 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: monica
Date: 2000-06-07 00:02
I had a new student today and her tone needs alot of help! Her fingering is quite good as far as i can see. but, I don't know how to get to her tone. I don't think she notices probably because she dosn't know what she should sound like. But how can I get a small student to listen to clasical clarinet sound? Is there something else I can do? I thought about long tone exersizes but she dosn't know what to listen for. Any suggestions?
Thanks!
Monica
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Author: Joey
Date: 2000-06-07 00:16
Hmmm, actually, long tones helped me when I first started just to get me to play. No one knows what to listen for when just starting.
Try starting her on a low E at qtr note=60, and have her crescendo for 8cts, then push down the register and keep the air going for a B. Have her do the same thing going up the clarinet picking up one finger at a time (E,F,G,A,Bb,C,D,E). If she needs a guide for her ears, just tell her to make sure her sound doesn't change throughout the note, that the initialy tone should stay the same to help get her used to the embechour. Her tone will develop the further she goes in playing with upgrades in equipment. Make sure she's starting on quality student equipment (mpc, reeds, ligs, instrument) and then if she gets better over time, let her try a better mpc setup with better reeds.
joey
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Author: Anne
Date: 2000-06-07 00:37
I think that having a good tone is somewhat of an innate ability even though there are plenty of things to do to help it. When I was a beginner, my grandmother gave me a CD of Mozart's clarinet concerto in A and I voluntarily listened to it. I think that hearing a good clarinet sound made me strive to sound like it. Perhaps hearing a recording would help, or at least spark her interest.
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Author: paul
Date: 2000-06-07 01:09
Both of the posters above are correct, in my opinion. Long note drills are essential to learning how to produce good tone. Ditto for listening to good (world class) clarinet performances. I believe that there is nothing quite like copying a master to get to the goal the quickest. I did this during my private lessons with a master professional tutor. It made a world of difference for me. I also actively listen for any clarinet performance from any pro - which was another valuable lesson that I learned from my pro tutor. Even ads on television (here in the US) are chock full of superb clarinet performance, both in classical and in jazz forms. I can even hear the bass clarinet parts in scary and mysterious movies. I've pointed these soprano and bass clarinet parts out so many times that even my wife can hear them. She accepts this idiosyncracy from me with a mildly accepting smile or nod nowadays. You know, the bored "whatever makes you happy" kind of response.
So, here's a practical and easy lesson for your young novice. Ask her to do very long tone drills as the first thing to do for her daily practice warm-ups. Start with low chalemeau E and work chromatically up to no higher than high clarion C for now. Work long tones up and down the chromatic scale for at least 10 minutes a day as the very first warm up drill. No speed, just long tones. Make at least two passes up and down, but very slowly. It's a solid warm up drill that even master pros use. At least mine did, for each practice session, each performance, every day for at about 50 years. Now, that guy has some tone! Wow! Next, have her actively listen for clarinet performances in television ads for one week. Have her jot down the ad or the show, the channel she was watching, and the date/time that she heard it. Then, have her tune into a local classical music radio station for one week and do the same thing, jotting down the name of the music (if and when available), and the date/time she heard it. The next week, see if you can find for her classic Big Band era movies on television or for rent real cheap. Do the documentation drill again. Then, fetch recordings of these same musicians (second hand music and book stores should have a bunch of these available for sale at very good prices) and have her listen to them instead of pop music for a week. After a while, she will have a tuned ear for music, a mind trained to listen for superb clarinet performance, and a solid grasp of excellent tone.
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Author: ron b.
Date: 2000-06-07 04:59
I don't know your situation, Monica, so I'm guessing that by 'small student' you mean young. If her fingering is okay - has she had lessons previously? If so, it would be helpful to know who the teacher was, what s/he taught the student etc.
May I suggest that you or one of your students demonstrate by playing as well as verbalizing? You know what she needs to sound like -- she may have no idea. If someone like you or a peer of hers will play along with her she's likely to pick it up quickly by imitating what she sees and hears. Children are surprisingly alert to what you do rather than what you say.
....two cents please :]
ron b.
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Author: Joey
Date: 2000-06-07 14:19
I concur with above posts.... Recordings could greatly enhance a student's perception of tone. Depending on your location, there may be a master player who is loved by all as having the "perfect tone". For me, it was and is Robert Marcellus. I listened to his playing of the Mozart and I nearly fainted at his superb sound even after 30 minutes of difficult music. It's helped me look for something in my own playing, so it may in fact help your student out as well.
