 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: annev
Date: 2011-09-21 20:43
I'm interested in learning how to use a lifted soft palate position while playing the clarinet. As a singer, I understand how to create a lifted soft palate, but something about the back pressure that happens when I'm playing the clarinet (as opposed to singing) changes what I'm doing with my oral cavity. Any suggestions as to how to do this would be much appreciated!
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Author: 2E
Date: 2011-09-22 01:55
Something that helped me greatly with this is a video available for purchase through Play with a Pro by the principal clarinet of the Royal Danish Symphony Orchestra, Lee Morgan. He talks about elevating the soft palate and tongue position in depth during a discussion of the fundamentals of clarinet playing.
You can see a bit of a preview here
Or you can browse and purchase videos here
His orchestral excerpts video is fantastic too!
2E
Disclaimer: I'm not a spokesperson for Play with a Pro, just a very happy customer 
Post Edited (2011-09-22 01:56)
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Author: annev
Date: 2011-09-24 02:19
Thank you for the link. It's encouraging to see the concept of a lifted soft palate being promoted by a clarinet professional. They look like interesting and informative videos.
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Author: DNBoone
Date: 2011-09-24 02:25
I have always been told it is the feel of yawning. When you yawn your soft palate naturally rises.
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Author: annev
Date: 2011-09-27 02:49
Today I tried raising the back of my tongue and lifting my soft palate at the same time, as suggested in the thread, "High speed air?" and the technique just clicked. That's the air flow feeling I've been looking for with my questions about lifting the soft palate! Thank you so much. As always, this board is a tremendous resource!
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Author: Liquorice
Date: 2011-09-27 11:53
I watched the preview of Play with a Pro. Lee Morgan demonstrates how it sounds when he vocalises "aaah" and then when he vocalises "eeee". I actually prefer the sound he makes when he vocalises "aaaah"!!
To my ears, the sound at 1:18 (aaaah) sounds full and ringing, whereas the sound at 1:23 (eeee) is thin and forced.
To be honest I think this has more to do with the use of air, than tongue position. At 1:24, Lee is blowing too much air, and killing the sound.
This is also why I get irritated by teachers who constantly advise to blow more air, as if blowing out a candle. To my ears, this is an incorrect way of blowing. What is needed is air pressure, but not a huge air quantity.
But I guess it all depends on what kind of sound you want to make...
Post Edited (2011-09-27 11:54)
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Author: 2E
Date: 2011-09-28 08:28
When the back of the tongue is high, the same amount of air moves faster even though the pressures the same.
Imagine putting your thumb over the end of a hose, the water pressure doesnt change, yet the water shoots out faster. Lee Morgan demonstrates the same thing with the air, there's not more air it's just faster.
The effect on the tone is a personal preference, I don't know if the video recording quality does justice to the acoustics of the beautiful hall the Royal Danish Symphony Orchestra performs in. I would suspect the 'aah' sound doesn't carry to the back of the hall but the 'eeewwww' sound would project without needing more air, pressure or support, just a high tongue position.
Also, air speed based on tongue position is completely different to the lifted soft palate question of the original post. The actual Lee Morgan video talks about both issues seperately which you don't see in the preview.
Hope this is helpful,
2E.
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Author: Liquorice
Date: 2011-09-28 12:57
"Lee Morgan demonstrates the same thing with the air, there's not more air it's just faster"
That's not what I'm saying.
What I'm saying is that, when Lee demonstrates the tone he produces in the "eeee" position, he uses too much air. For the given note and dynamic he is simply blowing too much air into the instrument. This has the effect of making the sound thin and forced. Perhaps it's exactly because the air has been speeded up that he should be using less of it.
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Author: rdskiano
Date: 2011-12-27 19:07
try flaring your nostrils while you play. You might find the soft palate lifting involuntarily as you do!
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Author: cigleris
Date: 2011-12-27 22:04
2E wrote,
"I would suspect the 'aah' sound doesn't carry to the back of the hall but the 'eeewwww' sound would project without needing more air, pressure or support, just a high tongue position."
Not true. I always play with the "ahh" and have never had a problem projecting in all the major concert halls in the UK. The "eeewwww" from what I have heard tends to raise the pitch too much and make the tone a little too tight and sometimes shrill in the higher registers. My personal opinion is that "tongue position" should be kept as natural as possible. This allows for a more steady air flow which can be "pushed out the sides" of the instrument as opposed to faster travelling down the the "middle" of the instrument.
Peter Cigleris
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Author: speedyclarinet
Date: 2011-12-28 22:29
As far as I understand and hear Lee Morgans teaching, he is a real disciple of Robert Marcellus- one of the greatest clarinetists of the 20th century. That tongue position is so crucial to how the cultivation of sound is produced, instead of just letting it float around randomly- which will produce an unfocused sound with no core to it- and therefor without spin and projection. The soft palate has nothing to do with the tongue- obviously- it just gives that extra " headroom" of resonance, and at the same time takes some of the pressure off the reed- or at least can help doing this, since when engaging it, it will automatically lower your jaw just a tad. It´s all so super interesting stuff, and always had a lot of " mystery" surrounding it, since you can´t see it, but use the ears and the result is very obvious. Great Lee Morgan tries to pass on some of these same ideas- at least for us who are real Marcellus fans
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