 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Matt21
Date: 2003-04-25 14:13
Hi
I have played the tenor sax for a number of years, but a few weeks ago i picked up the clarinet in order to broaden my repatoire. I`m teaching my self as i am unable to afford a teacher at the moment and am in need of some help.
When i play, i can play notes ranging between the low G and B, but when i play the low E and F i have trouble. Sometimes i can play them but most of the time i just squeek or make no noise at all, similarly i have the same trouble when i try to use the registar key. Is this likely to be a problem with the way i am holding the clarinet or with my mouth?
Any help will be gratefully recieved
Matt
Post Edited (2003-04-25 15:14)
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Author: William
Date: 2003-04-25 14:21
The notes which you described should speak rather easily, even if your embouchure is not formed perfectly. Have you clarinet checked for leaks or keys that may be out of adjustment.
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Author: Tom Piercy
Date: 2003-04-25 14:33
Or...and also...
check that all the fingers in Left Hand and Right Hand are still covering the holes completely. When you are reaching for those notes with your little fingers, you may be inadvertently moving one of your Left or Right hand fingers off the hole -- even slightly.
Any slight leakage of air could cause notes to not speak easily.
Tom Piercy
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Author: Tom Piercy
Date: 2003-04-25 14:34
Or...and also...
check that all the fingers in Left Hand and Right Hand are still covering the holes completely. When you are reaching for those notes with your little fingers, you may be inadvertently moving one of your Left or Right hand fingers off the hole -- even slightly.
Any slight leakage of air could cause notes to not speak easily.
Tom Piercy
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Author: Matt21
Date: 2003-04-25 14:40
As far as i can tell my fingers are covering all of the holes, although it is very difficult to tell, as to look means moving the clarinet and therefore my hands.
I have tried using a mirror but it is difficult to see. I`ll try asking someone to look at my finger positions next time i am playing
Matt
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Author: zack best
Date: 2003-04-25 15:56
Make sure you don't put too much mouthpiece in your
mouth. This would be a natural thing to do when coming
from tenor sax. Lower lip should contact the clarinet
reed both closer to the tip and more firmly than with
tenor sax.
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Author: Synonymous Botch
Date: 2003-04-25 16:03
Perhaps you could back up a step, to be certain the reed is 'speaking'.
Play with the reed, ligature, mouthpiece and barrel assembled - without the rest of the horn attached.
You should be able to blow for 30 seconds at a crack.
If not, you're not pumping enough air through to reach the bottom notes
(it's a long way to go)...
To verify the equipment, do a leak test on each keyed section.
Plug on end of the section with a stopper (an assistant could cover one end) cover all the holes and blow in the other end... hear any leaks?
I suspect you have either a leak in the top section, or the 'bridge key' is misaligned, and allowing air to leak out 'up top'.
You could save yourself grief by spending $100 on a few remedial lessons.
It will be VERY difficult to get results via BBS.
If not an instructor, one of the 'Starting with your XYZ' videos will help.
Best of luck!
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Author: rockymountainbo
Date: 2003-04-25 16:32
I am a beginner too and I, too, had the same problem a few months ago. I wasn't covering the holes completely even though it looked as though I was. My teacher had me add 1 finger at a time until I was able to pinpoint which hole it was. Ironically, it wasn't the last one, but it was one lower down. I can now hit the notes. Hope this helps.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2003-04-25 22:39
Good advice above. I only add a thot, if the thumbrest is too low, as is quite common, the "lift" that your right hand has to endure, MAY cause it's ring finger to be too "short" to always adequately cover the open tone hole. which sounds Low G, clarion D. This is a pet peeve of mine re: the cl makers, which can be solved by an adjustable TR, or simply inverting the present TR and using a TR cushion. Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: Jeff Forman
Date: 2003-04-25 22:43
One thing you might try which helped me when I first started was walking it down to those low notes. When I tried to just paly those notes, I couldn't get them to speak. But if I started at open G and walked it down, I could get all the way to the bottom. In time,all the notes will just play.
Worth a try.
Jeff
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2003-04-25 22:43
Good advice above. I only add a thot, if the thumbrest is too low, as is quite common, the "lift" that your right hand has to endure, MAY cause it's ring finger to be too "short" to always adequately cover the open tone hole. which sounds Low G, clarion D. This is a pet peeve of mine re: the cl makers, which can be solved by an adjustable TR, or simply inverting the present TR and using a TR cushion. Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2003-04-25 23:56
Jeff,
The "walking it down" is a perfect way to go. Also and although it requires more than the normal pressure, MAtt should see if he has complete rings on the pads of each finger. A good way to see is your finger is actually covering the hole. Obviously, too much pressure is only a temporary fix to ensure proper sealing of each note.
