The Clarinet BBoard

Playing Soprano Eb

Author: Stephanie aka Benny  Date:   1999-01-22 19:36 hey everyone, i am auditioning at all-state on the Eb soprano clarinet. I need any HELPFUL hints that yall might have on playing this horn. Pleas help this audition is a BIG thing and it is my first time to play the Eb. Thanks ~Keep Swinging~ Benny

Reply To Message

RE: Playing Soprano Eb

Author: Ken Shaw  Date:   1999-01-25 18:15 Stephanie aka Benny wrote: ------------------------------- hey everyone, i am auditioning at all-state on the Eb soprano clarinet. I need any HELPFUL hints that yall might have on playing this horn. Pleas help this audition is a BIG thing and it is my first time to play the Eb. Thanks ~Keep Swinging~ Benny Stephanie - I would put away my Bb and play Eb exclusively up until the audition. Work on your ordinary scale exercises to get your fingers used to the different positions, so that you no longer have to think about it as you play. The Eb of course tends to be shrill. Practice the clarion register concentrating on keeping the sound "round" and sweet. There should always be an "OOOOO" (rhymes with "shoe") quality in the sound. Then work into the altissimo, always minimizing shrillness and maximizing sweetness. What impresses the auditioner is accurate intonation, clean technique, steady rhythm and a tone that is characteristic but not too bright or squealy. You will never have trouble being heard on Eb. You have to remember that you're not the soloist. At ppp, you shouldn't be able to hear yourself. At fff, you should still be able to hear everybody else. Your job is not to play the melody but to add a sparkle to the sound of the clarinet section. Ideally, nobody should be aware of your playing. They should just think how good the clarinet section sounds. If you have enough time, you should make some tuning rings to set the intonation correctly. When I played Eb in the U. of Tennessee concert band and the Knoxville Symphony, I used a school Leblanc that was extremely sharp. To bring the pitch down, I had to pull out at the top and bottom of the barrel, which hurt the response because of the gaps in the bore. To fill the gaps, I went to the hardware store and got some of the rubber washers that go in garden hose fittings. I sanded them down to fit inside the top and bottom barrel sockets, which worked very well. So. Get used to the instrument. Learn to play it in tune and with a nice sound. Never play louder than lovely. Then go knock 'em dead. Good luck. Ken Shaw (who loves Benny too.)

Reply To Message

RE: Playing Soprano Eb

Author: SeAn  Date:   1999-01-26 15:57 I use a Bb reed on an Eb clarinet by cutting away 5mm from the bottom of the Bb reed. I wonder if any of the Eb folks here does that? The normal Eb reed tends to be on the "shrill" side. all the best to your auditions

Reply To Message

Avail. Forums  |  Need a Login? Register Here

User Login  User Name:  Password:  Remember my login:

Forgot Your Password? Enter your email address or user name below and a new password will be sent to the email address associated with your profile.