Klarinet Archive - Posting 000963.txt from 2001/10

From: EClarinet@-----.com
Subj: [kl] Re: Band vs orch eefer range
Date: Wed, 31 Oct 2001 12:45:24 -0500

Mike said:
<< I don't think the air column has anything to do with hitting high
notes....If your students are having trouble hitting the high notes, make
sure they have a stable
embouchure....etc>>>

I am not surprised to hear this opinion on this list. I did a little survey
a year or so back where I asked people to tell me if they used voicing in
their teaching. Only TWO people said they did. Everyone else seems to talk
about embouchure, and plays down the importance of voicing, if they are aware
of it at all.

Tom Ridenour is the person I learned my techniques from. He is one of the
best teachers I have ever seen, and when I started using the idea of voicing
to teach high notes and everything else, including tonguing, my success rate
improved markedly. Of course, I teach proper embouchure as well, but it is
not the be-all and end-all of clarinet playing in my studio, and my students
are the proof of this.

My students don't have trouble playing high notes once I explain voicing to
them, and it is the most common thing I use to help middle school clarinet
sections when I am called in as a clinician. After one visit, the band
director reports that most of his students can finally play a high C, after
not having been able to before. I also address embouchure and the amount of
mouthpiece they have in their mouths. This works for me, and like Robert
with his altissimo technique, I intend to keep using it even if most clarinet
teachers don't. I was trained originally as a chemist, and we did
experiments to see what works and what doesn't. My experiment with voicing
is over and the results are in!

Elise Curran
Orlando, FL

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