 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: DTrinh09
Date: 2008-08-03 08:25
I'm not a professional by all means, nor do I belong to any "levels" of playing--I've gone through about 5 years of band from my humble middle school and high school without any private instruction. Now clarinet is just a side hobby, but I still would like to improve. I know there are a lot of intonation problems throughout this song, but it's the best I can put together after a couple days without going crazy lol.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3gsGyTlg84&fmt=18
Yes, a youtube video. It's a cover of Michael Buble's "Everything"--if any of you has a youtube account, please comment and rate too.
Post Edited (2008-08-03 23:25)
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Author: clariknight
Date: 2008-08-03 14:01
Hmm..From my viewpoint, which is by no means a professional viewpoint either, your tone is very nice. You can definitely tell you have some years of playing behind you. From my, once again not professional, viewpoint, a big issue here is breath control. It simple does not sound like you are putting enough air into the horn. That might also be because the accompaniment track is kind of loud. But yea, I'd try practicing taking full breaths and putting all of that air into the instrument, not just some of it.
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Author: hans
Date: 2008-08-03 16:35
DTrinh09,
You started and ended at the right points, but in between it seemed like you were out of sync with the accompaniment much of the time. Concentrate more effort on listening to your accompaniment and counting carefully.
Hans
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2008-08-03 23:20
I liked what you did very much. You got a lovely sound, and you really worked off of the drum track, letting it provide the energy, which you just rode along on. Also, when you got a little off, you heard the problem and quickly adjusted. Those are two things that most intermediate players can't do. It shows that you have a good talent.
When you play alone, it can be for you, but when you put it up on YouTube, it's for the benefit of the people who listen to it. Therefore, the next step is to put more air through the instrument, so that you get the sound into the listeners' ears. Your goal is to get the listeners to feel the emotion of the song, which is different from feeling it yourself.
I can tell from your playing that you can do this. Keep up the great work.
Ken Shaw
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Author: myshineyblackjoy
Date: 2008-08-04 01:03
I really enjoyed your cover! Learning breath control is one of the hardest things. But, keep at it you have allot of soul....
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Author: DTrinh09
Date: 2008-08-04 03:42
Thanks for the quick feedback guys (girls?) I know it got out of sync, but I had trouble syncing it to begin with--I played to the original song with Michael Buble singing instead of the background track I used--so it may be possible that that caused the sync problems; about mid-way I tried to realign the song so that may explain why I ended with the background track.
I'm getting a lot of the same suggestion so it must be a very important thing to work on: breath control. I know I haven't been practicing regularly nor frequently, but I'm sure this has been a problem with me for a long time (if you watch my previous videos you'll see/hear). The problem I have with putting more air into the instrument is that it draws out the airiness and stuffiness of my throat tones (which are generally sharp--while my low D through index finger F# are generally flat). I don't know how to remedy these problems except by pulling out and tighting my embouchure for the flat notes, or the opposite for the sharp notes.
If it helps: my setup
Buffet E11
Zinner JC1
Vandoren 12 sz 3.5
stock ligature or vandoren leather
-david
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2008-08-04 05:07
To help with rhythm I can suggest, if you haven't done it already, to sing. Sing the song, even (or maybe better) without the lyrics. Then I also suggest to improvise different melodies and noticing mostly that you with the background music, and that notes that are supposed to be even are. It's like Ken wrote, it seems that you realize some of the problem but just can't fix them technically... yet! I bet with a bit more practice you could. BTW I liked the water glass solo 
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Author: mrn
Date: 2008-08-04 15:20
DTrinh09 wrote:
> The problem I have with putting more air into the instrument is that it
> draws out the airiness and stuffiness of my throat tones
Hmm...If you're having a problem with airiness, I wonder if your reeds are a little too stiff (or perhaps out of balance..or both). Also, you may sound airier to yourself than to others around you, so it may not be the big deal you think it is.
Nice Stoltzman-like sound, by the way.
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Author: skygardener
Date: 2008-08-04 15:37
"Hmm...If you're having a problem with airiness, I wonder if your reeds are a little too stiff (or perhaps out of balance..or both). Also, you may sound airier to yourself than to others around you, so it may not be the big deal you think it is."
