 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: YCL-450
Date: 2006-04-29 01:27
I find switching from say A above second line to B third line to be quite difficult. And or similar notes. I can finger these notes quite easily but switching is difficult. I have to make the switch slowly. So I assume that an experienced player can do this fast and smooth and that my speed will improve with with practice?
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Author: Bnewbs
Date: 2006-04-29 01:37
With practice it most cetainly should. Some of those throat tone jumps can be an akward for inexperienced players. practice is the only way to improve, keep up the good work.
Ben
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Author: Ralph G
Date: 2006-04-29 02:00
Yep, the famous "crossing the break." Every beginning clarinetist has some difficulty with it. But this too shall pass. Just practice. Before you know it, you'll simply think "A to B" and it'll just happen effortlessly.
Welcome to the club! Thursdays are Casino Nights!
________________
Artistic talent is a gift from God and whoever discovers it in himself has a certain obligation: to know that he cannot waste this talent, but must develop it.
- Pope John Paul II
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2006-04-29 02:04
"Practice" is the long way about it, and, granted, some of that is necessary.
The process can be greatly expedited as such:
Be aware of where on the clarinet the notes are. The A resonates in a very small part of the instrument, whereas the B resonates in all of it. Think "air to the fingers." Get someone to push down on the finger that's furthest down on the clarinet when trying to play the B to give you a better feel of it.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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Author: Hiroshi
Date: 2006-04-29 02:50
It is difficult for anybody.Register key study is a routine excersize item.
1)To shift from A to B you have to close many tone holes and open the register key simultaneously.
2)You always have to keep a long air column enough for B not enough for A,A#,or G.
3)Your will have to change (very slightly towards the reed stock) the tongue contact place with the reed.
I think practicing register key studies like G-B-G-B-G-B, A-B-A-B-A-B, or A#-B-A#-B-A#-B with these things in mind would save much time to improve.
Besides, I think you will find your Yamaha's register key elevation is too large, which is very common to clarinets of all makers. Professionals like it in the range of 0.7mm-1.2mm. If it's too large, B sounds strange with its lower harmonics E involved. You can find discussions on this matter by searching Klarinet archive or this BBS. (You can adjust this elevation by patching a tape on your Yamaha where the register key end contacts.)
Post Edited (2006-04-29 03:21)
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Author: Sonny
Date: 2006-04-29 03:22
I learned some time ago from this list to close down the right hand fingers 1st, while still on G or A, etc. The B then comes a lot easier. Don't tighten up your embouchere or blow harder, it doesn't help and can make the transfer more diddicult.
practice,practice,practice
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Author: YCL-450
Date: 2006-04-29 03:26
Yep, the famous "crossing the break." Every beginning clarinetist has some difficulty with it. But this too shall pass. Just practice. Before you know it, you'll simply think "A to B" and it'll just happen effortlessly.
Wow! I didn't know there was a name for it. Well thanks for the encouraging words all. It's good to know that this "crossing the break"
is just a routine part of learning the clarinet.
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Author: Old Geezer
Date: 2006-04-29 03:43
Board member Sonny has it right...keep the
right hand fingers down and maybe the little
left hand finger on the B/E key.
"Nothing in this world can take place of per-
sistence. Talent will not: nothing is more
common than failures with talent. Genius
will not; unrewarded genius is almost a
proverb."
If anyone knows the author of that quote,
I'll be bedazzled!
Clarinet Redux
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Author: GBK
Date: 2006-04-29 03:51
Old Geezer wrote:
> If anyone knows the author of that quote,
> I'll be bedazzled!
Calvin Coolidge ...GBK
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2006-04-29 03:57
If it is not too fast, then sometimes putting the right hand fingers down will not be good with tuning. Sometimes it will actually help with tuning though. I suggest practicing it without thr gith hand fingers down because that is harder. I'm not some technique master but moving from A to B is pretty easy.
Old Geezer it was easy to find the author of that quote online.
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Author: Old Geezer
Date: 2006-04-29 04:00
GBK is correct! It was ol' Cal who said it!
OK one more...and then back to the clarinet.
"Few things are impossible to diligence and
skill. Great works are performed not by
strength, but perseverance."
If anyone gets this quote, I'm going believe
there are some high school gaduates on
this board.
Clarinet Redux
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Author: GBK
Date: 2006-04-29 04:03
Samuel Johnson
Now let's get back on topic...GBK
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Author: Bartleby
Date: 2006-04-29 08:19
There is a book by Paul Harvey entitled "Clarinet Workbook" which I have found to be extremely helpful on many aspects of clarinet technique, including crossing the break.
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Author: Danny Boy
Date: 2006-04-29 09:55
It's worth practising moving from throat A to low E and back again. This helps with getting used to what has already been described with the changing air column, without yet having to coordinate the register key as well. When this has been mastered smoothly, add the register key in the movement.
If you're not already 'lengthening' the air column for the A then this is worth exploring as well. Adding fingers to open tone holes for the A will not only improve the note itself, but also mean that you are moving less fingers for the move from A to B.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2006-04-29 11:04
Pretty much as has already been said in above replies, but it's always best to have the relevent right hand fingers down when crossing the break.
So play A as: A ooo|xxxE/B
and change to B: Sp.Th.xxx|xxxE/B
And practice going back and forth (slurred, not tongued) until it becomes smooth. You will find the best breath pressure needed for both notes to sound even through trying.