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Author: Lelia
Date: 2000-06-07 15:39
In addition to suggesting that the student listen to recordings and listen for clarinets on TV, etc. (great ideas, IMHO), you could play "monkey hear, monkey do" with her. Get out your own clarinet. "I'm going to play something. See if you can imitate exactly what I play!" Keep it super-simple at first, until she gets the idea -- maybe just start with a long open G. Then maybe G, F, E. Next, maybe G, E, F. Keep the notes themselves very easy and the phrases very short, to make sure she can follow you without getting lost and discouraged at first. Then say, "You're playing the right notes, but listen to how my notes *sound* and see if you can play your notes with the same *tone* I use." (To keep her attention, some humor wouldn't hurt, such as a deliberate squeeeeak!) Watch what she's doing and make suggestions if you see that she's biting, for instance, or she's not putting enough mouthpiece in her mouth, or she's moving her jaw around. I don't teach and don't know whether teachers play this game with kids, but I'm basing the idea on what I've read about the Suzuki method and on the way children learn to talk, by imitating their parents.
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Author: paul
Date: 2000-06-07 16:41
I put a huge "ditto" on Lelia's comment above. My tutor did exactly what she described. He had me play a note and looked at me playing it with great detail. Embouchure, throat, mp position, fingering accuracy, the works. If it was an altissimo note, he had me do the three register drill to slowly roll into it and get used to producing the note nice and clean.
An attentive tutor can spend the quality time to look for problems with the student. Believe me, it's money very well spent.
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Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 2000-06-07 17:57
monica wrote:
-------------------------------
I had a new student today and her tone needs a lot of help! Her fingering is quite good as far as i can see. but, I don't know how to get to her tone. I don't think she notices probably because she doesn't know what she should sound like. But how can I get a small student to listen to clasical clarinet sound? Is there something else I can do? I thought about long tone exercises but she doesn't know what to listen for. Any suggestions?
Thanks!
Monica
Monica -
Young students have not developed enough embouchure strength to control the reed. Thus, having a nearly perfect reed is even more important for them than for advanced players. When I visited my brother a few years ago, my 11 year old nephew Eric was just getting started on clarinet and had the typical, strangled "beginner" tone. After I made sure his equipment was OK (cleaning out his mouthpiece, making sure it wasn't chipped, making sure the pads were covering), I took out a new Vandoren (standard) reed and prepared very carefully for his mouthpiece - exactly balanced, easy blowing, soft but not mushy - so that I could sound good on it without having to do anything.
The result was that Eric sounded terrific. Of course he couldn't have controlled a less than ideal reed, but with it set just right he did beautifully.
Once he got a clear tone into his ear, I played "ping-pong" with him on open g, playing a short note and having him imitate it, tossing it back and forth. I then did it the C below that (left hand fingers down). Finally, I taught him the cat's theme solo from Peter and the Wolf, playing the first 3 notes, and having him imitate them, and then adding a couple of notes at a time.
The two important things, I think, were that (1) I showed Eric that I could sound good on his mouthpiece, reed and clarinet (so he couldn't blame them), and (2) that I played a good sounding note and had him imitate it immediately, with my sound still in his ear.
I don't think he kept sounding that way long after I left, if only because the reed soon went out of adjustment (not to mention that he bumped the mouthpiece into a wall a week later, breaking it and the reed). With your student, you can pull her back to a good sound at each lesson. You can save time at the lesson by preparing a medium-soft reed ahead of time, so that you can set it up on her mouthpiece quickly.
You will of course watch for other problems, such as moving her jaw when she tongues.
If she can't hear the difference between a "beginner" sound and your sound, try some voice exercises. Sing "Doo-Wah" and have her imitate it. Then try "Doo-Dah," "Foo-Fah," "Floo-Flah," and so on. Then try "Mee-Yow" and "Flubbadiggledeeyoo-Flubbadiggledeeyah," until you are both loosened up and rolling on the floor laughing.
You can't be embarrassed. You need to be as silly as possible, and get her to go along with you to get an idea of what's possible and what to listen for.
Good luck. It should be fun for you both.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Ginny
Date: 2000-06-08 17:15
Do check the basic technique, my son (11) started about a year ago, looking like a chipmonk sounding like a goose. Now the chins right and the cheeks too - so (we have a good mouthpiece for him) mommy works on his reeds and he has a lovely sound, most days. It really depends on that reed for him.
I think it is unfortunate that his tone concept is match mom's, which he does well. We have been listening to sounds 2you, another big thank you to Mark C, so perhaps in a year mom can try to match son.
Anyway, I think a mouthpiece and reed check is the first order, then work on technique, soon. Recordings are a great idea.
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Author: Anon.
Date: 2000-06-11 16:33
I personally don't approve of kids still in school teaching younger kids ANY instrument. Just to ask `I need tone
help!'is enough to emphasize my point.
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Author: monica
Date: 2000-06-14 02:28
Annon, I'm sorry you feel this way, I think i've done alot with all of my students. I've only taken on beginers and I feel I've done a good job. I've learned alot more then I ever thought I would, I enjoy teaching and have helped my students on many ways. I feel I am capable of teaching students even though I am one myself.
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