 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: 1stef1
Date: 2005-02-17 02:35
I'm glad I've found this board - I'm hoping that someone can help. I'm a grade 7-8 music teacher in my 3rd year of teaching - my first year with the 7-8s and band instruments (I've been doing primary). My expertise is with brass (I play trombone) however I did take a 1 semester crash course in clarinet pedagogy 5 years ago...how time flies and how quickly I have forgotten! As the kids learn new notes I've had a lot of diffuculty this week with introducing the b (natural) and c above middle c. Most of the students just can't produce the sound. I can play them myself but I'm finding difficulty expressing how to attain the note to the kids. Granted, some of the instruments aren't in the best condition so we have to take special care to make sure that the holes are covered by pressing hard, but I'm hoping that some of you can give me some ideas of what you do with your young beginners once they cross the break and have to play the higher notes. Perhaps something to visualise/shape the mouth/appropriate pressure???... You guys are the experts! Thanks for any assistance with this, I AND my students will appreciate it!
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Author: pewd
Date: 2005-02-17 02:49
heres the approach i take with beginners -
i first get new students to play open G down to Low F
then add Bb, and teach a F scale , descending
once they master that, make them play an f scale ascending (one octave).
once they get that, add the register key and a C scale pops out , e.,g make them play the low octave F scale with the register key and they get the 2nd octave C scale. slurred at first.
stressing fast air, flat chin, etc. and stressing that they shouldn't bite down or pinch the mouthpiece as they go higher.
once they get far i give them a handout page with 12ths.
C-G
Bb - F
A-E
G-D
F-C
E-B
whole notes, slurred. 4 beats on the middle c, add register key, slur up to G, 4 more beats, etc. when they get that , half notes, then quarters.
then a solo or short piece that makes use of the higher notes
>holes are covered by pressing hard,
dont press too hard. stress using the tip of the finger, not the knuckle,and making sure they're covering the tone holes correctly.
right hand position is important too - thumb in proper position, fingers not curled underneath the horn or looped under the trill keys, etc.
wrist position is critical at this stage too - many of them have their wrists bent funny, cant reach the lower keys, fingers get pulled off the tone holes etc.
others will surely pipe up with more opinions shortly.
hope thats helpful.
paul
- Paul Dods
Dallas, Texas
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Author: Robert Moody
Date: 2005-02-17 03:49
I would suggest that for any kids who seem to continue struggling with little progress you try this:
Take a clarinet that YOU can play the notes comfortably on. The point here is to have a good working instrument to make sure it is not the instrument causing them issues.
Next, assuming you understand the mechanics of the embouchure as Paul was describing above, turn the mouthpiece backwards and have the student grab it at the barrel with one hand. You hold the instrument and finger the notes while they blow. [Note: As a former teacher of middle-schoolers in a school where people are looking for trouble, I suggest professionally that you make sure you stand to the side of the clarinet when doing this. You are asking for trouble if you allow the clarinet to point between your legs with the other end in their mouth. I know this sounds jacked-up, but life as a teacher demands being overly aware of things like this.]
Have the student focus on a focused, fast airstream and good embouchure. You finger the notes starting on an easy and responsive note like first line "e" and move around the clarinet in the lower register as they play.
After they giggle from the effect and return to blowing, tell them to blow as if they were slowly getting louder. In the middle of this crescendo, move to low Bb and then add the register key jumping to top line F.
Have them stop and tell them how great they are that they played even higher than the B the are trying to conquer. Start again and this time move down to the low G and register up to D. Go again and play down to low F and register up to C. One more time down to low E and register up to B.
This little game will let you know whether they are doing everything satisfactorily with the embouchure and air. Correct anything in those areas as you hear deficiencies.
If this little exercise works, have them do the patterns Paul and others mention. Often times the moving to the register key causes them to re-adjust other fingers out of place making it difficult to get anything but a squeak or a sub-tone when the attempt to go up.
Also, if this exercise works you should point out to them that: 1. They have the ability to play the notes. 2. How important a good embouchure and airstream is to playing in the different ranges of the instrument. After telling them this, let them try one more time and really think about a firm embouchure and focused, fast air. Suggest to them that they should remember how it feels when it is right and attempt to get that same feeling when they are doing it by themselves.
