 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Eoin
Date: 1999-11-16 08:05
At what angle should I hold the clarinet? I always tried for about 45 degrees, but the picture at the top of this bulletin board shows a player with the clarinet almost vertical. Which is best?
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Author: Arnold the basset hornist
Date: 1999-11-16 09:07
Me, too, reminds the picture for the following:
"keep your head upright, or you'll shut your throat"
and
"lift your upper arm slightly away from your chest, this will give you the the room to expand your thorax (horizontally) for a maximum volume to breath."
Both are basic rules for singing, too.
Arnold (the basset hornist)
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Author: Graham Elliott
Date: 1999-11-16 12:14
It is clear from the picture that the player is not holding his head straight at the time the picture was taken. If that was straightened out we would be able to see the real angle, which might be close to the norm. 45 degrees seems a good angle to aim at. Thurston went for a wider more horizontal angle, but that was probably unusual.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 1999-11-16 12:21
Don't use the picture as a model, just like you wouldn't take a picture of Benny Goodman holding the clarinet horizontal and head tilted back as a model. It's artistict impressions that were being sought in the picture, not pedagogical material.
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Author: Dee
Date: 1999-11-16 12:32
45 degrees is probably a reasonable average. Slight variations of angle can be used to correct flatness or sharpness. To lower the pitch, move the bell away from the body. To raise the pitch, move the bell towards the body.
The appropriate angle will also depend on a person's jaw configuration. Some one with more overbite than normal will need to move the bell closer to the body and some one with more underbite will need to move it out. You are striving for correct position of the mouthpiece relative to the lips and jaws and may need to compensate in these circumstances.
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Author: Kontragirl
Date: 1999-11-16 21:58
Mark Charette wrote:
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Don't use the picture as a model, just like you wouldn't take a picture of Benny Goodman holding the clarinet horizontal and head tilted back as a model. It's artistict impressions that were being sought in the picture, not pedagogical material.
You mean your not supposed to play like that? Just kidding...
I've always put my clarinet a little further out than "the norm" too...I haven't really even had any intonation issues until lately, now that I'm breaking the habit. That's probably just me getting used to it. I always thought it was a "whatever floats your boat" issue.
Just my useless opinion,
Kontragirl
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Author: HIROSHI
Date: 1999-11-16 23:07
There are a few things I can pick up why holding angles
are different by players such as:
1)Physical condition diffrence:
There are people whose upper teeth row is a little in
front of the lower row. In this case, the angle becomes
more bell down naturally. This is typically shown in
holding position of trumpet players.
2)Double lip embouchre players hold their instruments more
upright. This is also quite natural if we think how they
hold their mouthpieces.
3)Mouthpiece profile is different. I have Greg-Smith Kasper
Style mouthpice, which has deeper lower taper than
ordinary Vandorens. This makes the reed holding position
automatically more downward. It is natural to hold the
instrument more upright to compensate this deviation.
But above all, There is no formula such that if we follow it we can autpmatically play well. I would play as instructors tell only when I recognaize it works.
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Author: Meri
Date: 1999-11-16 23:10
I recently have been experimenting with clarinet angles, for the best control of sound for me (as I felt I was beginning to lose control of the sound). I have found that about 35 degrees gives me the best combination control and comfort.
So, try it out for yourself.
Meri
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Author: Kylene
Date: 1999-11-17 03:26
I have always (until recently) held my clarinet between a 30 and 40 degree angle. Recently, I had to correct some intonation things, and started holding it more towards 50 - I seem to get much better intonation and projection. maybe this has to do with the fact I play on a profile 88 B45?
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Author: Dee
Date: 1999-11-17 03:36
Kylene wrote:
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I have always (until recently) held my clarinet between a 30 and 40 degree angle. Recently, I had to correct some intonation things, and started holding it more towards 50 - I seem to get much better intonation and projection. maybe this has to do with the fact I play on a profile 88 B45?
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Well I play a B45 Profile 88 and it works better for me to be a little closer to my body.
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Author: tree
Date: 1999-11-17 03:54
I was taught that you should place the clarinet in your mouth completely perpendicular to your body and then slowly bring it in closer to your body unitl you find a comfortable place at which the sound is good, and you don't feel restricted. tree
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Author: HIROSHI
Date: 1999-11-17 06:00
Tree wrote:
I was taught that you should place the clarinet in your mouth completely perpendicular to your body and then slowly bring it in closer to your body unitl you find a comfortable place at which the sound is good, and you don't feel restricted. tree.
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I think what Keith Stein saids in his book "Art of Clarinet Playing seems more pesuading to me for long years.
Ordinarily we think the air flowing into straight into the mouthpiece. This is wrong. He insists we should have a feeling of blow of a bird hair on the top of nose by air from the mouth. This makes the air flow direction a little more on the reed plane.
His another advice for single lip players: Just have a feeling the mouthpiece tip area by the back side of the upper teeth, and let the lower lip contact the reed almost orthogonally.(Exact English expressions are to be refered to his book.)
By experiments I found this is very good holding position of the clarinet giving freer articulation. And this position nessessitates upright position.
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Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 1999-11-17 17:32
Eoin wrote:
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At what angle should I hold the clarinet? I always tried for about 45 degrees, but the picture at the top of this bulletin board shows a player with the clarinet almost vertical. Which is best?
Eoin -
If ever there were a question on which "your mileage may vary," this is it. It depends almost entirely on the shape of your lips, tongue and teeth, as well as personal preference. For example, Bernard Portnoy, former principal in Philadelphia, has a big overbite and a receding chin. He holds the instrument absolutely vertical. The well-known teacher and performer David Weber held it very far out -- at least 60 degrees. So did Alan Balter (principal in Atlanta). There's an engraving of Richard Muhlfeld (for whom Brahms wrote his clarinet works) that is said to be accurate and shows him holding the instrument straight out from his mouth (though below horizontal because he ducks his head slightly).
The only "correct" position is the one that works best for you. I think Tree's advice is excellent -- start horizontal and lower the instrument until it plays best.
One thing to watch is that you should not cock your wrists back. Keep your elbows in so that the top of your arm and the back of your hand make a straight line. Anything else leads to carpal tunnel syndrome or similar problems. Maintaining this straight line may limit how far you can go toward vertical.
Also, you may need to rotate the mouthpiece slightly to compensate for any unevenness in your teeth or jaw alignment. It looks a bit weird, but forget about that. All that counts is how it plays. Steve Girko, a wonderful player, has to turn his mouthpiece about 15 degrees to match the shape of his teeth and jaw.
And as always, play long tones, learning to hear what angle works best. For this purpose, the notes to begin with should be those that use a lot of the length of the instrument -- low F and G and clarion C and D, for example -- since those are easiest to get a good sound on and yet have enough variability to let you hear which angle works best.
Good luck. You never stop learning.
Ken Shaw
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