 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: lindaclarinet
Date: 2004-12-26 18:58
I am learning a recently composed piece. It has a small section that asks for bending the notes, which I don't really have experience with. I read the previous posts on this, but I would like more specific information.
There are three parts that need to be bent - C# above the staff to C and back to C#, B above the staff to C and back to B, and B to A# to B.
The first one I am mostly okay with, I use the side fingering for C# and mess with my embouchure until it sounds okay. The second one is giving me problems, as I can't really bend up, and I don't know how to do it with my fingers. For the third one, I tried both fingerings for A#, and they are both equally good/bad. It doesn't really sound smooth on any of them.
Thanks for your help.
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Author: Keil
Date: 2004-12-27 01:28
The sliding of fingers though effective is not always accurate. I have found that the best way to bend notes is by using your soft palatte (sp?) and manipulating the air. As clarinetist it is important to remember that the clarinet doesn't start with at the mouthpiece and end at the bell but rather it extendes past the mouthpiece through our trachea, in other words we are an extension of the instrument, how we voice the notes internally is how they speak externally. Now after having said that the question is HOW does one learn to control the soft palatte in such a way as to control the bending of notes. What i would recommend to do is start by overblowing your throat tones from throat A down to C4 (middle C) and back up all without using the register key, just practice voicing the fundamental and 2nd partial. This is an excersise that i strongly believe should be apart of every clarinetist warm-up, but i digress. You will notice after doing this a couple of times that when you're voicing the upper partial you can get other notes "in-between" the fundamental and the upper partial you're looking for. Begin experimenting with that. Practice bending a C above the staff down to a G on the staff without using the register key. That will take sometime. Beyond this helpful practice excersise it's hard for me to describe for you exactly what needs to take place in your mouth in order to create the desired effect. For me it feels like i'm "displacing" the pitch by lowering its point of resonance within my head. Basically, every note has a resonance point within your head and if you can pinpoint where in your head you hear the resonance you can control the pitch and tone color more accurately. It helps with intonation especially. Higher notes are easier to feel resonating. After practicing the voicing excersise play a C above the staff with the register key and become very aware of where in your head you feel the note resonating. Once you've done that try mentally thinking that resonance point lower and lower within your head. Your epiglotis and such should aid you in the displacement of the resonance. If that doesn't do it for you practice voicing the high C down to F while utilizing the register key, that is to say play C above the staff as usual with register key and thumb and try to play a throat F instead. That will give you an idea of how the voicing for high C and throat F are different. Once you can pinpoint the difference try to manipulate your soft palatte and epiglotis slowly to voice from high C to F you may try this both with and without the register key. With some practice and patience you will begin sliding between high C and B without ever moving a finger and the same principal can be applied to the other notes until you're able to voice a high C down to an on the staff G and below.
Good luck. If you have any questions feel free to email me.
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Author: ron b
Date: 2004-12-27 04:22
Drop your jaw, just let it go slack to flatten a note, then return to a normal embouchure to bring it back up and you'll be fine. The "sliding finger" trick, per Alex, can take care of the B to C. At least that's what worked for me last time I tried it.
- r![[cool]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/cool.gif) n b -
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2004-12-27 07:52
You can play the B-C-B all with a C fingering. It's not so difficult to play a half step down in almost every fingering.
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