 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Michelle
Date: 2000-11-12 01:46
I'm a young high school student. I play in my school bands for years but I like orchestra clarinet much better. I'm just starting orchestral clarinet playing in some orchestras in the area. I feel that my sound is very bright and aggressive. That is great for a symphonic band sound, but not for an orchestra sound. I would like to have a much more mello sound that would blend better with the strings. I was wondering, how should I go about getting a darker sound? I have a R13 clarinet, so I don't think that's the problem. Will a deeper sound just come with time and experience? I plan on going into orchestral clarinet performance after high school at this point.
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Author: Andy
Date: 2000-11-12 01:50
What mpc are you playing? Maybe a change of mouthpiece would help the game along nicely. Also, opening the throat a little more will definitly help
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Author: graham
Date: 2000-11-12 11:48
It would also help to know what reeds you use. Think about asking your dealer or others what reeds would produce a denser more complex tone quality such as will blend with strings (note, something simply more mellow and "dark" may just get lost in the mix).
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Author: lee
Date: 2000-11-12 16:54
Yes it would help to know your mp and reed setup but in my opinion its a whole new ball-game when you step into the orchestral clarinet world, because having a good mp and reed to give you a darker sound to blend with the strings is only half the battle, in takes time to blend in with the orchetra and you also must have good control not to over power the people around you. Some good advice that my orchestra conductor gave me when I made the transition from band to orchestra was that if you are playing in harmony with the string try to stay at the same volume that they are at,and you will know that you are playing to loud when you cant hear the strings at all.
Good luck and let us know how you are doing. P.S. it can be very competitive too.
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Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 2000-11-13 18:53
Michelle -
There's such a lot of things to do, and it's nearly impossible to know what to advise without hearing you play.
You need a good mouthpiece. The Fobes Debut, for example, is inexpensive and will probably play better than any commercial, machine-made mouthpiece (such as Vandoren).
You also need to learn to adjust your reeds. You can do pretty well with any of the better brands. I like David's Reeds these days, and people say Zondas are now excellent.
You should also have your clarinet checked over to make sure the pads are tight and the keys are well adjusted.
However, the equipment is less important than training your ear and your muscles.
You can't really tell what you sound like by listening while you play. The sound you hear is strongly affected by bone conduction. Record yourself, so you can hear what you sound like to other people. I guarantee you'll be surprised. It will help to play double lip at least part of the time. (I use it full time.) It gives you more sensitive control and also cuts down on the bone conduction.
Tone quality is controlled first by breath, and next by your lips, tongue, palate and throat.
You have to keep the sound "on the breath." That is, there must be a direct connection from your breath to the sound. The sound has to feel like a part of you. To do this, you have to breathe more deeply that you're probably used to doing. Inhale from the bottom and continue until your rib-cage expands and rises by itself. Then, relax and let the air come out without effort. The feeling is of "relaxing" rather than "blowing."
At first, you may feel that there's not enough resistance. There's a great temptation to close off your throat, as if you were almost coughing or speaking, to give something to blow against. You have to teach yourself what it feels like not to do that.
A good exercise is to start pianissimo on low E, crescendo to a good forte (always under control), press the register key gently to go to middle B and diminuendo back to pp. Then go to F/C, and so on. When you get to A, start going up to the third register (A/E/C#, etc.) as you begin the diminuendo. Work to carry the low register warmth and roundness into the second and third registers.
To keep your sound vibrant, you have to make sure only about half the red part of your lower lip is inside your lower teeth. From that basic position, you can add high harmonics by pulling more of the lip outside your teeth, and cover the sound by putting more lip inside.
Try raising your soft palate (watching in a mirror will let you connect the feeling and the position), raising the back of your tongue, and lowering the front of your tongue into a "ski jump" shape.
It helps me to lower my jaw and pucker my lips slightly (again, double lip helps). This isn't what you do all the time, and the movements are very slight. Kalmen Opperman says to concentrate on keeping an "OOO" (rhymes with "too") quality in the sound. Concentrate on letting the air flow, rather than blowing.
Finally, listen to the great players, in as many styles as you can. The more you listen, the more possibilities you have, plus getting good examples to learn how to do. It's not enough to have a good tone. You must have many good tones.
This is all easy to say, and a lot to learn. You can't do it all at once, and it helps a lot to have a teacher listening. Do one thing at a time, until you can do it without having to think about it. Then add the next.
There's no end to learning.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Chris Hill
Date: 2000-11-14 05:21
You may want to consider taking lessons with a teacher who produces a sound which you admire.
Chris
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