 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: dmarxs
Date: 2009-11-18 13:26
I've been playing for about 4 months on a Yamaha 650. I've managed to eliminate all the squeaking problems I had when I started and can go up and down the Chalumeau and Clarion registers pretty cleanly apart from one note which I seem to have hit a wall with.
When I go from Clarion B or C right into an open G I get a squeak unless I reduce the air pressure or break the air flow just before the open G.
I've tried many things changing how much of the mouthpiece I have in, different reeds etc. But to no avail, if I maintain the air open G will squeak harshly coming from B.
I would be grateful for tips or advice that anyone could give who has come across this problem with students or their own playing? This one squeak is getting kind of frustrating.
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Author: RAB
Date: 2009-11-18 13:35
Check and make sure you are not bumping the throat A or Ab key, Also make sure the reed is not warped and is flat on the mouthpiece and is not leaking around the side rails. Also you might want to have the mouthpiece checked and make sure the facing is not warped. Just a few thoughts
RAB
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Author: Menendez
Date: 2009-11-18 14:25
It is a very common problem, due a wrong embochure.
Try to support well the upper incisor teeth on the mouthpiece, and directs air into the tube.
You just hold the clarinet only with the right thumb and the support of the incisors on the mouthpiece. Lower lip is only to control the air column, pression, vibration of the reed, etc.
Sorry my english xD.
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Author: TianL
Date: 2009-11-18 14:54
I have been trying to figure out a very similar problem for a while (like a couple of months). But besides G ->C and C->G, I could also get squeaks from throat A and G into clarion D and E.
I've found that there were at least several factors together that could be causing this.
1) I never had this problem before until I began to use a Kaspar Ann Arbor. Both of my Kaspar Ann Arbors would give me this issue times. I also found that a Fobes SF model also gave me this issue. I feel that these mouthpieces have a common character of extremely powerful-feeling and easy of articulation (feels very immediate - not much depth if that makes sense), like more of a aggressive feeling. I'm not sure which part of the mouthpiece affects this but seems that I only get this squeak when I use this kind of mouthpiece. Which mouthpiece are you using?
2) I don't get this problem, even with my Kaspar, on certain reeds. I especially get more of the squeaks with older reed, after I work on them with ATG system. Gradually I've found that it was because I was only working on the tip part of the reed when I do ATG, and if the tip gets too soft *relative* to the mid/back part of the reed, then this squeak problem will be exaggerated. If then I thin the mid/back part of the reed, or clip the top a little, this problem would tend to disappear (however then my sound gets brighter if I thin the middle too much - so there is a middle point where everything is good).
3) I learned that I must keep everything my mouth as constant as possible to not have this squeak issue. If for example, I change the volume or tongue position too much for some reason during this transition, I will get a squeak.
For me it's some weird combination of the above three reasons. It's quite annoying sometimes and though I love the sound and articulation of that Kaspar so much, I might have to switch. I've used M13, Backun, and Hawkins before and never had any issue like this.
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Author: dmarxs
Date: 2009-11-18 15:09
@TianL I'm using the stock MP that came with the Yamaha 650, I also have a Pomarico Crystal Jewel Sapphire that was given to me, but I find that hard to play so stuck with the Yamaha MP.
Thank you all for the advice. I'll continue to plug away at the problem.
Post Edited (2009-11-18 15:13)
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2009-11-18 21:36
Well, my very limited experience with the yamaha 650 (tested out about three of them, and have one waiting for me when I return), leads me to believe that it's a VERY fine instrument (if set up correctly), and the three I had were set up well enough from the factory. The instrument, I think, would not be the problem.
I've never been a fan of stock mouthpieces with the big 4 (Buffet, Selmer, Leblanc, Yamaha). They are playable, but require a lot of work and effort for me to play, and still just don't sound as nice. And the mouthpiece is a VERY important part of the package. If you can swing it (I'm assuming from your post you're a relatively new player?), go to our mouthpiece sponsors, and look for Clark Fobes. His "Debut" mouthpiece is a very good inexpensive mouthpiece. I only recommend it because I've tried it, and it is very good. Easy to play, and would be a good step to learning.
I don't know what your embouchure is. If you don't have a teacher, it'd be a good idea to get one. You don't have to learn from the principal of a major philharmonic. A good way would be to go to your local high/middle school and ask the music director there. Or look for a community band and ask them what clarinet teachers there are. You'll find a variety of teachers, at a variety of prices, and a lesson every week or every other week (depending on how much time you have in your schedule) will really help you get over little 'blocks' in your playing (like, oh, for instance, getting from a clarion C to a G? )
Good luck and enjoy playing!
