 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: LeWhite
Date: 2005-01-30 04:20
Ok guys, I need some help in the next stage of my clarinet development!
Everything is generally quite good, solid, comfortable and integrated in my technique. But the part that I now wish to develop into more detail is the way I start the sound, stop the sound, and the finger pops. Generally, my fingers themselves are quite even, but the actual action of each individual finger varies. Some strike down quite loudly, some can already make quite a nice legato.
To start the sound, I never use my tongue; I start the air stream before I start the sound. But when I listen to some of my favorite clarinetists, it sounds as though they are using their tongue in an excellent manner to start their sound.
Another area I wish to improve on is my rhythm. I'm not always as careful as I could be and this leads to indescrepancies. Rhythm is the most important part, and it's a weak area for me! How I can be more dilligent in my daily practice to help myself become constantly aware and to count carefully ALL the time?
Can anyone give me some pointers as to exercises I can do to improve the above? What should I be listening for, in myself and others (recordings etc.)?
Thanks.
__________________
Don't hate me because I play Leblanc! ![[down]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smiley23.gif) Buffet
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: babiej2000
Date: 2005-01-30 07:14
Suggestions:
Rhythm: Subdivide EVERYTHING...Rose etudes (or any!) are good for this. Go through the etude and mark what each measure should be subdivided with. For example, if you have a measure with sixteenth notes, then you will subdivide down to the sixteenth...if you have thirty-second notes...subdivide everything to the 32nd. It's not the most thrilling exercise...I HATED this at first...but after constantly subdividing etudes. literature, ensemble music...rhythm is becoming much easier for me. Don't forget the power of a metronome...  Making sure that you feel the eat/pulse (and understand the difference between duple and triple meters).
As for the popping fingers...here's something to try...
What I find most important is LISTENING (as you are already doing so!)...and playing things slowly. For example...play a C major scale, slowly. Pay attention (WATCH) your fingers as you move from one note to the next. Pay attention to your hand position...are your fingers relaxed, curved, etc? Watch as you lift each individual finger, and make certain that the movement of the finger is not "sluggish"...think: "finger on, finger off". While it can be good to practice scales for speed, it is also good to practice them SSSLLLOOOWWWLY to listen and pay attention to the above mentioned. Some people can spend hours just on ONE scale watching fingers, listening for popping, practicing with different rhythms, speeds, intonation, etc, etc, etc.
You seem to be very aware of what you are doing...so part of it is simply figuring out what you are doing when it "sounds right". Maybe some of this will help... Best wishes!
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2005-01-30 11:50
LeWhite,
I'm not sure that you want your fingers to pop at all.
I remember hours of very slow and deliberate practice when I was taking lesson from Fred Cohen at Kent State U. many years ago. Fred was a student of Bonade and I suspect that is where he learned the technique. We concentrated on very carefully and slowly moving the fingers; I did this for a whole semester a a warmup. If I did this well, I got to play Rose. If not, more slow practice under Fred's watchful eye.
Is there a new school of clarinet playing that suggests that your fingers pop?
HRL
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: LeWhite
Date: 2005-01-30 12:06
LOL sorry for the misunderstanding, I indeed do NOT want my fingers to pop!
__________________
Don't hate me because I play Leblanc! Buffet
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: GBK
Date: 2005-01-30 16:05
Hank is correct. The principles of finger movement and tonguing as set forth by Bonade are important aspects to successful clarinet technique.
Read the Bonade Compendium on "fingers ahead" and it will change your concept of tongue/finger coordination.
To reinforce the principles of "fingers ahead", play Rose etudes #6, #11 and #26 (all from the 40) at a slow pace, thinking of each finger movement as it moves ahead to the next note in the passage.
For legato work, Bonade would always use Rose etude #1 (of the 40), played in 8, slowing down the motion of the fingers. Again, paying attention to letting the fingers "melt" into the keys and then, the careful lifting of each finger, or groups of fingers.