Matt, play for another clarinet player and see what he or she says about your fingers and your problem. Surely there is someone around that can assist (and most of us have gone through the same ordeal).
HRL
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Author: allencole
Date: 2003-04-26 02:11
Like Tom and Don, I also suspect inadvertent finger-rolling. The right ring finger has already been mentioned. It can choke a note not only by leaking as you reach for a pinkie key, but by hitting the fork B/F# 'sliver' key by accident if your hands are tense.
The left ring finger also can have that double-trouble relationship with its hole and sliver key--particularly on student instruments where the sliver key may be poorly adjusted and just plain in the way. If you are a man with large hands, you can find that left ring finger seriously boxed in between the sliver key and the C#/G# key.
My personal experience has been that the left middle finger is the most frequent culprit in these situations--even over the A and G# keys that your left index finger wants to trip over. I see it happen both from reaching for left-pinkie levers, and from tense hands in general. Make sure that your left fingers approach the horn from a 45deg angle, just like you do on sax for good palm-key action. Your left thumb should be at an angle to the thumb hole. If you hold your left hand perfectly relaxed, and then slip it over the clarinet, you should see a good fit with your left fingers sloping downward about 45 degrees and your left thumb sloping upward about 45 degrees.
If your left thumb is vertical, and your left fingers approach the horn at a right angle (a common flaw in beginners), your left pinkie will be too far to the right of its intended keys. Reaching for them in that circumstance will peel your fingers off those tone holes like a crowbar. It also increases your risk of hitting the left-index G# or A by mistake, and can make it difficult to coordinate your use of the register key and the thumb-ring.
A good rule of thumb is to operate from the git-go thinking of the left-pinkie E/B as its home key, and the right-pinkie F/C as its home key. If try to keep your pinkies ready to drop on them, you will naturally reject some of the problems with hand position that have been described in this thread.
Embouchure or reed problems are still a possibility, but I would expect those to cause problems in intonation and timbre rather than outright squeaking and choking.
I also agree that you should attempt to get a lesson or two--or at least get together with a competent player that you know. The video idea is not bad. Warner Brothers' Ultimate Beginner Series is very good and is available on DVD as well as VHS.
From the saxophonist's point of view, playing the clarinet is like that old game "Operation." Because the clarinet has so much less surface area than the saxes, it is very hard to keep some of the keys from getting underfoot. If you keep adding those fingers one-by-one, and follow the various bits of good advice that I've seen in this thread, I think that you'll do okay.
Allen Cole
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2003-04-26 03:15
Have someone else try the horn. If it works for them, then you can pretty much rule out the "leaky pad" theory. Then you know that it's not the horn and that you have to work better at technique of covering all the holes.
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: CharmOne
Date: 2003-04-26 06:36
Matt21 wrote:
"I have played the tenor sax for a number of years, but a few weeks ago i picked up the clarinet in order to broaden my repatoire."
Take your time getting fitted with each hole you press from G to B to C and so on. When you get to the higher register notes, take your time learning it. Just keep practicing and you'll soon do fine....
~CharmOne~
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Author: Matt21
Date: 2003-05-19 11:21
Thank you all for your imput, it has all been very useful. I have now largely solved that problem, although not perfectly as yet. It was a combination of factors, the reeds that i had brought were generally a bad batch, my embouchure was not correct and i wasn`t covering all of the holes proparly, even though i thought that i was.
I have now advanced up to be able to play above the break, although i still have problems, especially as i go higher. Although i realise that what i need to do is just practice i was wondering if anyone knows of any good practice drills, especially with reference to two points:-
Firstly, i find playing up the octave very exhausting, not only with breath, but also on my fingers. Are there any good excersies that i could do to increase my stamina and finger strength?
Secondly, I`m finding moving from B flat or A to C, B and D over the break quite difficult, again i realise that practice is important, but are there any useful excersies that i could try to help me?
Matt
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Author: leonardA
Date: 2003-05-19 12:44
I am a sax player trying to learn clarinet also (five months), and I had the same problem with going from B to A to C in clarion register. It is normal. Just find pieces or exercises with those patterns and practice them. I have gotten a lot better, although I'm not there yet.
Leonard
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