Klarinet Archive - Posting 000043.txt from 2003/02

From: "Kaitlin Costello" <kecostello@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] some beginner questions
Date: Sun, 2 Feb 2003 15:52:16 -0500

Hello Rigel.

<<<1) Why is it wrong to let your cheeks puff out while playing? What is
the rule about not having inflated cheeks? What is the reasoning? I accept
that it's proper form, I'd just like to know why.>>>

This was my biggest problem when I started play, five or six years ago.
Letting your cheeks inflate kills alot of your breath power. The way I
learned about this from my old band instructor is like this: Take a balloon,
and try blowing it up , while allowing your cheeks to inflate. After about
fifteen minutes, and looking very silly, I released how much of my air flow
get lost. Also playing with "flat cheeks" is part of learning your
embouchure.

Next time you practice you might try this: Say "Oooooooo" and note the
position that your lips are in. Next, play your low E natural, as if you
were saying a vowel. It's frustrating and it takes a lot of time, but this
method helped so much when I was first starting. Work your way up a scale or
so and see if that helps.

<<<2)When I try to keep my cheeks in, one of two things happen: a) I lose
the force of my blowing power. My notes go flat sooner, I can't achieve
higher register notes with ease, or I run out of ooomph in fewer measures,
or b) the space between my upper lip and nose inflates very odd looking).
What am I doing wrong? When I goof and let my cheeks have their way, I
don't do Dizzy Gillespie cheeks...I do keep mine in fairly well, but I know
I'm still puffing out a bit too much.>>>

I really can't answer this question for sure as I do not know where your
problem is. Like... your playing slurred notes or staccato a long phrase or
short, or scales. The important thing is to learn when to breathe in your
phrasing. We were not meant to play for thirty minutes -then- take a breath.
This could be the source of your notes pitch diving. Or it could simply be
that you are not keeping uniform pressure on the reed with your bottom lip.

<<<3) When I am in a higher register and then come down into lower register
notes, sometimes I screechy squeak. What was making a beautiful high D or E
will make a nighmarish Bb or A. Amy says I'm doing one or two things wrong:
a) I need to adjust the force of my breath, or b) I need to work on my
mouth (that ambeture??? word). Any advice? I climb up the notes quite
well, my problems occur in climbing down.>>>

Are you tonguing or slurring on these notes? I would reccomend that in your
daily warm up, if nothing else you might consider doing something like this:

Slur up the scale, and tongue down. Tongue two, slur two, tongue three,
slure three and so on. Higher are harder to control, especially as we go
down from G, F and D. I have found, through many lessons and mistakes that
tonguing the higher notes as a daily warm up helps to improve my control of
the register and especially the pitch (I always had to tell my self,
"Breath...")

You might try the above exercises, rather then trying to as more force to
your airstreams and over blow the notes.

<<<4) I seem to be very brutal on reeds. I damage them/wear them out at an
obscene rate. Little bits of corner peel back on the top right, splinters
come off, etc. I've even bloodied the corner of my mouth on one (have no
idea how!). I don't know what I'm doing wrong, I just know I'm guilty of
reed abuse. Amy says it might have something to do with how tense I get
when I'm really focussed on getting something. Any insights?>>>

Reeds are to be treated with tender care, or else they will make your life
Hell. I learned from day one, after break three reeds in the space of an
hour, that gentleness pays. Do you put the reeds back into their original
cases right after playing? I would a larger reed case (lavoz sells them if I
remember correctly) that hold four to eight reeds. Many of these cases are
designed to prevent the warping of your reeds ( which kills thier lifespan.)
You must also be very careful when playing. It is easy to chip , or split a
reed with sleeve when not paying attention. If I'm not playing for an
extended amount of time, I put the mouthpiece cap over it.

Also, how are you breaking your reeds in?

As to tenseness, yes, you can destroy a reed if you are too tense. You
should not be clamping down with lips on the reed as this down two things:
A) it tires your mouth out quicker, B) It makes your pitch go very sharp.
Tune with barrel , not the mouth piece:)

You should rest your teeth on the top of the mouth piece, wrap your lip
infront of them, then your bottom should curl onto the reed with a gentle
pressure. Gentle being enough pressure over all to keep air from escaping
while allowing the reed to vibrate.

If your reeds continue to break, You might try "Pasticover" reeds by Rico. I
have found that they have a nice response and much tougher then my regular
cane reeds (I use the plasticover in Wind Symphony and in Pepband.. quite a
nice reed!)

<<<5) Amy says I practice too much for a beginner. I disagree. I have
fallen madly in love with playing clarinet, and practicing is often my sane,
formyselftime of the day (I'm in grad school, and I homeschool my
very...ermm...energetic son). After learning a couple of cruel lessons, I
have instituted my personal practice policies: a) I will stop before I
draw blood on my bottom lip or the skin underneath it (which I used to
do),b) I will stop before the knuckles in my right thumb become locked to
the point that I have to reach down with my left hand and reengage the
knuckles. As long as I am following these personal guidelines, is it
possible to practice too much as a beginner? How will I ever built breath
and mouth endurance and skill if I don't push the envelope???>>>

Ah.. there is such a thing as practicing too much. I the college musician,
acclaimed for hogging up the practice room, know this too well. Generally,
an hour a day is enough, practicing five out of seven days of the week, in
my opinion. The thing about practicing, is that there needs to be a method
to the madness. You need to have a maintenance routine. This being your
scales, arpeggios, smaller pieces you play to .. essentially, warm up. I use
"32 Etudes for Clarinet" By Rose my warm up piece, and I practices all my
scales with arpeggios, up and down . This generally takes me between twenty
minutes and thirty, depending on my physical and mental condition. Then I
begin to work on the pieces which require some good old fashioned foot work.
I always work the hardest passages first, saving the easiest as "cool down"
when I am finished. I generally spend about an hour working the actual
music. I do this routine every other day ( as I have days where I'm in class
8am to 9pm).

Work gradually, however I must warn you, that practicing for longer then two
hours, in my experience, can be quite disastrous. You may love clarinet,
however, you may not love the consequences if you’re like me-- predisposed
to arthritis and suffering from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. It is generally a
good rule of thumb to stop when your hands hurt, or when you get very tired.
For those who I've helped learn clarinet, I always asked them to be mindful
of their habits, as over practicing can lead the way to some bad habits.

I hope that this helps you in some way. Please feel free to write me back
with any questions or concerns on or off list, as I would be more then
willing to help you out:)

Kaitlin Costello
Mesa State College
>
>Thank you. I appreciate the varying skill levels on this list and the
>openness to questions I have seen. I have been learning a lot by reading
>your posts.
>
>Love and hugs,
>Rigel
>
>
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