It may seem like taking baby steps when you can already walk, but Bonade's methods are the most successful way to coordinate tongue/fingers for rapid, clean, technique as well as building seamless legato...GBK
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: LeWhite
Date: 2005-01-31 07:16
Yeah my teacher and I have covered a lot of the 'fingers ahead' stuff - he was a student of Larry Combs' so he knows what he's on about, which is great. And we've done a little legato finger work in the past but not enough for me. I don't start lessons for another few weeks, which is why I posted this.
I'm still looking for advice on the starting of notes cleanly using the tongue - this is an area Ive had no previous experience in.
__________________
Don't hate me because I play Leblanc! Buffet
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: elmo lewis
Date: 2005-01-31 21:02
Before you start the note, your tongue should be on the reed, your fingers should be fingering the note and you should be blowing just as if you were playing. Of course there will be no sound because the reed cannot vibrate if the tongue is touching it. To start the note, simply remove the tongue. There should be no movement in any other part of the body, just the tongue coming off the reed.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: sfalexi
Date: 2005-01-31 21:07
Quote:
To start the sound, I never use my tongue; I start the air stream before I start the sound. But when I listen to some of my favorite clarinetists, it sounds as though they are using their tongue in an excellent manner to start their sound. As Elmo stated just above, the reed should be on the tongue with you blowing air through the instrument already. The tongue "releases" the reed allowing it to vibrate.
If you turn up the volume on some great recordings of clarinetists (I hear it most notably with Drucker music, Paquito D music, and most chamber music since it's easier to hear the clarinet), you can actually hear the breath going through the instrument about a half second before the sound comes out. Because they are employing the technique Elmo outlined.
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: mkybrain
Date: 2005-02-01 01:09
Heh, thats exactly what i do, but i always figured that that was a bad thing, guess not. Though the difference between my self and others might be that that sound just before the tone is produced is a little more "spitty".
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2005-02-01 02:48
GBK,
Your reference to Bonade and
"For legato work, Bonade would always use Rose etude #1 (of the 40), played in 8, slowing down the motion of the fingers. Again, paying attention to letting the fingers "melt" into the keys and then, the careful lifting of each finger, or groups of fingers."
is exactly what I did for several weeks in lessons with Fred Cohen (I mentioned earlier that he was a Bonade student). I have not thought of this in years. Gracefully taking the fingers away was just as important.
Thanks for the memory!
HRL
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: LeWhite
Date: 2005-02-01 08:54
So I'm on the right track - I put air through the instrument before I make sound. Now I just need to involve the tongue to clean it up. Got it!
__________________
Don't hate me because I play Leblanc! Buffet
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: John Stackpole
Date: 2005-02-01 11:21
From another (re-)beginner...
If my tongue is on the reed, getting ready to make a note, is not the reed "closed" against the mouthpiece facing? Thus no substantial amount air can actually go thru the instrument - there is just pressure.
Or am I pressing too hard on the reed? Is barely touchiing the reed - to stop vibration - without closing off the air flow the proper technique?
Thanks (lots to learn)
JDS
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Liquorice
Date: 2005-02-01 12:15
John- you are indeed pushing too hard onto the reed. You only need to touch the reed extremely lightly to stop the vibration, and air will still be able to pass between the reed and mouthpiece opening.
I can't say that in Europe most clarinet players always start the sound using the tongue. It is one of the many possibilities of articulating a note, and can be compared with starting the bow 'on the string' on string instruments. The opening of the Weber Concertino, or the opening of the Strauss Duo Concertino would be clear examples of notes which shouldn't be started with the tongue.
I would say that starting a note with the tongue is an effect which would not be used all the time in classical music- only when you want a specific "ping" at the beginning of the sound. You don't stop most notes suddenly, so why start them suddenly? Musical phrases in classical music are most often like waves, not like concrete blocks! Conductors frequently ask for specific kinds of attack from the wind section, but most commonly they ask if a note can be started with less "tongue" rather than more.
Learn how to start a note with the tongue, but only use it when the music requires it!
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
