 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: CarlT
Date: 2008-06-22 03:03
I feel somewhat bad to waste the pros' times reading what I have to say, but I feel that if I can help just one beginner out there it would be a good thing.
My intention with this post is NOT to teach anything, but to let beginners know there is hope for those who persist.
Like many beginners, I've struggled with about every new thing I've had to learn with the clarinet. I'm on my 10th week now, and just tonight I was finally able to achieve a fairly good "woody" tone (my teacher's term when HE plays his clarinet). Nothing, and I mean nothing I have struggled with yet, has been so hard for me to achieve as a good, steady, stable, and yes, woody, tone... not the "hollow" tone (again, my teacher's term) that I'd been playing.
I feel I have reached a big milestone in learning to play the clarinet, and yes, there is hope for you beginners. It takes a lot of patience (and good practice).
FWIW, for me to achieve the better tone I tweaked my embouchure by allowing my jaw to protrude just a bit more forward to pretty much line up my lower teeth with my upper teeth. I kept my chin very firm and flat also. I won't try to go further on how to form an embouchure, as there are tons of info on that subject.
For me, though, since I have a slight overbite, I was not moving my jaw forward enough. When I finally did that, out came the sound I've been wanting for so 10 weeks now. Once I got that first tone, I was very careful not to change anything about the embouchure then, I blew a few other notes, and still was getting the woody sound. Man, talk about feeling good!
BTW, I got the idea to move my jaw forward from one of the best old books out there, THE ART OF CLARINET PLAYING, by Keith Stein. It's fairly easy reading, and although it's about 50 years old, it seems to be just the ticket for beginners, as well as more advanced, players.
Now if I can EVER smooooothly get over the break and back. Oh well...back to practicing.
Keep at it you beginners, for if I can do it, you can, too.
CarlT
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Author: D
Date: 2008-06-22 10:14
keep the right hand fingers down for G, G# A Bb. makes life vastly easier.
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