Klarinet Archive - Posting 001005.txt from 2004/10
From: "Josh Gardner" <jtgardner@-----.com>
Subj: RE: [kl] Playing scales three octaves up
Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 23:07:13 -0500
A player's setup will have a significant impact on his/her ability to
produce a beautiful tone in ALL registers...but that setup does exist. =
With
my setup, for instance, a beautiful tone in the chalameaux (or other)
register but not in the other registers indicates a problem with the =
reed.
For me, a good reed will allow me to play in ANY register with a =
beautiful
sound. My mouthpiece has an open/long facing and I use a fairly strong =
reed
(v12 4-4.5) so the setup will handle the support needed in the extreme
register. The support is fundamental, in my opinion, for the altissimo
register to speak, sound nice, and be in tune. =20
After four years of playing, a student should have the capacity to play =
all
the way to a high C. With enough practice and experimentation with =
reeds,
the sound should free up and become less shrill. =20
Contemporary music does use the extreme register of the clarinet. =
Martino's
Set for Clarinet, for example, has high B's on several occasions in =
addition
to lots of Bb's. Band music is notorious for putting clarinets in the
stratosphere, especially orchestral transcriptions. Last year I played
Magnus Lindberg's Grand Duo and it featured a nice exposed scalar =
passage up
to a high B. =20
I personally feel that when you become comfortable in the extreme upper
register, the lower - more used - altissimo becomes easier because those
"high notes" become not so high anymore. =20
Josh Gardner
-----Original Message-----
From: ferengiz=E2de dani=EAl shawqy [mailto:rab@-----.de]=20
Sent: Sunday, October 31, 2004 6:55 AM
To: klarinet@-----.org
Subject: Re: [kl] Playing scales three octaves up
A 14 year old girl should not be tortured with playing altissimo. If she
would be recquired to play all scales in three octaves, she would have =
to
play D: d'-d''-d'''-d'''' which I couldn't, with my sublime horn, =
excellent
mouthpiece, fine reeds and 20 years of practice (I never put much =
exercise
in the altissimo above g''' for the reasons below). The ease and beauty =
of
altissimo notes (above c''') depends very much on the kind and quality =
of
reeds, mouthpiece, instrument and player. Reeds that facilitate those =
high
notes spoil the timbre, intonation and articulation of the other =
registers.
Playing that high on a decent, strong reed on a proper mouthpiece on a =
real
clarinet that does have a chalumeau (rather than putting all the energy =
in
the tweeky high partials) is very tough and only recommended after the
controll over the lower registers is very well developed, which, with =
most
clarinettists, never happens to the desired degree anyway. Just look at =
the
classic repertoire: except for the Spohr concerti you will hardly ever =
need
the altissimo, especially above g'''.
Best wishes,
danyel
----- Original Message -----
From: Josh Gardner
To: klarinet@-----.org
Sent: Sunday, October 31, 2004 5:57 AM
Subject: RE: [kl] Playing scales three octaves up
Three octave scales can be a pain initially, especially when a student =
does
not have a ton of experience up there. When I learned them, I took one
scale at a time, starting with the lowest one, E, and incorporated the =
third
octave of that scale into my warmup. Once that scale was very =
comfortable,
I moved to the next. After a while, I had them all. My warmup consists =
of,
among other things, every major and harmonic and melodic minor scale =
three
octaves at several different tempos. Practicing the third octave gives
daily experience playing in the "dreaded" altissimo register and after a
while, these notes become very comfortable and less "dreaded." Even =
though
the director is using extrinsic motivation to motivate students to learn =
the
third octaves, they are beneficial in my opinion (and not just to get a =
good
chair in auditions).
It is unfortunate that so many band programs rely so heavily on =
competition.
My high school band was INCREDIBLY competitive in the marching bang =
scene
and therefore more emphasis is placed on marching as opposed to the
aesthetics and enjoyment of MUSIC, so I understand where you're coming =
from.
It's a wonder it's still considered music education.
Good luck
Josh Gardner
-----Original Message-----
From: kimi [mailto:kimi_kimy@-----.com]
Sent: Saturday, October 30, 2004 8:06 PM
To: klarinet@-----.org
Subject: [kl] Playing scales three octaves up
My daughter is in her four year of band now. Her
skills with the clarinet have become quiet impressive
for one that is just fourteen. She is currently
working on a grade four solo piece that she will be
playing in the spring for competition.
One of the things I have heard her talking about that
has her stressing out is that it seems they have to
try out for seat positions on both the concert and
symphonic band at school. They are just finishing up
marching band and they won A superiors all across the
board. The thing is, she seems to be stressing
because evidently they have to be able to play three
octaves up on some particular scales that the
instructor has told them they'd have to be able to do
to place in a chair position.
Does anyone have any advice or comments on this three
octaves up thing?
Thanks
Kathy
http://mobile.yahoo.com/maildemo
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