 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: ajablons
Date: 2004-04-09 04:52
Hey all,
I've been trying to figure out proper articulation for ages, especially staccato. My private instructor had some great methods that I could never grasp and took a break from playing before I could learn.
It seems that she based her methods on Bonade's, since I just recieved his "Compendium" and it is similar.
I just can't for the life of me figure out how to "stop the air flow" but keep the pressure there. I try the excercises on page 8, the open G excercise, and it makes my lip move, and/or causes the note to sqeak, not to mention really poor starting tone.
I think i'm just missing something obvious and i hope someone could shed some light on this for me, I feel this is holding me back quite a bit.
Thanks!
andy
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Author: OpusII
Date: 2004-04-09 06:25
Andy,
Have you already seen this post?
http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=1&i=143700&t=143700
Eddy
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2004-04-09 13:39
Andy -
Try approaching it from the opposite direction. Here's an exercise I've posted several times:
Bob Lowrey, who was an excellent player and a well known clinician when I was in high school, has a great exercise. Play a secure note (say, D below the staff), starting it mezzo forte with the breath. Then, move the tip of your tongue up and slightly forward as if saying the syllable LA, but do not let your tongue touch the reed. You want to just barely miss. Move the syllable forward gradually, so that you touch the reed only for an instant, producing the smallest possible "tic" in the sound. Work on this until you can do it consistently and evenly. Then move to scales, beginning slowly and working the speed up gradually. The feeling should be that of your tongue sweeping - almost bouncing - across the reed, but never stopping. Also, the sound never stops. Once you get this extremely light action under control, it's easy to make it more forceful. Equally important, you teach yourself to play with a continuous tone, which is interrupted by the tongue, without interrupting the effort of moving the air stream. This avoids the problems that come when you thing of the tongue as what starts the tone, rather than stopping it.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2004-04-09 13:42
I think many clarinetists prefer NOT to stop the airflow. Just a light touch of your tongue to your reed will stop it from vibrating, and will stop the sound from being made. But the air should be always flowing. Try holding your tongue against the reed and pushing a stream of air down the clarinet. Then release the reed. It should sound when your tongue LEAVES the reed (which also shows that to start a note you don't have to STRIKE the reed, but rather 'release' it). Then after releasing it, press your tongue against it lightly again while keeping the airflow. You'll see that the sound stops. Sounds simple and truthfully, it isn't that hard to DO either. Then you work on releasing and trapping the reed whenever you play. Eventually it'll come naturally and you won't even think about it. you'll naturally have your tongue against the reed before you play ANY note and will play by letting go instead of hitting the reed.
See this thread for some REALLY excellent advice.
Alexi
PS - Just for kicks, listen to some chamber music recordings. I notice (with careful concentration) you can hear a short stream of air begin just before the note sounds.
US Army Japan Band
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Author: Grabnerwg
Date: 2004-04-10 20:25
Your concept is flawed. DO NOT stop the "air flow". Keep the air pressure constant and steady. Let the tongue stop the reed from vibrating. When you release the tongue, the air pressure is there and the tone is "ready to go".
Also, NO jaw or lip motion - NONE.
Stopping the air pressure and moving the jaw are the two biggest hinderences to developing an effective staccato. Almost every beginner does at least one of them wrong.
Walter Grabner
www.clarinetxpress.com
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Author: Synonymous Botch
Date: 2004-04-11 01:16
I've got the same problem.
My teachers (clarinet and saxophone) urge that the reed still make a dampened sound, which should be audible to you alone while running through a staccato passage.
Langenus #11 on page 22 is the exercise for me.
They chide me, "It's a wind instrument..."
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Author: RAMman
Date: 2004-04-11 12:39
Get the movement correct first...
Start playing a long note that you are happy with, then keeping the air constant, just put the tongue on the reed. Now, if you haven't changed anything, when you take the tongue away, the sound should be exactly as it was before.
The advice about keeping the jaw still is spot on...we are not bassoon players!
The basis of good tonguing is air flow...maybe if you are having real trouble you need to sort out your diaphragm support and usage.
Danny.
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Author: D Dow
Date: 2004-04-13 14:39
a well formed embouchure can alleviate alot of the trouble with staccatto as well!
David Dow
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Author: diz
Date: 2004-04-15 01:24
... and before long ajablons ... you'll be able to play the Italian Symphony without missing a beat ... no matter what tempo any nasty conductor can throw at you ...
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Author: Wes
Date: 2004-04-16 18:11
Mr. Shaw,
You mentioned Robert Lowrey. You might be interested that a former student of mine has a Leblanc Symphonie clarinet with Mr. Lowrey's name engraved on the register key. It's a quite good clarinet(after overhaul) that he bought in Los Angeles for about $300 or so. In many years, I've never seen a name put on a clarinet in this manner and it indicates that he liked this instrument. Good wishes.
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Author: D Dow
Date: 2004-04-16 18:50
Try slow legato articulation on quarters...dah dah dah dah etc...very light and delicate...better to err on the lighter side than whack the crap out of the reed with a heavy tongue///
David Dow
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Author: clarinetrox
Date: 2004-04-17 21:54
hey, My band director tells us to think of stacatto notes as 50% of the note. ex: a stacatto quarter note would be like an 8th note. Hope I helped!D Dow wrote:
Woodwinds Kick Brass!
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