 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: krainbow921
Date: 2005-07-11 02:09
Hi,
I've a new learner and had only 5 lessons in music class. Recently we learnt about tonguing and I was wondering, when I use my tongue to stop a note, I actually also stopped my breath.
But when I continue to the next note, I am still using the same breath and don't need to inhale.
Is this the correct method? Or am I supposed to be still blowing air whilst I use my tongue? Coz I can't seem to coordinate this.
hope you undertand what I meant.
thanks.
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Author: Tyler
Date: 2005-07-11 02:29
The air pressure must never be stopped while articulating with the tongue. Search the BBoard for articulation, staccato, and tonguing. You will probably come across analogies such as: think of the tongue as a valve on a garden hose with the air as the water. It merely gets in the way of the water temporarily so that it does not pass out of the hose but remains pressurized, ready to speedily project again once the valve releases it.
It is the same with your air and tongue. Breath deeply from your diaphragm but do not squeeze the air out but think of it being pressurized like air from an aerosol can (Tom Ridenour's analogy) and flowing out in a focused stream of FAST air. Then you must learn to be very very very light with your tongue so that it is easy to take it off of the reed once it is placed on in a miniscule movement of articulation.
I hope this has been of help. Good luck.
-Tyler
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2005-07-11 02:35
Tyler wrote:
> The air pressure must never be stopped
Never? It depends on what you're trying to accomplish. In many cases you'd be right; in some cases you'd be wrong. Stopping the reed with the tongue without stopping the air is a technique that has to be learned and done well, but it's not the only method of articulation.
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Author: krainbow921
Date: 2005-07-11 03:27
well, without having a mouthpiece in my mouth, I can move my tongue up and down whilst keep blowing air out. But then this breath seems to run out much quicker and i'd be gasping for air.
With a mouthpiece in my mouth, it just seems automatic that I will also stop giving air to the mouthpiece when i use my tongue to stop a note. Its more like pressing the 'pause button' on a cd player, and then resuming to playback (using the same breath). This way I find my breath to last alot longer.
When you say keep the air pressure, I'm not quite sure if you meant keep blowing air even when i am tonguing, or does it mean when i resume the next note, I use the same 'air pressure' of breath to blow into the mouthpiece?
Because when I resume to the next note, my breath is at same pressure (strength) since I'm not inhaling a new breath. Like I said, Its more like using the 'pause' button on a cd player and then resuming to normal playback.
So is my method wrong? Because I'd like to correct is now rather than later since I'm still in the learning phase.
Thanks heaps.
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Author: MisiMcG
Date: 2005-07-11 11:58
When I teach my beginning clarinetists to tongue, I teach the following steps:
1. Make sure the student can produce a good tone with no tongue
2. Teach them how to find the portion of their tongue that should touch the reed.
3. Start the first tongued note by placing the tongue on the reed, starting the airflow, and then removing the tongue while the air is still moving.
Once they can do this, then we work on tonguing a sustained note several times, ie: start with a sustained note and then without stopping the airflow, let the toungue touch the reed several times in a row. Once they have mastered this, I move to starting with a tongued note. Lastly, we move to changing notes while tonguing.
I find that this method (while most certainly not the ONLY method out there) works well for me and repetition of these basics at practice (or at least at the weekly lesson) results in students who start with good basic tonguing technique which can then be refined as they progress.
Misi
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