 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: chrystineNYC
Date: 2004-02-03 17:11
I am currently playing the clarinet again after a 10 year layoff. I'm not a professional and pretty much forgotten everything that I once knew.
One such problem I'm facing is the embrochure. I find that I am producing a very airy tone. I'm not sure if its the reed or the embrochure or perhaps the ligature is too loose. I have a yamaha 250 and it came with a 2" reed. The one that was enclosed was chipped and therefore not used. I replaced that reed with a 2.5" reed I purchased separately for another clarinet.
Wanted your opinion on why I may be producing this airy-ness.
Any feedback is greatly appreciated.
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Author: Ralph G
Date: 2004-02-03 17:29
Well, after a 10-year layoff, don't discount the possibility your embouchure is just plain shot. It'll take time to build up again -- but it WILL build up with practice. Get a teacher if you're able -- one-on-one in-person help with an experienced player beats any other advice you could get. I assume you're from NYC; I realize that's kind of a backwater little town without much of a music scene, but if you search hard enough, MAYBE by the grace of God you'll find someone who might know something about the clarinet.
Is it difficult to produce a tone? Or is your tone just airy without being terribly difficult to produce? You may have a mismatched reed-mouthpiece combination (rule of thumb is you use softer reeds with a wider tip opening and harder reeds for a smaller tip opening). But an airy tone is usually indicative of using too hard a reed, and a 2.5 could hardly be called "hard" unless you found a box of old Morre reeds or something. Let us know what reeds you're using and, if able, what type of mouthpiece you have.
Make sure the reed is properly positioned, with a sliver of the mouthpiece tip rail visible behind the reed tip. Last month my nephew needed to borrow one of my clarinets, and when he tried them out he had the reed sitting way too high on the mouthpiece. Moving it down helped improve his tone. Experiment with the reed placement, but only in very minute increments.
Make sure you don't have any leaks that might cause you trouble. If all is in working order, then just practice. Give us periodic progress reports..
________________
Artistic talent is a gift from God and whoever discovers it in himself has a certain obligation: to know that he cannot waste this talent, but must develop it.
- Pope John Paul II
Post Edited (2004-02-03 18:16)
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Author: coasten1
Date: 2004-02-05 13:27
Ralph G wrote:
> Get a teacher if
> you're able -- one-on-one in-person help with an experienced
> player beats any other advice you could get.
I agree with this. For your needs, you could probably arrange just a month or two worth of lessons to get your embrochure back/correct. It would really pay off. From there you can decide if you want to keep up the lessons. :-) Just be clear with your intentions when you setup lessons.
My experience with lessons to correct my embrochure resulted from trying to purchase a new mouthpiece and I asked the 'clarinet specialist' to help me out. I couldn't tell the difference in the mouthpiece's sound. She played my clarinet, then had me play. She said my embrochure was not correct and I could benefit from some lessons to correct my embrochure before buying a mouthpiece. (Not that she would have not sold me a mouthpiece). Though it was a bit of a hit to the ego, she was right. She referred me to a great teacher who I ended up working with more recently for the last 3 years and I have much more fun playing now that I have corrected many bad habbits and understand the clarinet better.
Good luck and keep playing!
Tony
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