 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Sylvain
Date: 2006-03-04 04:07
I just came back from a chamber music coaching by our own Michael Norsworthy, where I was asked to play this crescendo and expand the sound.
I think I can make a pretty loud crescendo, but I struggle making the sound richer, fuller. I understand what Michael meant but I cannot translate it in terms muscle control, air speed, etc. I like to think I have a decent palette of colors, but when playing this sort Brahmsien crescendo, I feel my sound is only expanding in one direction: the amplitude.
Is there any teacher, book out there, which addresses how to make color changes? If somebody asks me to play with a crystal clarity to the sound, I understand what it means and I think I can, on a good day, achieve it. But how I do it is a mistery to me, which leaves me even more clueless when asked to sound fuller and can't seem to get it right.
Thanks,
-S
PS: Please do not mention equipment, my reeds, mouthpieces and clarinets are just fine.
--
Sylvain Bouix <sbouix@gmail.com>
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2006-03-04 04:15
let me add some color to this query:
I feel stiffled when I try to make a showy crescendo. Several folks have told me that my Buffet is "stuffy." I've always thought so. I just can't get it to "sing out." Help.
PS: Unlike Sylvain, I'm willing to hear suggestions about gear and set-up.
Thanks
Bob Phillips
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Author: elmo lewis
Date: 2006-03-04 16:48
Think of what how a violinist changes his sound. He can vary the amount of bow he uses. He can vary the bow speed. He can vary the bow pressure. He can vary the place on the bow where he plays. He can also combine these elements in different ways to produce many different kinds of sound.
Our air is like a violin bow. We can vary the size of the airstream-sometimes I imagine my air is the diameter of a pencil for high notes, or large as a clarinet bell for a dark resonant low note. We can vary the amount of air we are blowing. We can vary the speed of the air. We can vary the air pressure and the the density of the airstream. Then we can combine these factors to make different kinds of sound. Say you want a deep, dark, lovely, resonant low note. Use a large air stream, lots of air support (pressure), small amount of air, and a low speed of the air flow. Maybe you need a more agressive, projecting sound on the same note if you are playing a passage with brasses. Use a smaller, denser airstream with a larger amount of air and a faster air speed.
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Author: mnorswor
Date: 2006-03-04 17:29
Sylvain,
We can talk about this in a lesson sometime. I think in terms of what singers do to use the resonance space in their bodies, i.e. their back, chest cavity, oral cavity, and get things all working together to make the sound fuller. This is something that Stoltzman spent a lot of time with me on. It's much too complicated to get into on the internet, but we can talk about it sometime
Michael
P.S. I just hope the coaching was helpful!!
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Author: donald
Date: 2006-03-04 19:21
Ah- you are lucky to have a good teacher who will help you with this.
One thing that helped me was watching two players- Richard Hawkins and Ricardo Morales- and seeing that as they made a crescendo it seemed as though their diaphram was doing all the work, but they weren't increasing tension in the neck, throat, face, shoulders etc
This sounds like a very obvious observation, and if you had asked me i would of course said "the diaphram is doing all the work", but i distinctly remember that seeing these two examples really influenced me. The visual example really stuck in my head. Now i feel as though when a really "big" or "loud" sound is working for me, i'm not "pushing" in the throat, and any tension i have is centered in the base of my torso.
Now, whether or not you should feel tension in your diagphram is another issue- singers (and at least one flute player i know) say not. But i'm sure that the concept of removing tension from the throat etc is one that Mr Norsworthy will agree with. After all, a "resonance space" can't resonate if it's being held tight.
Of course, you also have to do these things (above) when playing softly. I hope that this was helpful- but of course MN will be of more help...
donald
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Author: William
Date: 2006-03-05 16:32
Most (good) vocalists as well as most wind instruments use vibrato to enhance presence and projection of sound, so why not clarinetists?? Just a thought..................
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Author: Sylvain
Date: 2006-03-05 17:21
William,
many clarinetists do use vibrato to make the sound a little more dramatic. It is one of many tools pro players know how to use. I also believe you can get a big sound without vibrato.
Anyway, I am curious about how the control of tone color is taught, if it is ever. I have had many teachers, some of them very well respected players; read many books and methods about clarinet playing. I have seen a lot about how to get a beautiful tone, proper embouchure and air "support" (whatever that means). However, I have heard very little if not none about the control of timbre changes.
