 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Clarinetpassion98
Date: 2023-09-04 15:21
Dear clarinet players,
hereby I turn to you asking for help with the staccato topic. My problem is, that it is not good controllable, it stumbles at a certain tempo or, when I want to control it, it sounds really hard and is limited, no matter what I do, I do all factors like air support, embouchure, light tonguing etc. It is to despair. I would be really happy about your advice and remain with best musical regards.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2023-09-05 00:50
In a more casual conversation at home Robert Marcellus likened learning staccato properly to potty training. It is slow and somewhat filled with angst.
Firstly you must break down [all this refers to single tonguing by the way] the components of the "attack." Placement of the tongue on the reed ceases the vibrations much like the hand on a timpani head or grabbing the edge of a hi-hat or pressing marching cymbals into one's chest. Withdrawing the tongue from the reed (as you are blowing air) allows the reed to begin vibrating again. So the actual attack is the WITHDRAWING of the tongue, NOT the hitting of the reed with the tongue (there really is no such thing).
A way to practice staccato tonguing would be to play a scale (perhaps around 60 beats per minute) by continuously blowing as you quickly withdraw your tongue from the reed for the first note and quickly replace it (emphasizing the withdrawal) to create a "TUT" sound. The idea is not to create a pleasing note but a very very short STOP/START. It probably should not sound so great. Keep playing this way up and down the scale. There is a "stop staccato" method described in Daniel Bonade's Clarinetist's Compendium. The great part about Bonade's exercise is that he adds moving to the next note IN BETWEEN SOUNDS in a rhythmic movement. I recommend this to all my students.
..............Paul Aviles
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Author: Tom H
Date: 2023-09-06 04:43
A study I got from Russianoff in 1973 turned my sub-par staccato ability into one of my strong points. In a nutshell, you start on low C and play CCCDEEEFG, hold the G if you like. Then when you can do this at one speed every time, increase the speed a LITTLE until that speed is perfect. I guess the idea is it's easier to tongue the same note repeated (thus CCC) than changing notes where tongue & fingers must align. But in the excercise, you are doing that with the ccCDEee, etc. Details on how to expand this are in my book.
The Most Advanced Clarinet Book--
tomheimer.ampbk.com/ Sheet Music Plus item A0.1001315, Musicnotes product no. MB0000649.
Boreal Ballad for unaccompanied clarinet-Sheet Music Plus item A0.1001314.
Musicnotes product no. MNO287475
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Author: WoodsyBloom
Date: 2023-09-06 08:13
I've found Langenus "Three Studies For Aquiring a Light Staccato" particularly helpful. I've linked to it here:
http://www.coreymackey.com/resources.html
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Author: Micke Isotalo ★2017
Date: 2023-09-06 13:18
Not knowing your level of experience, here are some basic things - assuming tonguing speed is your main issue: A too light or too strong reed makes tonguing slower, and at least for me also synthetic ones are slower than cane. Also some mouthpieces makes it slower than others (try out a few different models, if you haven't already, with a suitable reed strength to each).
Besides a light tonguing, make also sure that the movement itself of your tongue is really minimal. Practice as in slow motion, moving your tongue backwards so it just barely looses contact with the reed, then forward again - and concentrate in nothing else than just how close you can keep your tongue to the reed at the backward position, without touching it. Then with time, just slowly, slowly increase the speed of this back and forth movement, still keeping that same minimal distance to the reed.
If you don't have an in-person teacher, I would also recommend at least a few lessons with one.
If tonguing speed on a single note is a problem, I personally don't see how adding finger movements to a tonguing exercise would be helpful.
Post Edited (2023-09-06 17:59)
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2023-09-06 16:07
The point was not to see articulation completely in isolation. For moving notes, it is also a coordination issue with the fingers. Bonade gives us a brilliant way to reinforce coordination, clarity and .............most importantly.........RHYTHM.
...........Paul Aviles
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Author: m1964
Date: 2023-09-06 20:06
Micke Isotalo wrote: 2023-09-06 13:18
...
If you don't have an in-person teacher, I would also recommend at least a few lessons with one..."
I agree with the above 100%. I always had a slow tongue, which I eventually recognized as an "anchored tongue".
After reading some books I was able to correct the problem to some extent, but still hit a wall with the speed.
Having a good teacher was crucial for me in developing better articulation (and many other things).
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Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2023-09-12 01:20
Hi Clarinetpassion98. As I read your post, you seem perhaps to have good speed at times but lack control. That is not an uncommon situation. Some people are naturally speedier than others. I'm not sure that they necessarily should all follow the same progression plan. Anyway, here are some random thoughts about control.
As someone said previously, a note begins when the tongue leaves the reed. That also means the tongue must return to the reed **before** the next note arrives. If the tongue arrives at the same time as the note, then you're audibly out of control, and it's: "Next!" There's a little timing thing you set up and run with the extremity of your tongue as the notes go by, off and back, off and back, and that needs not to slack.
As a conscious exercise in control, touch the same exact place on the reed with the same exact place on the tongue every time. So, tongue every single note you play, and focus on making the tongue always release/stop at that same exact point throughout the range. Make your other systems adjust to allow that: the jaw, any voicing, etc. - anything that might move your tongue and screw up that point - don't let them! Keep them there, don't let 'em leave, but if they insist on interfering, then the hot bright lights are going swing right to them. If you can maintain that touch point for all notes and dynamics, then you have control over it.
ZOOM in and seek instant response to your touch, whatever your chosen attack and decay. But, your touch will be tender and light, so light that even when applied, your sound audibly is begging to emerge, actually might be sneaking out just a little bit . . . because you love your sound too much to shut it down tight.
Maintain your Best Sound while practicing articulation, any note, any dynamic. This is the quickest way to identify anything that's messing your articulation up. If you fix something while using crappy sound, you'll just have to come back to it later with good. It's also no coincidence that people with great articulation have great sound.
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Author: SecondTry
Date: 2023-09-13 22:12
I'm biased towards Tom H's reply.
Maybe it's because Russianoff too was my teacher.
But I also think it's because of my belief that good Staccato isn't solely a tonguing issue, but one of coordination with the fingers.
The introduction of exercises that start by using the same note, before switching to an adjacent one, I think, just as Tom disccusses, help build this finger tongue relationship.
An anecdote: I can't count how many times I see a student fumble at taking the 3rd movement of the Mozart Concerto staccato over legato not because there tongue wasn't up to speed, but rather because it wasn't in coordination with their fingers, revealed with reductions in metronome speed.
Yes, setup and mouthpiece and reed all play into it, bet time is best spent on what we can control: our abilities.
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