 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Megan
Date: 2000-05-24 00:16
This is a question sort of relating to Nicks question on sharpness. I've been playing super sharp the past couple of months(so sharp that people around me have been mentioning it!) and was told that sometimes people play sharp before they get up to the next level of performance. I'm frustrated at how long I've been playing sharp and am wondering if anyone else has gone through this. I don't know if I'm approaching any new level in my playing, I know that this past year I have been focusing on clarinet way more than ever before and maybe the amount of playing I'm doing has something to do with my intonation. I can hear myself being out of tune,I just can't seem to do anything about it. Another thing, does anyone have any tips for a consistently flat first space F? I've tried using that little key on the upper joint to boost the pitch up but that doesn't always work with some of the passages in my music.
Any advice appreciated, I hope what I wrote makes sense!
Megan
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Author: Kontragirl
Date: 2000-05-24 01:42
Like I said, I've been having intonation problems for about a year. But lately it's been getting better. I've never heard that going sharp means you're advancing...I guess we're in a good spot if it does! Anyway, to lower one note I experiment with moving your tounge around. Try raising the back of it...like arching it, does that make sence? If that makes it worse I got myself all mixed up...so then try pulling your tounge and chin down as far as you can.
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Author: Kim
Date: 2000-05-24 02:50
I know not all people believe in clarinet blow-out. My clarinet might not have blown-out, I just might have out grown it. Well, before I got my new R-13 in January, I heard myself all over the place. I was really pissed with what was happening and knew I needed to change something and fast! Barrels and mouthpieces wouldn't change my intonation, and the resistance on my old clarinet just wasn't full.
Once I bought the new instrument, bought a Greg Smith mouthpiece, and Chadash barrel, I can say that I have improved more in four months than I ever have before. With my old clarinet, I only practiced an hour because that's all I could tolerate. Now, I can practice up to 2 hours because of how comfortable I am.
The fact that you are beginning to criticize yourself is good and bad. It's good because it means that you are getting better. However, if you don't buy a new instrument, or change something soon, you will be miserable! If you don't already, I suggest that you get private instruction since your ear is developing well and you are becoming a better musician.
Keep it up!
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Author: Megan
Date: 2000-05-24 07:00
I have been taking private lessons for 4 years now(just finished my 4th year university) and had never had an intonation problem before this. It was another prof in the music department who told me that some people had slight intonation problems when they went up to the next performance level. When I approach my teacher about this she never seems too concerned, maybe I shouldn't be either, maybe it is just a phase. I've been thinking about changing mouthpieces and maybe barrels. I play on a Charles Bay MO-L right now and 3.5 Vandoren V12s. I'll just keep chugging away and see what happens.
What is blow-out anyways? I've never heard that before.
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Author: Graham Elliott
Date: 2000-05-24 08:51
It sounds as though Kim may have the point here. Although I am sceptical that clarinets "blow out" I have been a victim of a relatively new clarinet (a few years) warping and going out of tune. In my case it went sharp.
The suspicious thing in this case is that thumb F has also gone flat, and presumably the equivalent twelfth is flatter than before. The clarinet has therefore not only gone sharp but is getting out of tune with itself. Perhaps the increased playing times have caused a problem. I suggest you take it to a technician to see if they can detect any movement in the wood. If there is, then I don't know if a polycylindrical clarinet can be fixed. When this happened to my straight bore Boosey & Hawkes 1010, they just reamed it out again on the lathe.
But don't just buy a new clarinet without investigating this, otherwise you will have the same problem, and less money.
So far as people going sharp as they move up to some higher level is concerned, that's a new one on me. It does not sound convincing, unless we are talking about absolute beginners developing the most basic of embouchures.
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Author: Mary
Date: 2000-05-25 03:13
Megan-
How flat is your thumb F? It doesn't strike me as odd that that note is flat. If you think about it, increasing lover jaw pressure sharpens pitch. On that F, your thumb is actually pushing the clarinet away from your lower jaw. Try using less force from your thumb and see what happens, especially if your E is not flat.
My understanding of blow-out is that over time, the wood changes, so that resistance either increases or decreases. I've played older Buffet and Selmer(like 40 years old) clarinets which were stuffy despite good repads. And I've played good ones too. I think it exists, but probably takes more than its fair share of blame for clarinet problems.
Are you biting down a lot, or are your facial muscles tense?
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Author: Dave Lee Ennis
Date: 2000-05-25 14:28
Graham Elliott wrote:
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It sounds as though Kim may have the point here. Although I am sceptical that clarinets "blow out" I have been a victim of a relatively new clarinet (a few years) warping and going out of tune. In my case it went sharp.
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I write:
Ask Ken Shaw(See previous topics), or was it someone else that said that they had a clarinet since 1976 or something. And get this, a friend of mine called Tom still plays a clarinet that he got in the military just after the war(2). So, to anyone that thinks clarinets "Blow out", I say that from what I've seen and heard, this is absolute rubbish!
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Author: Cathy
Date: 2000-05-27 00:13
I had this problem last year and what someone told me was that most beginner level instruments are built to play a little sharper because most beginners play flat and that as you progress and develop better playing habits you improve your tine quality and play sharper. Whether or not this is true I'm entirely sure but when I moved form a student grade horn to a pro horn my intonation became normal as opposed to the insanely sharp tone on my old horn. I hope this helps. -Cathy
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Author: Stephen
Date: 2000-05-30 01:45
pull out on your barrel or you can pull out between the upper and lower sections, or get a tunning barrel
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Author: Sarah
Date: 2000-06-05 15:43
My G and F are sometimes flat and I just pull out a smidgeon between the upper and lower
sections. That helps with the notes in that range. It usually doesn't affect anything else.
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