Klarinet Archive - Posting 000288.txt from 2003/03

From: Karl Krelove <karlkrelove@-----.net>
Subj: RE: [kl] problem with student
Date: Thu, 6 Mar 2003 21:30:49 -0500

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Steve White [mailto:bass.clarinet@-----.net]
>
> Ask her if she sings with her throat
> closed like that?

Or maybe even ask her to sing a short passage before she plays it.

> Maybe a little time spent working just on how you say
> certain words very loudly. Like forward march. You don't say
> forward march
> when you yell all day, you say horward harch or something
> similar. Perhaps
> this will help her focus on her throat being open because if your
> throat is
> closed, it will hurt (like coughing).
>
Speaking of consonant sounds - I got the impression from Janis's post that
there's some degree of glottal articulation going on. This is, in my
experience, not so much an "open throat" issue (as applied during a
sustained tone) as a procedural one for starting and/or stopping the sound.
Some people for some reason want to substitute glottal attacks for correctly
tongued articulation. "Coughing" a note doesn't necessarily mean the "throat
is closed" during the tone. So, not having heard what she's actually doing,
my first suggestion would be to decide if the problem has to do with tone
production or starting and stopping the tone (articulation).

Sometimes the general admonition to "open the throat" causes more trouble
than it prevents, especially if the problem is only at the starts and stops.
Opening the throat in an exaggerated way can lead to tenseness and rigidity
in soft tissues that need to be relaxed and able to resonate. When this
happens the result is harshness and a lack of control that leads to squeaks,
bad connections and other musically objectionable things. The entire air
apparatus needs without question to be open to allow a free flow of air to
the reed. But accomplishing this by mechanically tensing or pulling can make
the attempt counterproductive and actually make things worse. Sometimes when
you focus too much on "opening the throat" the student's misperception,
joined with her wish to try to follow the teacher's instructions, can lead
to the very tenseness that needs to be avoided.

Actually, I think a singing analogy (as Steve suggested), even to the point
of having the student sing first and then try to duplicate the sensations
with the clarinet, could be the most productive approach, especially if the
student is a passable singer. It takes the educationally sound tack of
moving a learner from the familiar to the unfamiliar, and it may get her
mind off the mechanics enough to focus on the feedback that's available
through her ears.

My $.02 worth.

Karl Krelove

>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Janis Cadieux [mailto:klargrrl@-----.ca]
> Sent: Thursday, March 06, 2003 10:05 AM
> To: klarinet@-----.org
> Subject: [kl] problem with student
>
>
> I was wondering if anyone has had similar problems:
>
> I have a student who is really tense and who is frequently closing her
> throat when she plays. I'm always hearing that "uht" sound in the back of
> her throat. She is tonguing correctly but I think but puts way
> too much air
> through the instrument. I've actually asked her not too blow so hard
> (something I've rarely done with other students) and asked her to try to
> focus the air more like blowing out a candle. She's been playing
> a year now
> and I can't get her to stop this. She is in her sixties and has a music
> background which includes piano and choir so I thought with the singing
> background this wouldn't be so much of a problem. Does anyone have any
> suggestions?
>
> Janis
>
>
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