 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Paul
Date: 1999-12-03 22:50
Hi,
I am an absolute novice who has been contemplating taking up the clarinet. I have explored the internet and done some reading on the subject though so I'm starting to get a feel for things. To see if I have any apptitude at all for this instrument (and before committing to a purchase) I've managed to borrow a student grade horn for a while (Yamaha 20, with original mouthpiece) and have started practising. After a couple of days of high pitched squarks I'm getting out the mid to low range notes fairly well (checking with an electronic tuner), but when I try for the upper register the instrument seems to virtually "choke off" (even if I slur to the appropriate fingering from sounding a reasonably "good" open G). Am I right in thinking this might be a reed problem? I bought a new box of Vandoren 2 1/2 strength and have only been trying with the first one I pulled out of the box. I have read most of David Pino's book on the clarinet and clarinet playing, in which he suggests pre-sanding all new reeds and generally to only expect to get 2-3 "playable" reeds from a box of 10, although this book was published some time ago. I am just trying to put things in perspective - is it standard practice to laboriously go through the whole box of new reeds testing each one, and am I right in thinking my problem is related to the reed - or is there some other trick I am missing. Assuming one has a good reed and everything else is ok should one ordinarily expect to be able to play through the entire range of the clarinet maintaining basically the same airflow and embrouchure?
(I am still in the process of looking for a suitable teacher)
Thanks,
Paul
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Author: Dee
Date: 1999-12-03 23:01
The main problem that beginners have with the upper register is getting the holes completely covered. You really should wait to try them until you get a teacher.
However here is a good drill. Don't try to go from an open G to the next register until you can play both registers reasonably well as you are almost certain to have minute leaks from where you don't get the holes squarely covered.
1. Play a good solid low note such as the lowest E, F, or G.
2. Continue to blow as you rock your thumb just enough to open the register. The note in the upper register will generally pop right out unless you accidently move your fingers a little and create leaks.
For a raw beginner, the Vandoren 2.5 is probably a bit stiff unless you have really good breath support. I would suggest either a Mitchell Luried 2.5 (they run softer to start with) or a Vandoren 2.
And *Welcome* to the wonderful world of clarinet.
The hardest part of being an adult beginner is that adults expect to be able to do too much too soon. This is one of many areas where a teacher can help you. They can guide your progress and can encourage you when you hit the inevitable snags and plateaus. This is in addition to making sure that you learn proper technique, embouchure, etc from the beginning.
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Author: Ken
Date: 1999-12-03 23:02
I had a same problem. Check this out.
The table of the mpc and bottom of reed should be flat.
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Author: Kimberly Nisius
Date: 1999-12-03 23:52
Dee has a very good point about playing the upper register. Don't judge your progress as to how many notes you can play. Work on the lower register for the time. Unitl you can produce a good sound in the low register you should stay there. This will allow you time to develop your embouchure and correct playing habbits. After you begin these properly then the upper register will mostlikely be easy for you. Someone who is enthusiastic about learning will probably progress fast from a teacher who knows how to keep ahead of the student. Good luck and enjoy what you are learning. Music is one of lifes greatist treasures.
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Author: Rick2
Date: 1999-12-04 03:43
Let me emphesise the fact that the upper registers take TIME. I had a very steep learning curve onthis instrument and it took me 6 months to be able to play past high clarion C, and it took me another year to gain complete control over it. You gradually work your way up the scale as your emboucher matures and you fix problems with it. Also, you learn how much breath support and a number of other techniques that never make it onto these pages like how to hold your tongue to get the air moving the same speed regardless of how much air is coming out. These are things that you just stumble into and learn "on the job." I can play to altissimo G on a 2-1/2 reed with an open mouthpiece and probably higher except that I haven't bothered to learn the fingerings up there yet. I'm just now starting to gain some decent control over notes that high after 1-3/4 years of playing--again, a steep learning curve. They require good control over your emboucher and even more control over breath support. It's easy to begin picking up bad habits like pinching the reed if you play up there too early becaue it's easy to make the sound come out if you pinch. It's wrong and it sounds terrible.
Just take your time and it will come.
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Author: Willie
Date: 1999-12-04 06:27
If you do spring for a new (or used) instrument, have your teacher or repairman check it out thoroughly. Nothing can discourage a bigginer more than a faulty instrument. They usualy start thinking they have no talent when all along it wasn't them, it was the instrument.
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Author: William Fuller
Date: 1999-12-05 05:17
If you feel that you have to sand the backsides of your reeds, I would suggest starting with VD #31/2s and then sand only until the tradmark on the back starts to fade. Use number 400 water-proof sandpaper for the first couple of strokes (one-way, base to tip) and then finish with number 600 grade sandpaper, a few strokes up and down should be sufficient. Then, glaze the backside by rubbing your reed on the back side of one of your sandpapers until it is "shinny." You should wind up with a #21/2 with a flat, sealed back, ready for "high note" action. I can play chromatically all the way to double high c above the staff with a good 21/2 strength reed, strong embrochure and good breath support. Good luck and keep practicing--that is the real secret.
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Author: Meredith H.
Date: 1999-12-05 23:33
High notes take time. Don't get discouraged you have only just started. My students don't usually get to play about Bb for at least 6 months (depending on the student) and even then they are usually hopelessly flat for several months while their embouchures develop properly. I can remember how much I hated going over the break when I started and how terrible it sounded. Keep practicing it will get better but don't expect it to happen over night. Learning and instrument is very rewarding and lots of fun but it takes hours and hours of practice and a good dose of patience.