I would like to know if there are techniques/methods out there that are taught specifically to clarinet players to work on color of sound. I don't think this has been addressed here much, and the BBoard might not be the best medium for this discussion. Nevertheless, I am certainly curious about how pro players control and enhance their palette of sound.
I will obviously work on this in my private lessons with Michael, but I am also interested by what others have to say.
--
Sylvain Bouix <sbouix@gmail.com>
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Author: Arnoldstang
Date: 2006-03-05 19:40
I believe there are several approaches here. No question , the player and how he plays creates the sound. That would involve resonances. The other end of the equation is equipment. If you want a broader sound a more open mouthpiece will probably give that to you with tradeoffs. In my opinion working on both aspects(player and equipment) will solve the problem. Give yourself a timetable for achieving your goal. If you can't make major improvements in resonance within 6 months I would suggest looking elsewhere....ie equipment.
Freelance woodwind performer
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Author: andyrox
Date: 2006-03-05 20:06
There could be many problems that your sound can be fuller. If you honestly believe it isn't your choice of reeds, mouthpeice, ligature..etc, It can most likely be your ombachure. Think about singing with your clarinet. You must have good air support and open round sound. You can think of an apple in your throat to open up the sound. Think about it being in a lower octave to create a richer color. Usually, when i can't create that quality of sound i am capable of, i try another reed.
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Author: Bassie
Date: 2006-03-06 07:54
Theory says that the harmonic content - the 'colour' - of any musical instrument should increase as it plays louder - due to 'nonlinearities' in the mechanism of sound production (in the case of a clarinet, the vibrating reed). As you drive the instrument harder, the sound should liven up. On a clarinet, however, it's easy to play louder by relaxing. Beginners 'honk' and play flat - but even advanced players can get caught in the same trap in subtle, unconscious ways.
I'd say practice playing pp-ff-pp, concentrating on tone and tuning and *keeping the embouchure constant* (and not leaking out the sides) - and thus controlling the volume from deeper in the body. I had trouble with ff a while back and this was quite an eye-opener - I'd got into all sorts of bad habits.
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Author: GMac
Date: 2006-03-06 15:06
Oboe player here, don't hurt me!
Do you ever think in terms of where you're aiming your air? On oboe, to make a really soft, dark sound we aim the air to go out of the top of our heads. This raises the soft palette, and enables you to blow and support a lot while making a soft, covered sound. When we crescendo, we direct the air at the bridge of our nose or directly into the reed, depending on the player and school of playing.
Does the same concept apply to clarinet?
Graham
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Author: crnichols
Date: 2006-03-06 15:36
Since Michael Norsworthy mentioned the correlation with good singing, I thought I'd give you a suggestion. Go to Vocal masterclasses, there are tons of them in the Boston area (some will inevitably be more interesting and informative than others) and most are free. There are usually posters all over the various schools in the area, NEC, Boston Conservatory, etc.
Christopher Nichols
1st Infantry Division Band
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2006-03-06 21:30
Sylvain -
This isn't simple or easy, but it's what you asked for.
Singers learn to make a "messa di voce." This more than a crescendo and decrescendo. In addition to getting louder, the sound becomes bigger, more resonant and more colorful. Singers do this by bringing out formants, which are strong upper partials associated with vowel sounds rather than pitch. The singer starts the note softly and "closed in," opens it like a flower, shows it to the audience and then closes it back up. See http://www.scena.org/lsm/sm4-4/sm4-4MessaDiVoce.html
See also "The Acoustics of the Singing Voice," a 1977 article from the Scientific American, at http://www.zainea.com/voices.htm.
This isn't easy on clarinet, and you can't add as much "operatic" resonance to your sound as singers do. However, I've found some techniques and exercises that help.
WIND
You can put *much* more air through the clarinet than you do now. I wrote a long posting on the subject at http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=1&i=43807&t=43777. I've changed my mind about some of the things I said there, but I stand behind the message. You might also go to some inspiring materials on the great Chicago Symphony tuba player, Arnold Jacobs. See http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=1&i=59103&t=58998.
EMBOUCHURE
One of Leon Russianoff's favorite phrases was "Do we need a chonk?" By that he meant "put more mouthpiece in your mouth." This lets you put more wind through the instrument. Push up with your thumb and take what feels like a *lot* more mouthpiece. Your embouchure will tire quickly. You'll need to do serious work on long tones to build up your strength.
