 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Bigno16
Date: 2003-07-24 23:36
I'm hoping that someone could help me with my problems, which I just cannot seem to get to go away.
A little backround: I have been playing clarinet since the 5th grade. I never really started liking it until the end of my 9th grade year. I am currently going into my 11th grade year of high school, and I need help more now than ever because I have the opportunity to sit 1st chair in my high school band now. I was never taught to tongue, or anything about embouchure positioning or anything until I started going to my private teacher in 8th grade. I then stopped because of a lack of time and resumed taking lessons in the beginning of my 10th grade year. I am considered a good player. Once I started liking it, I worked my way up to 2nd chair, 1st clarinet in our school's (Brockton High School, we're awesome. anyone want to hear us? contact me) Concert Band. During my 10th grade year, I was in the Advanced Concert Band, which is mostly all upperclassmen. I made the Wind Ensemble (about 65 people, we played at Boston Symphony Hall this year) and sat 2nd chair, 3rd clarinet, sitting in front of and behind a senior. I have "great technical ability." However, the real problem is my sound and intonation, and a little bit of tonguing. Especially when I really need to get better fast to try out for the Massachusetts Southeast Senior Districts, with this year's piece being Mozart's Clarinet Concerto K.622. I play on a Buffet E11, purchased around December 2002 with a Vandoren 5RV Lyre Mouthpiece which I bought around February 2001 (I think it is a little chipped on the tip of it, but my teacher says it is fine). I have not been able to get a good tone or sound that I want, so I have been searching through different reeds as well. I generally play on Vandorens now size 3 1/2. If not, then a Mitchel Lurie of the same size. The Vandoren's have a better sound, but don't respond as easily and it is extremely difficult to find one that will produce a good sound without being "airy" or "reedy." I recently found one that was EXCELLENT. My teacher immediately told me that I sounded better and I noticed it as soon as I started playing with it. But sadly, I cannot find anymore like that reed. Besides reeds, here are my problems:
1) Embouchure & Tone - I still don't think I have found the right embouchure positioning and pressure yet. I can never pick up the instrument and keep the same embouchure. People have told me that they think I blow too hard, and I have noticed that. I have purchased books by Dr. Sandra Downing and Peter Moore and have found them helpful and relevent. They have said that you don't blow. You merely breathe. And also that you keep the same embouchure for all registers of the clarinet. I feel that I have a "hissy" or breathy tone and run out of breath quickly and I can't seem to fix it. The problem is usually that my bottom lip is incorrectly placed or slack against the reed or myself and also that the corners of my mouth are never tightened enough. I can't figure it out and it bothers me. What's worse is that I just can't get a full, dark, round clarinet sound. My friend used to play tenor saxophone until around last year where he switched to clarinet. In one year of playing clarinet, his beautiful sound and range has become unbelievable. No one compares to him and I don't understand how he can do it. He is able to hit high Altissimo C's. I can only hit a high F or G, if I'm lucky. He says it is because he practiced altissimo notes and that has helped everything else. Maybe he is right. But I don't know what my problem is...
2) Intonation - I am told that I play flat, particularly in the higher registers. I have bought a tuner to help me, but I'm still playing flat. I am convinced it is my embouchure's fault and I just cannot develop it correctly.
3) Tonguing - I cannot cleanly tongue well. Not even on slower passages. I cannot usually get a clean start to the note. My teacher keeps telling me to use the tip of my tongue, so I guess I'm not doing that. It feels like I'm using the back of my tongue (under the tip). Also, when trying to tongue rapidly or play staccato, I feel and hear a grunting in my throat and that is how I especially know that I am doing something wrong. Maybe my tongue just isn't developed enough yet, I do not know.
An added bit of information: I wore braces back in the 4th grade and had them taken off, supposedly to be put on again in junior high. That never happened. My dentist moved and was replaced by an awful one who screwed up everything for me. My first two upper front teeth are crooked in such a way that when I place them on the mouthpiece of my clarinet, it makes me have to hold the clarinet crooked, or a little to the side. My teacher said this shouldn't be a problem as people have played that way before. However, I am worried that maybe this is the reason that I can't get everything set. Maybe it is affecting my embouchure and won't let me exert the right amount of pressure from my lips? Again, I do not know...
Those are my problems and if anyone could help me in any way or give me any advice that would improve my playing, I would be eternally grateful. I have searched everywhere for help, but cannot find it, or find it explained enough for me to understand. How can I improve my sound and get it better? How can I improve my range? How can I fix my tonguing? Intonation? Please help me with these difficulties. Thank you so much.
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2003-07-25 00:24
Have you gone to your private teacher with these queries? S/he *should* be able to address them better than we on the board, since you meet personally.
At first glance, I'd think airstream would be the problem. With a proper airstream, many of the other problems partially solve themselves.
If you think the reeds are all the problem, they're likely not. That was my excuse throughout all of high school, and now I'm surprised at how many of the reeds play well. Sure, a fantastic reed will make everything else easier, but that's not something to count on. Try a softer reed, perhaps.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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Author: Katrina
Date: 2003-07-25 00:26
Wow...that's a lot you're asking for.
What has your teacher said about all of these things? You mention your teacher doesn't have a problem with your positioning of your mp in your mouth, and this is generally correct. I have a chipped front tooth, and so my mp is a little "crooked." That's just to reassure you on that. 
Ultimately it sounds like you don't trust your teacher. Maybe you need to converse with him (her) and/or find another teacher.
