Klarinet Archive - Posting 000505.txt from 2004/09

From: "Patricia A. Smith" <arlyss1@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Alto Clarinet Questions
Date: Tue, 28 Sep 2004 08:35:58 -0400

Chuck Currie wrote:

>I'm a saxophonist and clarinetist who specialized in alto clarinet for several years with the Pacific Symphonic Wind Ensemble. To play an alto clarinet with the mouthpiece inserted similar to an alto saxophone, one would have to hold the instrument out about a 45 degree angle. The results would tend to be flabby and unfocussed. The alto clarinet enters the mouth exactly the same as a clarinet, with the same embouchure (except larger.)
>
>
Hi Chuck.

Though I agree that one shouldn't have the looseness that an alto sax
embouchure would suggest, I still believe that playing the alto clarinet
out front, and loosening up the embouchure some, especially for less
experienced players, who tend to pinch, will help improve their tone. I
also, respectfully, suggest, that many beginners on the alto, tend not
to support their sound as they should, and, again, it will be pinched,
and airy, and opening up the oral cavity will help open the throat and
encourage the player to breathe more deeply.

Obviously you have a great deal more experience than most folks with
alto clarinet, and I certainly do not question your expertise at all. I
was tending to approach the question more as a teacher would. As the
original poster did not seem (given the contents of his post) to have a
great deal of experience on alto, I believed him to be a beginner on the
instrument.

For my own playing, were I to take up alto clarinet NOW, I doubt I would
use as much of an angle as I would with alto sax. However, I did find
in the past that I used a greater angle than I did with Bb. I suppose,
all told, it is in the individual's preference, past a certain point,
and that one does what gives one the best sound and best performance on
an instrument. This will vary for individuals - past the beginning and
intermediate levels of playing.

I apologize if my previous post wasn't very clear. Sometimes, I am a
bit brusque, and don't do details as well as I should.

Patricia Smith

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Klarinet is a service of Woodwind.Org, Inc. http://www.woodwind.org