Here here! You are using 3.5 and I suggest you try 3 or maybe even 2.5. There is no shame in using softer reeds if you can sound good. Also, you wrote on the youtube page that you have TMJ problems. Softer reeds might help that.
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Author: allencole
Date: 2008-08-05 19:32
I suspect that the breath issue and the timing issue are linked.
You have a nice sound overall, your vibrato is not excessive, and you have a good feel for the rhythm of the song. You also did a good job in selecting the song, which seems to be quite playable on a wind instrument.
What I'm seeing is pretty typical across the board, but especially with players who are experimenting with pop and jazz styling.
1 - Breathe in all the air that you can hold, not just what you think you'll need. You may not blow all that air into the horn, but by filling yourself up, you get used to having the extra air bolster the pressure of the air that you ARE using. (and it's a good way to constantly remind yourself about support)
2 - Like everyone else says, go on and blow. You sound at points like you back off because of something you don't like in your tone--the throat register breathiness perhaps? Instruments and players do have flaws in certain places, and this can really come out when you're playing music in a conversational style like this. That's one reason why so many of the old jazz masters added graces notes, trills, and other curleycues to their melodies. There are some notes (like a certain throat Bb or low C#) that a player simply doesn't want to sit still on. Try a crescendo or decrescendo to make the note more palatable.
2a - You don't have to go crazy with ornamentation to solve the problem of the horn not feeling free or delivering the sound you want. Your first angle of attack is more support and more aggressive blowing. When trying to play in a light style like this, try to increase your support dramatically rather than blowing directly against the resistance that you're encountering. It's easy to let the resistance become your engine of control, and the horn can end up controlling you instead.
3 - As has been already mentioned, (and many of the reasons are in 2a) you might need a slightly softer reed. Let your breath support provide the resistance that the reed itself lacks.
4 - COMMIT to every note. To many young players try to blunt their attack or otherwise give themselves an escape hatch in case they play an incorrect note, or a note whose sound doesn't shimmer (flutists, does the shoe fit?) the way they'd like it to. Many will bounce right off a good note right onto a bad one, because something startles them. COMMIT to every note you play and put in the energy and emotion that you would if conditions were absolutely perfect.
4a - In line with this, make an effort to trust your accompaniment. You can get hesitant from listening to it in too much detail. Just make sure that you're in line with the 1-2-3-4 of it and let the general tempo and your knowledge of the song take over. It can be difficult to hear accompaniment details while you're playing, and things can happen to make you suspect that you're gone astray. Stick to your guns unless you feel honestly sure that you're wrong. You're pretty good at this already. Just be more aggressive so that the audience will feel the confidence.
5 - Let your ego help you. Ego is important--and it's not just for bragging. Bragging is simply a misuse of this valuable asset. You need to exude confidence in your playing, and your head should be filled with thoughts of how great you're going to sound--not how bad you're going to screw up. Be humble when the horn is out of your mouth, but feel like a million bucks when it's in your mouth.
Again, you already have a pretty good feel for this. Pat yourself on the back and make us a new video with your rejuvenated mojo.
Edit - I'm not sure that I understand what you said about playing along with the vocal while recording with just accompaniment. Are they two different recordings?
Allen Cole
Post Edited (2008-08-05 19:34)
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Author: DTrinh09
Date: 2008-08-05 23:00
Wow thanks for all the feedback, I'll try to implement them in my practice and playing as soon as I can while balancing my summer work that I held off to the last 3 weeks before school haha.
My V12 3.5 reed is actually several months old, and I may have sandpapered it a little. And is it better to sand down a thick reed or just buy a smaller size? TMJ isn't a problem anymore; I must've had a temporary case of it because I feel minimal pain now and almost none while playing.
Yeah, my lungs haven't been worked hard in a long time, so my air capacity sucks right now. I'll try to keep in mind to fill it in in every breath..*big gulp of air*
And to clear things up, the accompaniment was originally a midi file with the vocal track turned off. I then put it through a program that enriched the sound fonts (much like a high quality keyboard) to sound as they are now. When I recorded, however, I was listening to the real recording of Michael Buble singing. I don't know how much this could change things; perhaps the tempo in Buble's version changes, I don't know. The midi should be constant throughout, so when I line it up, it might be off. But I think it's the hesitance to play so I end up falling behind and echoing Michael Buble, so when the tracks are aligned, they sound off. Pooh :(
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