Klarinet Archive - Posting 000481.txt from 2002/09

From: Paul Harris <pwharris@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Could use eefer help
Date: Mon, 23 Sep 2002 12:19:28 -0400

> Grabner wrote<
> Well, I hate to confess this, but anything above my F# (for which use
thumb, register key, one and two of left hand, and the Eb/Bb key, and is
pretty good) comes out as a hellish squeal of indterminate pitch.
>
> I consulted my Peter Hadcock book and tried several of the fingerings he
suggested. I was able to find a couple of good high G's.
>
> So far, my G#'s and A's are awful.
>
> Does anyone have suggestions? Sean, you must have played this piece 100
times.
>

Walter:
If you remember, I had similar questions about this very subject several
months ago on this list, with very little response. I am happy to find I am
not the only person in this world with these problems, though we described
them a little differently. It was the consensus that probably the only cure
would be a change in mouthpiece to one which would function better in this
register. It seems to me that the very nature of the instrument requires a
different approach to performance in this register and I suspect that after
we find a mouthpiece reed combo that sort of works, we will also have to
retrain our basic oral cavity to react in a more suitable manor to perform
in this register on this instrument. As of this date I have not found the
mouthpiece reed combo that will work, but I haven't had the time or money to
devote to the search. I have changed the facing on my current mouth piece
to a longer facing with a narrower tip opening and I have opened the size of
the chamber baffle some. This has resulted in improvement but I am still not
to the point of consistency in response and intonation.
Paul Harris

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