 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: Kyle Jubenville
Date: 2001-08-23 19:24
Ok. I currently play on 4.5 Mitchell lurie premium(french file cut) reeds. I have a Amati model 314 clarinet with a Vandoren B45 mouthpiece...actually I have been dabbling in the Buffet (gasp) stock mouthpieces("borrowed" from a A R-13 that was loaned to me for a short while) and have been getting decent results, and I have a Buffet Ligature.
Here is my dilema....my instrument is usually in tune...but the throat tones(Middle C through third line b flat) are quite airy and their tone lacks quite a bit whereas the middle register and the lower register are quite alright. BUT the airyness isn't my problem..the fact that I can't get enough volume out of my instrument...people keep telling me to play louder and I am playing so loud that it feels like my tone is distorting. and finally...what i am looking for is a stable free-blowing reed that I can get good volume out of that is very responsive...also if a reed can't help me..what about different mouthpieces. ??? I would appreciate anyone's help I can get.
Thank you
Kyle
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: David Spiegelthal
Date: 2001-08-23 19:27
Kyle,
I would try different mouthpieces first, before searching for the Holy Grail of reeds. With a really good mouthpiece and a moderately good clarinet, virtually any respectable brand of reed will work well and sound good.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Suzanne
Date: 2001-08-23 20:16
Try venting your throat tones to improve the sound and lower the pitch. For example,
open G, add the first two fingers of your right hand;
same for G#
A, add the middle and ring finger of your left hand along with the middle and ring finger of your right hand and the C key
same for Bb
Have you tried Vandoren reeds with the Vandoren mouthpiece? Traditional work fine on my B45.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Katfish
Date: 2001-08-23 20:56
Your reed may be too hard for a B45 mouthpiece. Can you hold an open G for at least 25-35 seconds? Otherwise you may be working too hard. Try a 31/2 or 4.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Dee
Date: 2001-08-23 21:32
The tone holes may need cleaning. See if that helps.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 2001-08-23 21:56
Kyle -
The B45 is the most open non-jazz mouthpiece Vandoren makes. With a 4-1/2 reed, you should have trouble playing soft, not loud.
As discussed on the Klarinet list recently, B45s are notoriously inconsistent. Also, almost anything plays better than a Buffet stock mouthpiece and ligature. This makes me think you may have a bad B45. Go to a music store and try a few B45s. While you're there, try a 5RV Lyre, which has a medium length and opening.
As you have found, there's a limit to how loud you can play just be blowing harder. Too much air pressure and the sound becomes forced and blatty. The solution is to get more overtones into the sound, to give it a "ping" that will let you be heard at any volume level.
I've posted the basic exercise for this several times. Go to http://www.sneezy.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=1&i=32770&t=32692 .
Once you learn to listen for overtones and keep them in the sound, you need to develop your volume. To do this, take more reed in your mouth, relax your embouchure and use more air without blowing harder. This involves breathing deeply, all the way down to your hips, and filling your lungs from the bottom up, so that your chest rises naturally on top of the air. Then relax and let the air rush out without effort. If you push at all, push down, not up from the bottom.
It helps to play double lip, which I do full time.
Finally, it's easy to get fixated on energy and volume. You also have to think about beauty. The sound should be round as well as big. Think "ooo" as in "moon." I posted a long, philosophical piece about the concept of tone at http://www.sneezy.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=1&i=43807&t=43777 , with some exercises that may help you.
It's hard to say more without hearing you play. You really need a teacher to work one-on-one with you. Still, do the exercises for a couple of weeks, and then come back and tell us your experience.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Bob Curtis
Date: 2001-08-25 02:13
Kyle:
Let me first caution you to the fact that stiffness of reed DOES NOT automatically mean that you are going to play better with a tremendous sound and big tone. I suspect two things are happening her.
(1) The stiffnes of reed is causing you to have to blow harder without being able to successfully control the way your horn sounds. If you have to work at it so hard just to porduct the sounds it stands to reason that all of the energy is used just to do only this, NOT to control the tone and sound (volume). Try using a 1/2 step softer reed, and perhaps gradually decrease this until the quality of the regtister in question becomes better under control. It will not happen over night. It will take some time to get used to the softness of the reed as you adjust downward.
(2) Are the open tones (G - Bb) the culprits of most of the "POOR" tones? If so, try closing some of the right hand keeys as you play the open tones and the instrument will have more of the wood being used to produce the sound. It would be very difficult to do this in fast pasages, of course, but on slower ones it is quite simple. You will have to experimnent a little to find the right combination for your instrument as they are all different. My old teacher used to call these "wolf tones" because no one could make them sound correctly using only the simple fingerings - they had to be enhanced using the other fingers and holes to aid in the production of sound.
Try these suggestions and see how they work. I would like to know the results. Good Luck!!
Bob Curtis
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
