 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: MPowell119
Date: 2011-05-26 21:54
Hey guys, long time reader, first time poster. I've been playing the clarinet since middle school. (First year in college now.) In between high school and college I took almost two years of from playing. Well, now that I've gotten back I'm finding it very difficult to get above a "C" above the staff. Only if I play slowly can I get these notes to sound without squeaking, and even then it's still very difficult. In high school I never had this problem. I was able to play obnoxiously high parts with ease.
In high school I was on a buffet R13 with a Vandoren B45 w/ 3 1/2 reeds. Now I'm on a different R13 with a Clark W Fobes Cicero Mouthpiece no. 12 w/ 3 1/2 reeds.
If anyone can help shed some light on this it would be greatly appreciated.
P.S. I've tried other clarinets with the same mouthpiece setup and I still had this issue.
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Author: SteveG_CT
Date: 2011-05-26 22:50
My first guess would be that your embrouchure has weakened from the time off. I know I was junk in the upper clarion and anything further up when I started playing again after a couple of years off. A few months of diligently practicing long tones fixed the problem for me.
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2011-05-27 01:37
It sounds to me like a weak embouchure is causing the problem. I suspect you're playing on a reed thats slightly beyond what your embouchure can comfortably handle. Try backing off your reed a tad, to 2 or 2.5. If that fixes the problem then tour embouchure will srengthen with time and practise. Have you tried a B45 m/p on this horn?
Tony F.
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2011-05-27 02:22
There are so many reasons you could have this problem. Since you said you have the same problem with other clarinets we can rule your clarinet out. So it's either you, the reed or the mouthpiece. Do you know how to check to see if your reeds are sealing or not. With the reed in place, place the palm of your hand on the back of the mouthpiece and suck the air out of the tip of the mouthpiece. If the reed is sealing properly you will create a vacuum and the reed will clasp onto the facing for a second or two and then POP back. If that works it means the reed is sealing so it's not the reed or the mouthpiece, at least the MP is not leaking. You may have to try some other MPs to see if you find a better fit for you. If it's not any of those then it's you. You're either pinching or you're not supporting enough. Try firming your embouchure, not pinching. If that doesn't work try relaxing your embouchure a bit. If you're playing up to the C with reasonable comfort then the reed strength is fine, if you're working to hard, using to much air or pressure the reed is too hard, if it's to free and you have to relax to much in order not to pinch the reed closed then the reed is too soft. Either one will create a problem. Experiment. ESP
eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: Ellie_M
Date: 2011-07-01 11:58
I had this problem when I first started playing about a year ago and I was convinced that there was something wrong with my clarinet. Everything over C sharp in the altissimo range was painful to behold and no matter how many times I checked my ligature it didn't sound right until my private instructor taught me a way to get a beautiful, clear sound. It sounds a little wierd, but if you pair it with a fresh reed, it sings.
Open your throat. When you hit the C#, open your throat like you'd say "ahhh" at the doctors and try to get it so that your air hits the roof of your mouth rather than going straight through the mouthpiece. Weird, I know.
The air in the altissimo range really just stays in the barrel when played correctly; and you want it to rotate rather than get squeezed all the way through the horn.
This has gotten me through my chromatic at 120+ during county and district auditions and I strongly recommend practicing long tones to train yourself to know about how much air you actually need to get your preferred sound.
Best of luck!
Ellie
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Author: kdk
Date: 2011-07-01 13:52
The most obvious thing to try, if you still have the B45 somewhere, is to go back to it and see if the problem persists or not, since you and the mouthpiece is the one thing in the equipment chain that has changed. The advice you've already gotten about pinching is very likely the bottom-line cause of the problem, and Ed Palanker's list of suggestions is good, but the change in mouthpiece may go part of the way toward explaining why it's now become a problem.
B45 is quite open at the tip (1.195 mm). Fobes Ciceros are not nearly so open (Cicero 14 is adv ertised as 1.08 mm). The Cicero curve length is also a little shorter (16 mm), I think, than the B45 (advertised as Medium Long - probably 17 or 18 mm).
Karl
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Author: sonicbang
Date: 2011-07-01 17:29
In fact American and Europian standards about facing length are very different. The American medium long facing is about 17-18mm and long facing in Europe usually means 20+mm. Vandoren B45 has a facing length about 21mm. It would be unplayable with 17.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2011-07-01 18:06
That's an interesting point. I'm never sure with Vandoren's curve designations (M, ML and L) what exactly they mean. My VD Series 13 mouthpieces (which I realize are produced for American players) are mostly in the 17 mm-18 mm (34-36 on a Brand gauge) vicinity with a couple as long as 19 mm (I don't remember off-hand which ones are which lengths). I don't own a B45 of either series to check its actual measurements.
The only point of comparison I own is a pair of M15 mouthpieces, one a Series 13 and the other a Traditional. They are both described as "L" facings with 103.5 tips. When I measure their curves with a standard feeler (.0015") I get the same - 19 mm - for both models. Of course, "standard feeler" may not mean the same thing to everyone who measures these things, and if a thinner feeler is used, the measured length will be longer.
I'm not so sure, by the way, that there aren't a lot American players using B45s (at 119.5 tip and 18 mm curve) with medium or medium-soft French (not heavier German-style) reeds.
In any case, the main point is that a B45 and a Fobes Cicero 14 are very different facings (even without considering the internal differences) and the difference could account for some of the OP's difficulty.
Karl
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Author: sonicbang
Date: 2011-07-01 18:27
To play in the high register is theoretically easier with a shorter facing (at least in general). It's a strange problem.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2011-07-01 19:20
Until Michael has a chance to test the idea, he won't know if the change of mouthpiece is involved or not. Whichever type of facing *should* be easier for high notes (I think you're probably right), I can imagine that a more open tip might be more forgiving of biting, if that's really the root of his problem (none of us has heard what's actually coming out when he plays those notes). This may indicate a habit that he simply got away with more easily with the B45. <shrug>
Of course, without hearing Michael play, there's no way to know for sure what's going on.
Karl
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