 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Henry
Date: 2003-04-16 20:32
I have been playing clarinet since last August after a long, long hiatus. (I have played alto sax more regularly). I think I have made great progress but I'm worried that I may be developing, or am unaware of, some bad habits/techniques. Since I'm entirely self-taught, I had decided to take some lessons from a highly recommended teacher but I have kept procrastinating. As it happens, yesterday my wife gave me a birthday (66!) present of five lessons, so I have no longer any excuse not to do it. I'll have my first lesson next week. My question is this: What areas should I try to cover with the teacher to make the lessons most productive? One concern I have is a slight throat noise/click that I'm aware of whenever I articulate a note. Sometimes, each note in a staccato phrase is accompanied by such "noise". I don't think anyone else can hear it (it is probably audible to me only because of the close proximity of the throat to the ear) but I'm afraid it indicates bad technique. Is that true or is this normal? I would appreciate any guidance prior to my first lesson!
Henry
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2003-04-16 22:32
The first lesson will be more along the lines of the teacher gauging your current ability. You may want to show the teacher what you have worked on, explain that you have played saxaphone and are making a transfer.
The click I would think is pretty normal for a newer player. I think you are talking about the little "grunt" noise that is pretty common in the upper voices (clarion G, A, B, C) but can be present in others. It's a little bit of an unwanted (once again the way I describe it is a "grunt") as you tongue the reed and the air goes through before the note sounds.
As you get better, (I believe it's an air flow/air support problem). Try holding your tongue gently agains the reed just enough to stop the vibrations. Then blow air into the clarinet and "release" the reed with your tongue. I bet you dont get that air.
My bet once again is that you aren't putting enough air in the instrument to support the reed right off the get-go but instead are doing what most people do and as you tongue you put a "little" air in the instrument and then a large WHOOSH follows. Think of pressing an accelerator on a car. Most people accelerate slowly until they reach the necessary speed. What you NEED to do is make sure that you as INSTANTLY as possible put enough breath support. It takes a little bit to learn, but once learned, makes the tone sound much more wonderful and the response in the reed becomes crisp.
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: Jerry
Date: 2003-04-17 00:23
It sounds like you're trying to clean house before the maid arrives! After taking a 37 year hiatus, I started playing again last August and started taking lesson right away. You need to expose your bad habits to her sooner or later...might as well start with the clicking.
Jerry
The Villages, FL
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Author: monique
Date: 2003-04-20 03:59
Happy birthday Henry !
I would be very interested to hear of your experience, I don't have the advantage of sax background and tackled the clarinet without prior musical instrument, the learning curve is steep.
I am 65 and my hands tire fast, I have difficulty finding enough air. Any of you "older" clarinetists know of exercises to develop breathing and embouchure strength?
There are no teacher available for me now but I plan to take advantage of one when I move into town in the Fall. I play with other beginning older students, we are all self-taught and bad habits are a concern. I play 2nd/3rd clarinet in our group, but struggle with speed, I practice 60 to 90 minutes a day, mostly at metronome 76. I welcome any advice for improvement.
Monique
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Author: allencole
Date: 2003-04-21 06:58
Don't worry, Henry. Your teacher will be able to size things up and help you get your priorities in line. Tell him or her your goals and concerns.
It's great that you're already an experienced player who practices. If you already have your scales, etc., your lessons should move very quickly.
Allen Cole
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Author: D Dow
Date: 2003-04-21 12:18
Alot of players seem to think that "grunting" is not audible to the audience but it seems the tube of the clarinet amplifies this problem to a degree that even an audience can hear this...especially in softer passages. This Grunting is caused by a number of things, first tension in the throat and tongue and also by trying to gain control over the sound through this avenue, rather than breathe support.
Its a fairly common problem and should be stomped out as soon as possible. If anything, it also deadens the sound and degree of dynamics a player is able to achieve.
David Dow
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Author: Henry
Date: 2003-04-21 13:17
Yes, Alexi and David, "grunting" is a more accurate description of my throat noise. I certainly would like to clean it up!
Jerry, I like your house-cleaning metaphor!
Monique, good luck! I admire your spirit. It's never too late.
I'll have my first lesson this Wednesday and I may report back on how it goes.
Thanks to all.
Henry
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Author: psychotic_clarinet_chica
Date: 2003-04-21 14:24
Hey! Good luck. The 1st lesson is usually the hardest. It will go a lot easier if you just play for him/her like you do at home. Lay everything out there and let them help you to improve. Don't worry about you clarinet playing "imperfections." Your teacher will be honest with you and be able to point out the things that you can improve on. You're not there to impress them and they're not there to impress you. You're there to learn and they're there to teach, so take advantage of it! Once again, good luck! I know you'll do great!
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Author: Cindy
Date: 2003-04-22 04:26
I have often been told that I am doing that "grunting" and between a lot of lessons and a lot of talking my teacher and I figured out that basically what I was doing was tonguing with my throat rather than my tongue. But practicing tonguing a whole lot with a lot of air support, I have gotten better about it. Hope that helps a little maybe.
So many instruments to play........so little time to play them!
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Author: clarinetgiggirl
Date: 2003-04-22 07:50
I'd like to add my penny's worth!
You should try and relax in your lessons - you've nothing at all to prove to your teacher. He/she knows you are not perfect - that is why you are there after all.
Personally, I love both my clarinet and saxohone lessons (2 very different teachers). I would have them every day if finances would allow! And, IMHO, if you do not enjoy your lessons you will not progress as quickly as you could and you have probably got the wrong teacher for you.
Good luck and have fun!
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Author: Henry
Date: 2003-04-24 15:39
Well, I had my first lesson last night. It went very well. The teacher thought my sound is very good and that there is no need to "fiddle" with my set-up (Leblanc LL, VD B45 mpc, Rico Royal #3 reed, metal Leblanc lig). Surprisingly, although I told him of my concern about the "grunt", he could not hear it and did not think it to be a problem. I did squeak several times and he suggested using a bit less mpc in my mouth and using more lower lip. I'll have to work on that. He thought that we should work mostly on developing my technique, particularly fingerings. I played some technical exercises and duets. I have some homework for next week. All in all a very promising and reassuring start.
P.S. It is amazing and rather irrational that I felt rather nervous beforehand. More nervous, in fact, than I felt, for example, prior to giving a scientific lecture before a high-powered audience, such as a series of lectures I gave some time ago at the College de France in Paris as a substitute for a Nobel prize winner in physics! (Oui, beejay, je suis un francophile. J'aime la vie francaise et les francais, compris leur position politique independente!)
Henry
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Author: Henry
Date: 2003-04-24 15:58
Indeed! How come you are familiar with that? Are you into capillaries too?
Henry
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2003-04-24 16:41
Henry wrote:
> Indeed! How come you are familiar with that? Are you into
> capillaries too?
If I remember right, I was working on an automotive computer program in tribology (using colloidal suspensions) and a reference to your work was there. I don't remember exactly why it was in there - I was just making simulation programs run faster ;^)
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Author: Henry
Date: 2003-04-24 16:49
Great! For a moment I thought you might be a fellow colloid and surface scientist! Anyway, that life is now behind me and I'm concentrating much more on clarinet and sax!
Henry
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