I learnt clarinet as a kid and took of brass three years ago at age 26. I suffered the same as you and wanted to play better than all of the kids after about 3 weeks. It didn't happen. It was probably worse because I already knew clarinet and I got really frustrated having to go back to playing 'Jingle Bells' and 'Mary had a little lamb' after playing reasonably advanced clarinet music. Now, after three years of very hard work, I play the principal tenor horn part in my local brass band. You will get your rewards they may just take, as mine did, a little longer than you would want them too.
Happy clarinet playing, you did pick a great instrument,
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Author: Dee
Date: 1999-12-06 02:36
Meredith H. wrote:
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...Now, after three years of very hard work, I play the principal tenor horn part in my local brass band.
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If I remember correctly, you are not from the US so could you tell us what key the tenor horn is that you play? In the US it could be either the Eb alto horn (now obsolete here) or the baritone horn (in Bb if played as a treble clef instrument).
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Author: Paul
Date: 1999-12-06 17:59
Thanks for all the advice. Dee's comments about making sure there were no leaks when covering the holes was particularly helpful.
Paul
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Author: paul
Date: 1999-12-07 17:53
...and again, welcome to the world of the clarinet.
Take it easy and slow. Let your progress build up on a solid foundation. Work on problems until they are smooth. For instance, it took me 2 years to learn how to not choke out the altissimo. I was unintentionally squeezing my throat shut, as if I was singing the high notes. I had to teach myself to open up like a very low singing note and keep it that way. I still catch myself making the same mistake every now and then. When I do, I revert to a simple drill to open it all back up and work that drill until everything is smooth again.
Boy, bad habits are sure hard to break! 
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Author: Tim Sites
Date: 1999-12-08 21:21
First, a beginner should not attempt to do any work on reed without supervision. It is easy to ruin a reed. Most quality reeds today will play well for the beginner and intermediate player right out of box. I will always teach my students about reed selection, care and adjustment with increasing detail as they mature as a player.
Second, too much emphasis is often placed on reed strength. I have known excellent clarinetists who played the highest notes with ease on reeds as soft as #1 (many who studied at the Paris Conservatory in the 50's and 60's). And then again there are great players who use #5 reeds.
Last, reed strength should never be considered without also considering the mouthpiece being used. Depending on the tip opening and length of the lay, a thin reed may seem hard or a thick reed soft.
-Tim
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Author: Meredith H.
Date: 1999-12-15 04:09
It is what you call an Eb alto horn in the US and is obviously not obselete over here but an important part of the traditional British brass band. I believe American style brass bands are quite different from British bands, we have no sousaphones, mellophones or french horns. I find it hard to believe that a beautiful instrument like the tenor (alto) horn is obselete in the US. You should here William Rushworth (current British champion) play one, I can think of no brass instrument I would rather hear played. I tend to think of the tenor horn as the brass band equivalent of the clarinet which is probably why I was drawn to it rather then the more piercing cornet.
Sorry I haven't answered for a while for some reason I haven't been able to get on to Sneezy for well over a week!
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Author: Dee
Date: 1999-12-15 11:48
Thanks Meredith. Very old music (early 1900s and before) regularly calls for the Eb alto horn but modern scores here in the US do not. Now what puzzles me is that I have some old scores that call for Eb alto horns, Bb tenor horns, and baritones. Can you provide any insight on what a tenor horn in *this* context might be. It is obviously different than the British/Australian definition.
I think perhaps the demise of the alto horn is due to the fact that we have very few true "brass bands." The majority of bands here are concert bands, symphonic bands, and wind bands. These really don't differ much other than in size. But all have a high percentage of woodwinds. The clarinet is the mainstay of these ensembles. For example the community band that I belong to has about 20 clarinets, at least 15 flutes, about 10 saxophones, half a dozen trumpets, 4 french horns, oboe, 4 trombones, a couple of baritones (euphoniums), a couple of tubas, a couple of bassoons, and of course percussion.
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Author: Meredith H.
Date: 1999-12-15 22:10
I too have seen something about Bb tenor horn but the only Bb horns I know of are the flugelhorn and the baritone horn. I will ask my band's Musical Director if he has any idea what a Bb tenor horn is.
Concert bands are also more common in Australia but as we were an English colony we still seem to hold on to some typically British pastimes ie Brass bands and playing cricket and Rugby as opposed to Grid Iron and Baseball. I played clarinet in concert bands throughout high school but whilst studing for my PhD in agriculture I moved to a country town that only had a brass band. Needless to say it was composed of instruments I had never heard of including the Eb tenor horn. I either had to play my clarinet by myself or learn a brass instrument so I could enjoy playing as part of a band. It wasn't a hard decision although I still don't feel completely comfortable playing brass. The typical Brass Band includes 1 soprano Eb cornet (a very nasty little instrument - when our current 'soppy' player first took it up she used to vomit all of the time due to the back pressure), 8 - 10 Bb cornets, 1 flugel horn (I tried this one but it was still a little too small for me), 3 Eb tenor horns, 2 Bb baritone horns, 2 Euphoniums, 3 tenor trombones, 1 bass trombone, 1 -2 Eb Basses (tubas) and 1 -2 Bb Basses (an absolute monster of an instrument) and percussion. The cornets and euphoniums are the driving force in a brass band and the rest of us do occasional solo parts but generally provide the musical support for the melody. My part as solo horn player is by far the easiest solo part in the band which I don't mind one little bit.
Surprising brass bands sound quite mellow as there are no penetrating trumpets but you don't get the range of sounds you do in a wind band. I enjoy playing in both.
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