually
exciting descriptions, of course).

After the kids demonstrate their ability to play from g' down, we explore
the pinky keys and then go directly to the altissimo. I rarely have found a
kid in some 8 years of doing this (this includes private settings) that just
could not do it. And guess what, when this approach is just not working for
the kid...there's always the other method. ;-)

> BTW, what literature do you
> have the students play with those altissimo fingerings you have them
learn?

I use scale exercises and have them make up their own. At this point, the
only reference they have to read the altissimo notes on the page is from
when I showed them how high they are actually playing. Otherwise,
everything is more "Suzuki" method. The point here is NOT to teach them to
play screachingly high notes and be amazing little Mozarts of the clarinet
world. The point is to establish a foundation of voicing in their tonal
development that they can draw upon later when the standard books catch up
with them in the band setting.

For example, a classic example of what I saying is the picture of a
well-known, successful teacher trying to help a 2nd or 3rd year student (or
even as high as COLLEGE level player) get the upper clarion and altissimo
notes (to g''') easier by telling them NOW to say more "eeee" as they get
higher. All this is doing is trying to manipulate the voicing and create a
faster airstream. Again, this is "assbackwards" or "backasswards".

The SIMPLE answer is the better answer. Have them squeak a g' to d''' and
then (for the older student) have them sustain the sound as they concentrate
on speeding up the air and returning any changes in the good embouchure
formation. Just make sure they understand what they are trying to do and
them leave them hell alone. Let them go home and practice it and figure out
what they need to do to make it stay consistent. So far, probably more than
90% of the kids I have worked with became almost instantly (relative to how
long they had been playing with difficulty in the altissimo) comfortable
playing to high g''' and even learn shortly there after to articulate soft
staccato passages on these notes. This also teaches them to place their
tongue better for what I call "finesse" articulations (and articulation in
general).

> If you are teaching beginning band (or were), how do you keep the horns,
> saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and other brass up with the range of
> clarinetists? What repertoire does the band play which allows for time
> spent teaching to clarinet altissimo? These questions are sincere - not
> sarcastic!

First understand, my enthusiasm in my post is from my enthusiasm for the
success of my approach and disdain for the traditional approach. It is not
against you personally. I hope you can get that from all this.

Actually, I can only work with traditional techniques for the other
instruments because I am not a specialist there. I can say though, that
with brass players, I challenge them and hold a little showoff competition
as a soon as a I/they can to play the bugle calls that come with playing
harmonics starting on d' for trumpets. That's a whole other story though.
In any case, I am teaching the clarinets the altissimo by wrote, not off the
page. I am setting a physical foundation and expanding their understanding
of the importance of the different parts of the body in playing the
clarinet. So we do not play music that has them practicing the altissimo.
Rather the kids have their own exercises and challenges give to them by
demonstration and explanation.

> For me, this doesn't work so well. I don't know which rules you mean -
> although I suspect you are talking about the air speed, embouchure, etc. -
> but voicing doesn't bring a flat, flabby tone in tune when the embouchure
> (which is NOT a natural formation of the mouth - although it can be taught
> as a firming up of the natural shape) involves a bunched chin, too little
> mouthpiece, angle of clarinet out too far, head down and looking across
the
> keys, lower lip - too much or too little in, a "smile" approach (that's a
> whole other thread), or saggy corners.......... I can't even conceive of a
> high G being played with a good, characteristic tone when the embouchure
> strength has been based only on a week or two of playing. And then there
> is the whole articulation thing and if you should spend time on it before
> moving to altissimo........

I never said that their g'''s sounded like Karl Leister or Dieter Klocker.
But they are controlled. They sound immature just like their first
chalumeau notes did. But they are creating a foundation and visualization
in their head that can be used for later. Also, just thinking here, I
prefer to bring the kids DOWN to g'' and up to b'-f'' using the twelfths
method.

>From reading your post, I get the impression that you are not able to
release your experience with teaching *your* way and the traditional view of
approaching the registers...as well as their timetables/order of approach.
The thing is, Roger, I do not have a problem cleaning these issues up after
spending time on the altissimo with my kids. But, after approaching the
altissimo how I do and when I do, the kids tend to reach mature sounding
throat tones faster and respond much more quickly to other, sometimes
tedious, tasks like basic articulation and pitch in dynamic changes.

> Now - I'm not arguing with you - because I sense that your students must
do
> fairly well - and that your approach with them is good. I just can't
> visualize what you are describing very well.

Ah....yes. Visualization. ;-)

> Well - from what you describe here - we agree pretty much. Perhaps what we
> disagree on is whether or not they should immediately move to overblowing
> the harmonics. The natural inclination is to significantly move
> embouchure, bite, back off the air, and do weird things with angle and
head.

Sure it is. I agree. And, btw, I personally understand what you mean
"overblowing the harmonics", but with 5th and 6th graders "squeak" makes 10x
more sense. ;-)

> This is one of the reasons we can get to the other stuff by the
> second semester and year. Bill Stubbins book, The Essentials of Technical
> Dexterity for Clarinet is a must for first year students at our
university.

I loved that book!

Thanks for your response.

Robert

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