And do the same with Bb-C across the break -
Bb: Sp.A ooo|xxxF/C
C: Sp.Th.xxx|xxxF/C
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Author: pmgoff78
Date: 2006-04-29 13:37
I would think the easiest way to practice it is to simply play between the two notes. Remember that you only have to move TWO fingers to go between A and B.
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Author: Merlin
Date: 2006-04-29 13:45
Best approach to learning to cross the break is in the Galper Clarinet Method Book 1. Learn the chalumeau thoroughly, then pop up from C to G, and work your way down to the B, THEN working on bridging two familiar registers.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2006-04-29 14:49
A fine discussion of this most-important fingering combination on our cl. Also do like the quotes, may I post a couple, prob. from Bartlett, please, GBK? Back to the break, when I warm up my bass, alto and sop before reh. or concert, I play the first 2 or 3 phrases from "76 Trombones" [Music Man] starting on Open G, slowly at first, speeding up as I "warm up". It works well for me and I receive comments/applause? from other band folk !! Try it, Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2006-04-29 15:19
Gustave Langenus offten marks his exercises to show when one "should" have the right hand down to facilitate crossing the break between chaleumeau and clarion registers.
After all these years, I've found that doing this is not necessary --except sometimes early in a practice session when my fingers don't seal, and the long clarions squeak. That is a reminder of the bad old days of learning to cross.
There was a post here a couple months ago by a teacher that had his young students play chalumeau scales and then do them again with the register key open --thus introducing the clarion without the tedium of living in the low register for a year or so.
Go for it.
Bob Phillips
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Author: Katrina
Date: 2006-04-29 15:20
Here's another reminder:
When your right hand is down, you don't have to think about it. Many students think that keeping the "RHD" solves all register change problems. It, however, is still your LEFT hand which needs to do the work! Focusing on the left hand movements is key.
Katrina
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Author: YCL-450
Date: 2006-04-29 16:47
Pretty much as has already been said in above replies, but it's always best to have the relevent right hand fingers down when crossing the break.
So play A as: A ooo|xxxE/B
and change to B: Sp.Th.xxx|xxxE/B
And practice going back and forth (slurred, not tongued) until it becomes smooth. You will find the best breath pressure needed for both notes to sound even through trying.
And do the same with Bb-C across the break -
Bb: Sp.A ooo|xxxF/C
C: Sp.Th.xxx|xxxF/C
Thanks for the advice. So I assume that the A note won't be effected with
|xxxE/B ? Because I have been playing the A note with the TH key only.
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2006-04-29 16:56
Thanks for the advice. So I assume that the A note won't be effected with
|xxxE/B ? Because I have been playing the A note with the TH key only.
Of course the A is affected. After all, the physical environment is not the same. But the effect of having the RH fingers down is sooooo minute it's neglectable.
However, a tuner does see a difference (at least here, but maybe also my embouchure changes a teeny weeny bit).
--
Ben
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Author: YCL-450
Date: 2006-04-29 19:33
tictactux wrote:
> Thanks for the advice. So I assume that the A note won't be
> effected with
> |xxxE/B ? Because I have been playing the A note with the TH
> key only.
>
> Of course the A is affected. After all, the physical
> environment is not the same. But the effect of having the RH
> fingers down is sooooo minute it's neglectable.
> However, a tuner does see a difference (at least here, but
> maybe also my embouchure changes a teeny weeny bit).
I just tried it and I couldn't tell that it was effected much. But I did notice that my problem is really not my right hand. It's really my left hand and leaving my right hand in postion didn't really make it any easier.
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2006-04-29 19:43
It's really my left hand and leaving my right hand in postion didn't really make it any easier.
Been there, done that (still waiting for the T-shirt, however). Stop worrying about it. Some day it'll just "pop out" like clicking your fingers. (how long did that take till you mastered it?)
--
Ben
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2006-04-29 21:45
The resonance fingers do make a significant difference in intonation. Sure, not huge, but great when you're trying to bring down the third in an F (Eb concert) major chord.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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Author: Tony Pay ★2017
Date: 2006-04-29 22:47
I'm surprised no one has mentioned the role of support in all of this.
If you play with support on the A -- this means, blowing harder than you're playing -- then your diaphragm will be ready to relax slightly, without your feeling any difference, so that the B natural will come out easily. Indeed, it learns to do this naturally, so that you find that the problem seems to evaporate.
Compare playing the opening of the Debussy Rhapsodie, where we have to go from a Bb to a C. Playing with support on the Bb allows control of the C.
I began a thread about all of this that seems to have been moved off the search engine. Perhaps I'm wrong. However, you can read it at:
http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=20&i=714&t=714
Tony
Post Edited (2006-04-30 08:05)
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Author: Sylvain
Date: 2006-04-29 23:35
Tony,
Your thread is also on the new "Keepers" BBoard, along withe cocktail party thread and the rvelation/double lip thread.
http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/list.html?f=20
-S
--
Sylvain Bouix <sbouix@gmail.com>
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2006-05-01 17:45
Lots of good advice, but I'm also wondering about the condition of the clarinet. If the B sounds normal when you go down the scale from above it, but it squeaks or has a "honking" tone quality when you go up to it from throat A or Bb, and especially if it squeaks worse when you jump to it from a larger interval even lower down the scale, then it might mean there's a tiny pad leak getting started on that B key. The instrument plays pretty well in the early stages of a leak on a key that far down on the instrument, and will often play the equivalent low register E (same fingering without the register key) just fine, but jumping up to the B will squeak it. That's often the first sign of the leak.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
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Author: diz
Date: 2006-05-04 06:56
it's amazing what you can do with Dogpile or Google ...
Without music, the world would be grey, very grey.
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