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RE: Angle to hold clarinet

Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 1999-11-17 17:32

Eoin wrote:
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At what angle should I hold the clarinet? I always tried for about 45 degrees, but the picture at the top of this bulletin board shows a player with the clarinet almost vertical. Which is best?

Eoin -

If ever there were a question on which "your mileage may vary," this is it. It depends almost entirely on the shape of your lips, tongue and teeth, as well as personal preference. For example, Bernard Portnoy, former principal in Philadelphia, has a big overbite and a receding chin. He holds the instrument absolutely vertical. The well-known teacher and performer David Weber held it very far out -- at least 60 degrees. So did Alan Balter (principal in Atlanta). There's an engraving of Richard Muhlfeld (for whom Brahms wrote his clarinet works) that is said to be accurate and shows him holding the instrument straight out from his mouth (though below horizontal because he ducks his head slightly).

The only "correct" position is the one that works best for you. I think Tree's advice is excellent -- start horizontal and lower the instrument until it plays best.

One thing to watch is that you should not cock your wrists back. Keep your elbows in so that the top of your arm and the back of your hand make a straight line. Anything else leads to carpal tunnel syndrome or similar problems. Maintaining this straight line may limit how far you can go toward vertical.

Also, you may need to rotate the mouthpiece slightly to compensate for any unevenness in your teeth or jaw alignment. It looks a bit weird, but forget about that. All that counts is how it plays. Steve Girko, a wonderful player, has to turn his mouthpiece about 15 degrees to match the shape of his teeth and jaw.

And as always, play long tones, learning to hear what angle works best. For this purpose, the notes to begin with should be those that use a lot of the length of the instrument -- low F and G and clarion C and D, for example -- since those are easiest to get a good sound on and yet have enough variability to let you hear which angle works best.

Good luck. You never stop learning.

Ken Shaw

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