 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Rick2
Date: 2000-04-23 04:47
I am working on the altissimo C-major scale to super C. I can't get past super A. When I finger Super B, it goes back down to G. Any suggestions on how to get super B and super C without pinching the reed? If I can get those last two notes, I'll have the "full range."
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Author: Rick2
Date: 2000-04-23 04:52
I should mention that I am using the first fingering listed in the Rubank Advanced chart.
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Author: LJClarinetGuy
Date: 2000-04-23 06:13
Have you tried looking at the Bonade book of fingerings??? My teacher has one that has numerous alternatives for every note in the altissimo range, maybe it can help you get that C scale up to the top... Well, the fingering I've used for a Super C is Thumb, First and Fourth finger down, as well as the first finger pressing down on the G#/Ab left hand top side key... I'm not sure but I think my teacher has played a bit higher, the Bonade book goes up to an E or an F I believe... not sure...
Joey
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Author: Dee
Date: 2000-04-23 12:43
I suggest using the second fingering, that is to say adding the throat G# key. Also these last two notes seem to require everything to come together perfectly. You need even more breath support for these two notes, i.e. the air pressure needs to be high. The embouchure must be very firm without pinching the reed. A very good reed is required. One that is adequate for all the other notes might not be able to reach these two. The mouthpiece needs to be in good condition. Finally the clarinet needs to be in good condition.
It also seems to me that there is a "sweet spot" on the reed/mouthpiece that helps these notes to speak. Too much or too little mouthpiece taken in will instantly kill these notes. Any "pinching" will also kill these notes.
Some individual instruments will hit these notes better than others. Using the same mouthpiece and reed, I find that it is easier to get them to speak on my Leblanc Vito than on my Leblanc Syphonie II. Both these instruments are in good condition, leak tight, etc. So go figure.
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Author: Katherine Pincock
Date: 2000-04-23 14:15
I found it really hard to learn these last few notes too, but the exercise my teacher gave me really helped: starting on a low E, go up E-B-E-B-E-B-E-B and back down again; try to make the top B speak, but don't worry if it doesn't. Do the same thing going up in semitones from the bottom, always alternating root and fifth. This exercise helps because altissimo notes that extreme are very sensitive to the note you hear: if you can "hear" the note you're aiming for, it's easier to play, and since this exercise goes in fifths, you'll be more used to the interval you should expect. Although it does take a while, eventually, they'll all speak for you this way. Another good technique is to use the chromatic scale through the full range of the instrument: again, because you can "hear" what note comes next, it's more likely to speak. Hope those help!
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Author: Contragirl
Date: 2000-04-23 18:50
Here's my two sense... Try going to that clarinet fingering chart that is on line. It has few different fingerings for the higher notes. I think there's a link on this page, or on Klarinettlinker.
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Author: Ray Swing
Date: 2000-04-23 21:50
Dee and Katherine state everthing there is to say about those super notes. Your clarinet, embouchure, and reed set up must be perfect. And I have always been an advocate of Katherine's comment about "hearing" the note at those upper levels (somewhat like hearing your intonation whenever playing). My embouchure makes an almost imperceptible change for those notes (I can't really describe it because it is automatic but it it involves more or less lip, more or less mouthpiece). My warm up routine always contains a Chromatic run from low E up to super C and back down a couple of times. I then run the chromatic C to super C and back about 3 times. Then I "Pop" a B, then a B flat, then a couple of C's just to make sure I'm with it before I have to perform it. If I have any problems with this routine, I switch reeds and rerun the C to C routine. Usually it takes me only one or two reeds to settle in. I also keep the clarinet warmed up between numbers If don't play it for a while.
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Author: Lelia
Date: 2000-04-25 17:53
Without the clarinet, try singing "eeeeeee" as high-pitched as you can. Notice where your tongue is in your mouth. Chances are that the sides of the tongue are touching the insides of your top molars and that the back of your tongue is very high, toward the roof of your mouth. This position creates a very narrow, "cold air" stream. With the clarinet, try to come as close as you can to that position on your extremely high notes. Keep it loose enough so you can still move the tip of the tongue either on the reed or just behind the mouthpiece, against the ridge of gums behind your top teeth (depending on your mouth structure). That high tongue position is the key to altissimo for me, although (as usual) your mileage may vary.
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