Klarinet Archive - Posting 000069.txt from 2008/06
From: "Gary Truesdail" <gir@-----.net>
Subj: RE: [kl] Help: Dry mouth ruins performance
Date: Mon, 16 Jun 2008 20:36:18 -0400
I did see a time when performing a musical in a tent that got hot all day in
the summer sun and at show time the temp was 105 that the reed would dry out
even though you were playing. We literally had to blow spit into the
mouthpiece to get the inside wet then suck it out just before a rest was
finished.
Gary Truesdail
-----Original Message-----
From: Karl Krelove [mailto:karlkrelove@-----.net]
Sent: Monday, June 16, 2008 4:16 PM
To: klarinet@-----.org
Subject: RE: [kl] Help: Dry mouth ruins performance
Hi, Jason
I was obviously not there to hear what you actually sounded like, but based
on my own experiences, both good and bad, I think it's more likely your dry
mouth was caused more by nerves than by the AC. And, as we all have
experienced at one time or another, once things start going awry, the
tendency is to get more tense, making the situation worse the longer it goes
on. If it was nerves that "done you in," the best long-term solutions
involve practicing to gain more control of the instrument and finding more
playing opportunities to help get used to public performance and maintaining
your composure.
Also, whatever's going on inside your mouth, make sure the reed is wet
enough when you start and don't leave it exposed for long periods of time to
the dry air - a drying reed doesn't respond well, adding to the misery.
Depending on how long you have to rest during a performance (it sounds like
you had to wait through the entire first verse), you can put the mouthpiece
in your mouth periodically to re-wet the reed or, if the wait is long
enough, put the cap on the mouthpiece to keep the air off the reed and slow
the rate of evaporation. Then give it a quick lick when you take the cap off
before you have to start playing again. Some orchestra players keep a
container of water on stage to dip the mouthpiece into when they have long
rests, although this might not have been practical in your situation. And
over the past few years, I've noticed in some of the orchestras I've played
in that some wind players bring a bottle of water on stage with them and sip
from it when time permits.
Good luck!
Karl
-----Original Message-----
From: Jason Tiller [mailto:jason@-----.org]
Sent: Monday, June 16, 2008 6:20 PM
To: klarinet@-----.org
Subject: [kl] Help: Dry mouth ruins performance
Hi, All, :)
I was at a music conference in Riverside, CA, last weekend, where I
accompanied my friend in an arrangement of "I Left My Heart in San
Francisco" on her solo concert. It was the finale of an hour-long
show held in a *horrible* conference center ballroom. The AC was
up full blast and I could literally feel the moisture being sucked out
of my body every time I opened my mouth. (Ross Perot didn't know the
meaning of "giant," lemme tell ya.)
I played horribly. :/ I started out OK, but in my friend's
arrangement, the clarinet plays a the second verse of the melody, with
almost no pause once it starts other than for breaths. Thus, I had
no time to grab an emergency sip of water, and as I wound my way
through the (easy) melody, my mouth got more and more dry, my tone got
less and less focused, I began squeaking, and finally the notes
started to completely fray.
I'm new to clarinet, but... Ugh.
I honestly tried to compensate for this by going backstage during her
penultimate piece, walking around and blowing air through my horn.
But obviously *something* didn't work right, because it was a
nightmare!
Any suggestions for managing these less than ideal situations in the
future? I imagine that my (brand new Festival) is getting fed up with
me and ready to walk on to a more capable owner...
Thanks in advance,
---Jason
Sonos, www.sonos.org
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