Just a hint: for intonation ANYWHERE on the clarinet, think about positioning the back of the tongue high up in the mouth, like saying "eeee." This should help both the flatness and your tone quality.
Articulation is too big to address on a BB, especially given your seeming distrust of your teacher.
Disclaimer: I have not heard you play, and therefore this advice may not work. If you lived in Minnesota, I'd take you as a student!
Katrina
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Author: KikBrassClarinet
Date: 2003-07-25 00:38
~braces really don't affect playing, becuase you get used to them, and if your teeth are crooked then you should be used to that too and it's just the way it is. I know quite a few people whose teeth are crooked and are remarkable musicians/clarinetists.
~tone: this is just a tip my teacher gave me, and it has worked really well for me...take your hand and hold it to you lower lip/chin, that area. It's not a really flat area. Move your lip over your bottom teeth and move your chin down. When you bring your hand back over the same area it should be relatively flat, a big difference from before. It's rather difficult to explain in writing, demonstrating works much better, sorry. It hurts for a little while and takes months to get used to, but it worked well for me. If neccesary, at the top of all of your music write "CHIN!" (in pencil of course) until you do it without thinking. Don't get frustrated too quickly, it seriously takes months to get used to. And for that "full clarinet sound" besides tons of work and practice, listen to recordings. You'd be surprised how much listening to proffesionals (and just purely amazingly talented players) affects your playing. You can try to make your sound better, but if you have no concept of what "the sound" is (which was my problem for a while, still is) then you won't accomplish anything.
~If you are flat, you want to push in ALL the way, make sure all the joints are connected with no gaps in between, and tighten up that embouchure!!! That will raise the pitch some. And just a tip: don't practice so much staring at a tuner, try matching pitch. Have your tuner play a pitch, say concert Bb for example, and play your concert Bb(a C, but you know that) and try to get the pitch to match up without completely relying on the tuner. That not only helps you to play more in tune, it makes you a better musician as well.
~tonguing: I don't have much for this one, but practice when you're not playing your instrument. Yes, you will be labeled as "the weird kid who makes noises in class"(:-P) but it helps. Just say "ta" and tongue as quickly as you can while making sure it is CLEAN. Practicing sloppy will only lead you to more sloppy playing. And the faster you want to be going, the lighter you should tongue. And seriously, only use the tip of your tongue. You only want to stop the sound, and it doesn't take much, so don't put forth more energy and work than is necessary.
~You're completely right about Vandoren reeds. I have the same problem, and find Mitchel Lurie reeds to be much nicer. Vandoren reeds are also harder, so maybe try using a Mitchel Lurie 4 for a better sound.
Only being a high school student myself, I don't have much more than that to offer you as advice. Hopefully that helps a little. Good luck, and practice practice, practice! Especially the Mozart Concerto, it's a beast...third movement requires a lot of rapid tonguing, so keep working!
~Chrissy
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Author: D Dow
Date: 2003-07-25 18:23
Flatness is pretty serious in this register...maybe its the clarinet. I would not hesitate to check you clarinet and mouthpiece against other instruments to find out if it is ;you....IE.try a Leblanc or Selmer and really play them for a bit!
David Dow
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Author: bassclarinetchicka88
Date: 2003-07-25 22:50
i am CERTAINLY not about to blame this all on your equipment, but if youre really serious about the instrument, you might want to look into investing in an r13, festival, or maybe the new tosca (when it comes out) and see how that works. if you dont have the finances for that right now, or are satisfied with your instrument, then i do have some other advice:
1. embouchure - fold your bottom lip over your teeth (of course you already know this if youve been playing since 5th grade) and your front teeth on the top of the mouthpiece. if youre sliding around its beneficial to get a mouthpiece patch - theyre not at all expensive, they last a while, and i cant play without one. i prefer the thick black kind, but some people dont. just go for whatever you like. also, one thing that can REALLY help is to focus on flattening that chin!!! if you feel that your chin is folding over, stop everything and FOCUS ON THAT. it will build up your embouchure muscles without you even realizing it, and eventually it WILL feel natural. however, there will be days, especially if you practice a lot, where you'll feel like youre barely able to produce a sound. thats normal - your muscles are building! take it as a good sign - youre making progress - and dont practice too much challenging stuff that day. also, to fix the airy sound, focus on tightening the corners of your mouth and bringing them upward, kind of like smiling with the clarinet in your mouth. however, ONLY focus on tightening that and flattening your chin, NOT too much on the whole embouchure, because then its possible you'll start to bite too hard and itll be counterproductive. if you do feel that you're biting too hard, you can do one of two (or both!) things - practice with double lip embouchure (its harder to bite as much this way) or buy a REALLY soft reed - im talkin like a 2 - because you'll have to have a really light embouchure to even make a sound. i have had these problems myself.
2. if you're flat, tightening your corners should help A LOT. buffets tend to be naturally flatter than some other setups, ive noticed. so you'll have to work pretty hard on your embouchure to get it right. just dont give up!
3. about tonguing - focus on tonguing as close to the tip as possible, youll just have to train yourself to do it. another thing that REALLY helps get a clear articulation is to subtly crescendo between notes, especially when changing registers. also, put your emphasis away from the reed instead of to it. what i mean is that if youre coming in with a hard attack and not bringing your tongue back with enough emphasis, its going to splat. i mean people are gonna have to wipe that mess off their shoes.
well, i really hope this helps you. i had a lot of the same problems - just dont give up!! it sounds like youre doing so great already!
Post Edited (2003-07-25 22:50)
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