Klarinet Archive - Posting 000033.txt from 2004/11

From: Diane Karius <dikarius@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Does size matter?
Date: Mon, 1 Nov 2004 22:23:50 -0500

I don't know from a loudness standpoint, but lung
volume itself (as in liters of air) is directly
related to physical size... Having said this, when I
started playing clarinet I was small even for my age
group - I could not reach all the keys - but had no
problem with producing a sound of reasonable loudness.
I would think that the physical limitations of lung
size would affect phrasing (breath control) more than
loudness.

Can they blow up a balloon - a regular party balloon
(round)? Although it's not a perfect analogy, it is a
decent demonstration of the muscular effort required
to produce a reasonable degree of sound. I'd be
tempted to send them home with 7 fresh balloons each
week - before you practice, blow up a new balloon (old
balloons are too easy to inflate) and then practice.
If they are young, they may not be able to & that
certainly will affect their ability to generate
sound... If they are older and can blow up the
balloon, they probably can generate more sound than
they realize.

I'm assuming they are healthy...

Diane Karius, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Physiology
Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences

Nicholas Yip <clarinets21@-----.com> wrote:
I have a saxophone and clarinet students that are both
small and claim that
they cannot blow alot of air through the horn.<SNIP>

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