 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Sea Galan
Date: 2005-02-17 00:43
Author: Sea Galan (---.att.net)
Date: 2005-02-16 12:57
Thank You, Thank You, Thank You to the many responses to my posting. They are all full of good "stuff" and very helpful. As time goes by I will be asking questions. I think that my main question is the quality of the sound that I'm getting. The sound is much better now than what I was getting six months ago but still I'm not happy with it. For one thing I find myself blowing harder than what I think I should to get a clear note. I have a Vandoren B-45 mouthpiece and a Rovner L-5 ligature and using a Vandoren #2 reed. Of all the combinations that I have tried this one is the one that I'm most happy with. Still I notice that the amount of air pressure that I have to apply to the instrument is greater than what logic tells me. I have a Bufett E-11 clarinet. Not the best by all means but good enough for what I'm doing at the moment. So the big subject of the day is: Air Flow. I feel that I should lower the pressure of the air flow and still make the instrument sound good. At the moment I feel that I'm making too much of a loud sound. (noise?) If I back off on the air flow (presure) then the instrument just stops playing. I saw a documentary with Woody Allen on tour. At one point in the show he is trying a new clarinet and he made a comment about blowing very hard and not getting the right sound. That stuck in my mind. What's the asnwer besides a more expensive clarinet? Or have I answered my own question?
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Author: music_is_life
Date: 2005-02-17 01:38
first off- it's excellent that you're not happy with your sound because a very smart person once told me, "it's never good enough". maybe I'm too much of a perfectionist, but I think I improve everyday, so I'm not going to stop being one.
so anyway- I find that when I have to blow too hard, the reed is too thick. however, it might simply be that your reed is too high up on your mouth piece, and thus does not allow enough air to go through. so lower it by about a 1/4 of an ich or so. (I like Vandoren reeds- but if you think your reed might be the problem and you change thicknesses and moving it down doesn't help, try gonzalez, those ten to be about a 1/4 size thinner I believe- or the vandoren v-12 is good... or Zondas are decent. not my favorite, but if you're up for giving them a try...)
I think the Rovner ligs soften the sound a bit, but I might be wrong (I just find that on those metal ones it's much louder- but not as pretty). but stick with what you've got- rovners have nice sound quality. I have a Mark III.
also make sure your using air support and that you are breathing correctly. that is imperitive to sound quality/ air flow. are you breathing with your diaphram? if not, you need to take a deep breath (with out raising your shoulders up), letting your stomach kind of stick out, like if you had a beer belly. then inhale, moving the air up (so the stomach flattens- but don't suck it in) then breath out.
I hope that helps.
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2005-02-17 02:23
If you intend to use the same clarinet for some time, you may want to get it overhauled. My Bb (R13) is in the shop right now; a device that tests such things indicated that it was leaking 50% of its air, effectively making me blow twice as hard as I needed to. Straight out of the factory, I believe they tend to lose some 20%, which is tolerable. I'll see early next week how much of a difference this and the other repairs make.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2005-02-17 04:47
IMHO clarinet playing does indeed need quite a bit of air pressure - a lot more than sax, but rather less than oboe. I think experience players just get so used to it that they don't notice any more.
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Author: phoenix
Date: 2005-02-17 09:07
I'm very much a beginner with poor breath support. My
rented clarinet just went back to the store (broken cork) and I was given
another one. I was amazed at how the one I have now requires
about half the air pressure then the one I had. While this is
also an inexpensive rental, there's a world of difference. It's
probably a good idea to have it looked at.
Cathy
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Author: Sea Galan
Date: 2005-02-17 14:02
Thank you for the many ideas and suggestions. I'm trying to breath right and can notice the difference in the quality of the tone when I do get it right. At the same time there are so many other things that I'm trying to do at the same time that I forget to breath at the right moment. As I said earlier I'm not only trying to figure out how the play the instrument but also learning how to read music and there are so many notes to learn!!!
It's very interesting the suggestion about the clarinet itself loosing air and me havng to blow harder than needed. I will call my local music store and see if they have the capability of checking for air leaks. I bought the clarinet brand new so I assumed that it would work but as anything in life it might need some tunning. Of course, it is always very easy to blame the clarinet for my own bad playing. At the music store they have several clarinets that I can try out. Next time that I'm there I will bring my mouthpiece, reed and ligature and compare the clarinet. There was a mention of metal ligatures being too loud and I have to agree. There is a difference between the metal ligature that came with the clarinet and the Rovner L-5 that I'm using now. I'm getting a better sound. That makes me happy. And as Doc Severencen always say: "Practice makes perfect". Thank you all. Carlos
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Author: music_is_life
Date: 2005-02-17 15:16
if you think your clar. might have a leak, there are ways to check (before bringing it in, 'cause they're pros and can find things you can't) - but try it just to see if there's an obvious one: first take apart the clarinet. stick your left index finger (or whatever fits that wont let air flow out the end) into the hole in the upper section. place your right hand down to cover all the holes (make sure they're all covered and you dont have anything open), then form your lips over the hole at the top of the upper section, making sure air wont leak from your lips and blow. if there is resistence, then you're good. if you hear air leaking, either you haven't plugged it enough, or you have a leak (most likely a pad has come loose or something). do the same for the lower section, except you'll have to press it aganist your leg of palm of your hand. cover all the holes and pinnky keys holes, leaving nothing open, and blow. same as above.
now I know this is a faulty idea and not a great solution, but back when I had problems with my clarinet, I figured out that I had a leak by this method and took it to be fixed. so try it. but definitely take it to be checked out, even if it seems like there aren't any leaks.
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Author: Dan Shusta
Date: 2005-02-17 16:57
Sea,
I believe your B45 mouthpiece is the reason you are working so hard to produce a good sound.
Please see my extended response about this in your other current posting.
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Author: Sea Galan
Date: 2005-02-17 21:32
M I L, I will try doing the air leak test and see if I can find some problem. I tried moving the ligature further back on the mouthpiece leaving more reed free to vibrate and that worked very well. I might have been chocking the reed a little too much. I just read another posting where I found out that the B-45 mouthpiece is not an easy beginners mpc. The local music store has several mpcs that you can try (hopefully fully sanitized) and of all the ones I tried that was the one that I felt more comfortable with. True that I was having some problems with the air pressure but being a beginner and not knowing any better I attibuted the difficulty on me and not on the mpc. I have to say that in the short time that I have been in this BB I have found a fountain of information and very, very good BB friends. Carlos
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