The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Sue G
Date: 2003-06-05 06:45
Hi folks,
Just wondering if anyone has any advice for me on this one please Following advice posted on this board to others ...............I can now manage, on my Buffet B12 student with Richard Hawkins student mouthpiece and Vandoren V12 2.5 reeds, to play the higher registry right up to C but ........... it's very shrill !!!
Not quite strangled cat syndrome but close !!!
Is is my setup do you think ?
Do I need to try different reed strength - V12 3 maybe??
or different reed type perhaps and not V12's ???
or is it just me and I need to keep practicing to improve and reduce the "shrill" tone ?
You may have seen my recent posts requesting re my quest for a wooden horn - I've bought a Leblanc Noblet but it's not arrived yet ...... wonder if I'll have the same problem on that ????
Thanks
Sue
:)
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2003-06-05 07:51
Do you mean the C two lines above the staff, or an octave above it?
If it's the higher one, I'd expect it to be shrill for just about anyone. Harder reeds should help intonation. Most sane pieces of music never get this high, and if they do, they don't stay there long.
If it's the lower one ("high C"), your setup should be fine. Notes below the altissimo should come out nicely with what you have, so it could be something that needs practice. Try working on airstream. It also depends on what you mean by shrill.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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Author: William
Date: 2003-06-05 15:22
As your embouchure becomes more developed and can manage a slightly stronger reed (V12, 3.5), you may gravitate toward a more "double lip" style of playing. That is to use more upper lip in the support of your tone than just upper teeth on the mouthpiece. To help undertand this concept, you may want to experiment with total double lip--playng without placing your upper teeth on the mpc beak and just using all upper lip support. Lots of great professionals play this way all the time. Try "double lip" for the first few minutes of practice, then switch to your conventinal "teeth on" style but also use more upper lip and not just the teeth for support. This will help "darken" your upper register. This may take some time to fully develop where you will notice results, so give it a try and "stick to it." Good luck!!!
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Author: Gretchen
Date: 2003-06-05 16:52
To add to what william said, as your embochure becomes more developed, you will actually learn to use more air and less mouth to produce the sound so you can almost relax the higher you go. Try blowing very hard, and pointing your chin down so that it's as straight as it can be. Open your throat, keep your tongue high and your air stream fast with your chin down (so you don't bite.) It'll probably be flat at first, but the more support you use, the more the pitch will settle.
Hope this helps.
Gretchen
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