Alexi
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Author: annevv
Date: 2009-11-25 19:45
I'm fairly new to the clarinet (but not to music) and had what seems to me to be a fairly similar problem during my first year of playing the clarinet. I was also at the stage where I could play comfortably in both the chalumeaux and clarion registers, when I suddenly started to squeak on open G, and sometimes throat A, whenever I moved down from the clarion register. In my situation it was related to a subtle change in embouchure. I was able to solve the problem with some very insightful comments from my teacher. Here's what we tried:
First, I switched (temporarily) to a very light reed. Then I played for about two weeks only within the chalumeaux register and only legato. (Avrahm Galper's Clarinet Method, book one, has some wonderful exercises in this area. I spent the time working on cleaner fingerings between jumps.)
After that we added back the clarion register, again with only legato playing. Whenever the squeak happened (always only when descending from the clarion register) I went back to playing a few chalumeaux notes to re-set the embouchure. Focusing on maintaining this embouchure I went back to the clarion register, descended again, and, wonderfully, no squeak! After a while I could almost feel the change in embouchure whenever I needed to re-set it and eventually I was able to find it just by thinking about it. The squeaking disappeared altogether.
After that, we added back studies with articulation. When that stayed squeak-free, I switched back to my original reed strength (mostly because I tended to play somewhat flat on the light reed, no matter what I tried and my teacher suspected the reed was collapsing on me).
The whole exercise took about six weeks and a lot of patience. The change in embouchure seemed subtle to me - I certainly couldn't see any difference when looking in the mirror. But I can feel the difference and I think it's part of my muscle memory at this point (it's just "there").
There was also another post on this board from around 2001 from some one who also experienced this problem, which I found using the search function at that time. It suggested embouchure as a possible cause, as well as several other suggestions. If I can find the post I'll add it to this thread.
Hope this helps, and good luck!
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Author: annevv
Date: 2009-11-27 18:23
Here's the thread I mentioned earlier: www.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=1&i=44051&t=44051. It's from some one who, after eight months of playing, started squeaking periodically on open G and throat notes, A and B. (It could have been me last Winter! I always wondered what happened for Jerry and whether he is still enjoying his clarinet out there somewhere!).
One other thought. My clarinet teacher often talks about how the reed responds differently in the clarion register (as compared to the low register) and part of learning is adapting to that difference. I also take voice lessons (I've been doing this for about seven years) and it sometimes reminds me of how singers learn to keep the same tone colour on larger intervals (eg. for a 5th or more), since our voices also change somewhat in tone production quality as we move up and down the scale. There is a singing technique that I use that helps me with transitioning between registers on the clarinet. I think of the two notes on either side of the interval as being "horizontal", whatever the actual difference in notes (from low to high, or high to low) as I play them. That mental image seems to just smooth out the difference across the jump, even when it's between registers. I don't know why it works, but it just does! Anyway, you may wish to play around with a mental image that works for you, so that open G feels like part of a seamless continuum of notes.
Just some thoughts. Good luck and enjoy!
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Author: dmarxs
Date: 2009-11-29 13:17
Thanks for the help. I seem to have mostly got rid of the harsh squeaking. I went ordered myself a Weinburg mouthpeace and the sqeak went away as soon as I change over from the Yamaha 4c. In fact the whole instrument seems to play better, or atleast far more forgiving.
I still sometimes get kind of a grunt when coming down to that open G, but I'm putting that down to my lack of technique in removing all my fingers cleanly in one movment. Anyway, my squeak is gone, I'm happy.
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2009-11-30 10:45
Just another possibility:
It is very common for the E/B &/or the F/C key pad to leak when playing the B or C over the break. This would be by far the most comon maladjustment on a clarinet, including most brand new ones.
When that is the case, the player can compensate by playing with more air pressure, and perhaps a little more pressure from the lower lip on the reed to 'contain' that pressure.
If you are doing this, then you may well be carrying these parameters over to the open G. And open G just does not like that.
Solution: Get your clarinet expertly adjusted so that left hand pinky (no right hand pinky) fingering for mid-staff B plays just as easily as the clarion D above.
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Author: skygardener
Date: 2009-11-30 13:35
I have had beginner students with this problem. Generally, they had a habit of using a lot of jaw/lip pressure in the clarion and when they went down to the G or A, they squeaked. Try to use the same (or almost the same) amount of pressure in the clarion that you do in the chalumeau.
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