 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2007-08-22 18:20
How does one slur from the clarion register to a 12th below in intervals where the only change in fingering is the register key? For example, B middle of the staff down to low E. I see in the long tones thread that a poster indicates that they do this practicing long tones in half notes.
I can't manage it without either interrupting the sound by brushing the reed with the tongue, which spoils the legato, or by rather strenuously underblowing" via an adjustment of lip pressure / air pressure / oral cavity, which alters the sound of the lower note in a way I don't want. Experimentation thus far has failed to clearly point at what to practice.
Other intervals that are close to the 12th, like B down to F or C down to E, work better, but I have to time all the fingers very accurately. But the exact 12th seems to need something in addition to the register vent closure in order to "break" the overtone. Or am I doing something basic wrong? (I've seen very little music requiring this.)
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Author: OmarHo
Date: 2007-08-22 18:48
Someone who taught me this (who is probably reading this right now ), told me to just cheat and lightly tongue to the lower 12th. I don't know if anyone can actually do that in a timely, and cleanly manner. Sure, I could do it, if you want at least a 5 second delay with some excess noise in between..
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2007-08-22 18:58
It's not easy to do, and I don't expect anyone can expect to do it cleanly slurred.
Best tongue or lightly tongue the lower note as stated above.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: jendereedknife
Date: 2007-08-22 21:39
Attachment: blodgett_long_tones.pdf (71k)
Slurring down the 12th is quite possible without "cheating". Your air and your embuochure just need to be correct in order for it to happen.
Try starting on the higher note with a loose embouchure so that only air is being blown through the clarinet without any tone. Wihtout stopping the air, begin to firm up the embouchure until you get the slightest hint of tone. Make sure the tone begins clearly without any grunting. When you get that tone, keep the embouchure in that position, but then direct more air into the clarinet - play louder without biting anymore. Then try letting go of the register key. It may take a second or 2 in the beginning for the note to fall, but in time it will be controlable. If you move your embouchure to make the note come out, then it is not correct yet.
I have attached a long tone warmup that I devised and use religiously. It really focuses on the 5ths and 12ths. (Thanks to Michael Rasmussen for taking my horrible manuscript and making this pdf!)
Sincerely,
Tom Blodgett
President,
Jende Industries, LLC
www.jendeindustries.com
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Author: JessKateDD
Date: 2007-08-22 22:28
I had this problem the first time I played Don Quixote - there is a slurred middle B to low E in a solo at the very end. At the time, I lightly tongued the low note.
Faced with that again, I may consider another option. If you play the high note without the register key, it is much easier to slur down the 12th - it basically becomes the same as a lip slur by a brass player. Higher clarion notes are quite easy to overblow, but the lower clarion notes are more difficult, especially B. For those, I steal a page from bassoonists and "flick" the register key on the B. After that the slur to low E is pretty easy. In fact, the low note wants to speak so strongly that the difficulty now becomes holding on to the high note and not accidentally slurring down too soon.
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Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2007-08-22 22:30
Thanks, Tom. I think I understand, and I'll give it a try. It sounds like I may need to employ less, ah, jaw closing pressure in my embouchure. Less bone, we might say.
Interesting website, btw.
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Author: jendereedknife
Date: 2007-08-23 21:16
No problem, Philip!
Another important factor is the reed strength. If you don't mind my asking, what is your setup?
(Also, thanks for checking out my site!)
Sincerely,
Tom Blodgett
President,
Jende Industries, LLC
www.jendeindustries.com
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Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2007-08-23 22:42
Tom,
I'm using the Buffet mouthpiece that came with the clarinet and 30-year old VanDoren 5's out of the box, which I'm given to understand would approximate new VanDoren 3.5 or 4's. My reading here has made it clear that my playing may benefit from other choices, and I'm looking forward to trying some.
I tested your suggested process last night, and once I put a relatively thin reed on it worked - at least, I was able to down-slur 12ths with the register key much better than anything I'd tried before. It takes about a quarter or half a second on the lower notes - B down to E, etc. The higher notes, as indicated in your warmup routine, worked better, almost well.
I'm not sure I can generally play that way, with such light firmness, as some notes want to sound very flat and mushy (though it seems they don't HAVE to either). Coincidentally another experiment I tried this week pointed in the same general direction of embouchure change. So, I'm wetting a reed at this very moment . . . .
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Author: MichaelR
Date: 2007-08-23 23:15
Philip Caron wrote:
> It takes about a quarter or half a second on
> the lower notes - B down to E, etc.
When I first started using Mr. Blodgett's long tone exercises I'd have the higher tone persist for seconds. Within a couple of weeks I got much better response.
Keep at it.
--
Michael of Portland, OR
Be Appropriate and Follow Your Curiosity
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Author: DAVE
Date: 2007-08-24 02:01
Tom,
What fingerings do you use for the highest Bb, B, and C? I have found that some fingerings work better for leaps, so perhaps you have settled on some that work for you.
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Author: elmo lewis
Date: 2007-08-24 19:28
You should also use your oral cavity to help. Pretend you are saying "eeee" while you play the high note then change to "awww" for the low note.
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Author: jendereedknife
Date: 2007-08-29 23:28
Dear Dave,
When Using the Warmup, I use these fingerings:
High Bb: Left hand: Thumb and registerkey, holes 1,2,3 +C#/G# pinky. Right Hand: holes 1,2,3 + C/F key. Basically, it is a long F with the right hand C key instead of the Eb key. When playing the Eb before this Bb in the warmup, it will require a slide for the right pinky from the Eb to the C key, and back.
High B: Left hand: Thumb and registerkey, holes 1&2 + F#/C# pinky. Right Hand: holes 1&2.
High C: Left hand: Thumb and registerkey, A key, holes 1&3. Right Hand: hole 1 + F#/C# pinky. The first finger on the left hand needs to cover the 1st hole + the A key. The Left C#/G# Pinky can be added for intonation.
The fingerings can be different for different people, and will vary for intonation purposes. At this stage, I consider these notes as controlled squeeks, and are great conversation for cocktail parties - although the Baermann 3 book does go to high C on the C major scale's ending arpeggio in the beginning of the book...
Good luck!
Sincerely,
Tom Blodgett
President,
Jende Industries, LLC
www.jendeindustries.com
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The Clarinet Pages
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