Hope this helps.
[Edit: It is important for reed-players to listen to good players. Get them to get some recordings of good players. If all else fails, you are welcome to use the recordings on my site www.musix4me.com under the Music area. They are not copyrighted and you are welcome to them to record onto CDs to hand out to the clarinet players. It will help them get a good concept of what they want to sound like.]
Robert Moody
http://www.musix4me.com
Free Clarinet Lessons and Digital Library!
Post Edited (2005-02-17 03:52)
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Author: jez
Date: 2005-02-17 09:50
1stef1,
If you were advising a trombone student about the choice of their first teacher, would you recommend a clarinettist? I suspect not.
The first lessons on any instrument are the most crucial as they can lumber one with fundamental problems which may take years to get rid of, or more likely lead to the student giving up in desperation.
I recently spent much effort trying to correct the mistakes of a student who had been started off by an oboist. Just knowing the fingerings isn't enough to give anyone a good grounding in the feel of how to play and that's from another woodwind instrument.
My own son is learning a brass instrument and I hope I've learned enough to do no more than help him with rhythms, music-theory etc.
jez
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Author: music_is_life
Date: 2005-02-17 12:38
one thing to make sure of: make sure that the right thumb is kind of angled up to the register key... so that it may cover the "thumb F" key, but the tip of their thumb is nearly touching the register key. that way, when it comes time to add the register key, they simply place it down- they don't have to make major hand adjustments to get the register key down while keeping the thumb down on the F key.
make sure they are supporting with lots of air with the diaphram. I realize that in times like these you probably can't actually touch their diaphram, for, as robert mentioned, people are looking for trouble. however, tell them to push their stomach out as they breath in (I notice with students that they tend to suck their stomach in)
also- they like demonstrations, so demonstrate if you can! or, like robert said, get them recordings of the pros
and one last thing- kids like visuals. they always help. so get them a fingering chart (for the upper notes) and explain how it works. also, when working on a piece with them, write in the fingerings above the notes and make sure they understand how it works and what it means.
hope that helps.
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Author: 1stef1
Date: 2005-02-18 00:45
jez,
to clarify, I am a middle school band teacher where I teach classes of 30 students on many different band instruments - w.wind, brass and percussion. I am not a private teacher and would never attempt to teach one-on-one outside of my expertise.
As I am a "new"er teacher, I don't pretend to know everything about what I teach so I seek advice from the experts (you, the members of this community) so I can avoid making mistakes such as you have described!
Thanks to all for your very helpful advice - I've already put some of it into practice and have come out with success!
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Author: pewd
Date: 2005-02-18 03:47
i forgot the turn the mpc around trick. very valuable to convince them that the finger position is causing trouble.
and roberts point about making sure their horn works is well spoken also - what with all the junk from pawn shops, ebay, cso's from sams club etc , many beginners have really messed up horns. i put my mouthpiece on their horn, blow a chromatic on it, , to prove to them their horn isnt the issue, or in some cases, to make me immediately tell them to take it to a shop. sometimes they have bent keys, swollen or torn pads, etc, and dont know it.
search here to see how to perform a leak test - check the horn for leaks - i've seen beginning students with horns that had missing pads (nothing- empty pad cup - go figure), bent keys that wont close, etc. quick leak test will tell you if theres a maintenance issue.
paul
side note - which thumb you want on the register key? right or left ?
- Paul Dods
Dallas, Texas
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Author: music_is_life
Date: 2005-02-18 12:25
>>side note - which thumb you want on the register key? right or left ?
the left, silly! whoops....did I say right? *blush* my apologies. I've been playing for about 8 years now and I still cant visualize it in my head!
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Author: Meri
Date: 2005-02-19 16:54
When introducing my private students (and some school groups) to the register change, I have them play twelfths, starting from the lower note and simply adding the register key. Once they master that, I have them slur down, in half notes from clarion D-C-B-A-G, and then back up. Also adding the RH fingers will help. Then have them do this going back up, and learn the entire C major scale. I have a set of exercises on this register change that covers this change, such as putting a Bb instead of a B, a C# instead of a C, and both.
One of the important things to remember about the register change is to "blow through the break", to improve the sound quality of the throat tones and to connect the tone quality between the chalumeau and clarion registers.
Meri
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