Also, move the point of your chin as far down as possible. This pulls the area between the point and your lower lip flat and pulls your lower lip out so only about half the red part is over your teeth. With less damping by your lower lip, the reed vibrates more strongly.
WIND + VOICING
Next comes the swab-in-the-bell exercise. Ball up a cloth swab or a handkerchief and stuff it up the bell, blocking it completely. Then finger third-line B (all down + register key), make a relaxed embouchure and blow like the wind. You'll get a dreadful third-space Eb (approximately). Work on it, dropping your jaw and blowing harder and harder until you get an almost normal tone and pitch.
Then raise the back of your tongue, which will produce the higher overtones. Ab and C should be easy, and the Eb above is not hard. Use these to play bugle calls.
Then pull out the swab. You'll suddenly be playing twice as loud as before. Opening up that much without using the swab first isn't easy, but it can be learned and will give you the power you need.
PING -- Fostering the Overtones and Formants
The next step is to make the overtones and formants louder. You do this by raising your soft palate and the back of your tongue. Shape your tongue like a ski-jump, high in back, low in front, and raise your uvula as high as possible.
There are few sensory nerves in your soft palate and the back of your tongue, so it's difficult to know what's happening. Look in a mirror and learn what this feels like. Practice raising and lowering your uvula and the back of your tongue. Using this tongue and palate position is not easy, since they automatically go back to their familiar positions when you start playing. It's a matter of practice.
The correct tongue and palate position make it easy to find and foster the overtone and formant resonances. They will be extremely bright and raucous. The clarinet will shriek. Musicians have many ways of describing this. Opera singers (for example, Rosa Ponselle and Enrico Caruso) call it "squillo" ("ring" or "blast" in Italian).
Once you can get the squillo really squealing, bring it under control. Practice increasing and decreasing it. It should never be less than a "ping" -- like a golden thread running through the tone. For orchestral solos, it can be practically all you hear. You won't be able to tell how this is working up close, but people across the room (or in the next room) will not hear a squeal. Instead, they will suddenly have you in their lap rather than somewhere "out there."
This is a lot to do, and you can't learn it all at once. It can easily take a month to get comfortable and do what you want, when you want. Feel free to ask questions, and keep us informed of your progress.
Ken Shaw
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Author: donald
Date: 2006-03-06 21:52
Bassie - your comment "control the volume from deeper in the body" is pretty much what i was trying to say. i found the visual example of players actually achieving this more helpful than being "told it" or "reading about it".
That's a nice phrase you used, i'll remember that one!
thanks
donald
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Author: Bassie
Date: 2006-03-07 07:16
GMac - I'm going to have to think a bit about that 'air coming out of the top of the head' thing, but it sounds a lot like the tongue/palate positioning advice you'll see around the place. Maybe a good way to approach it. Certainly if I overcook it it can feel almost like I'm inflating my head - not good for the concentration, and if I'm playing under the influence of a cold (never a good idea at the best of times) it really hurts.
Ken - Interesting. Not all of this is a school of playing with which I'm familiar - I was brought up to err on the side of 'as little mouthpiece as possible'. Probably why I'm not comfortable with long lays. But I think you're right about the shape of the inside of your head being important.
donald - Glad to be of help! :-) I find it even more important with bass - I like to imagine that the sound starts in my toes, so the first job of a bassist is to plant the feet firmly and correctly. Sounds bizarre but it works for me ;-D. I've never had the opportunity to play contra, but extrapolation would suggest that additional support measures would be necessary
:-D
Post Edited (2006-03-07 08:40)
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Author: Sylvain
Date: 2006-03-08 15:32
Thank you all,
I have to process all of this. Ken post about the messa di voce was quite interesting.
Actually, it makes me think that perhaps we should bring an audio spectrum analyzer in the practice room so we can really correlate playing techniques with sound spectrum. The same way you put the needle in the middle of the tuner, you'd try to get that extra peak at 10000Hz...
Ok, now I have my practice schedule cut out for me!
Thank you again,
-Sylvain
--
Sylvain Bouix <sbouix@gmail.com>
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Author: jim S.
Date: 2006-03-10 16:20
If you experiment enough you can more that squeal, even producing multiphonic notes with some fingerings by raising your tongue into the roof of your mouth and fooling around with its shape. It shows how the space in your mouth acts in a complex interdependent way with the air column in the clarinet proper.
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