 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Chrissy
Date: 2009-12-11 03:10
I am a second year masters student and am having issues "working too hard" while playing. This "working too hard" ussually becomes more of an issue during performances, but also during practice of repertoire. I have no problem playing with a beautiful sound during scales, but once I begin playing rep, my sound changes and sounds a little forced. I know that this is probably a mental issue of mine and with techniques such as the Alexander Technique and relaxation methods I can probably alleviate it. The thing is, I have practiced these methods and this problem still occurs. I switched the size of my reeds to a softer size and it seemed to help a little at first, but now it is not anymore. Also, are there embochure strengthening exercises any one recommends? I feel as though I am lacking strength in my embochure, which makes me blow funky at times.. especcially during performances. I feel as though my corners are in, my chin flat, and everything is firm.... but maybe my embochure is "too firm." I appreciate any exercises or hints to fix these problems.
Thank yoU!
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Author: johng ★2017
Date: 2009-12-11 13:12
This may sound silly, but what about taking up the flute for a while? My flute playing suffers from my clarinetist embouchure. I find that when I am playing flute, I have to relax the muscles in my embouchure area to get a good sound. Maybe a ridiculous idea, but that is what this brain storming bulletin board stuff is all about.
For more strength, let me recommend the Fernand Gillet "Exercices sur les Gammes, Intervalles, Staccato". These are the most comprehensive set of scale and interval studies I have come across. I think Gillet's approach is a great way to smooth technique and endurance. I use the flute version, but there is a version for clarinet as well.
John Gibson, Founder of JB Linear Music, www.music4woodwinds.com
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Author: William
Date: 2009-12-11 14:40
I agree with John--practicing some doubles (flute, sax, even a brass instrument) would help you develop more flexability in your embouchure. Also, my old college clarinet prof used to tell me that, "most clarinetists use reeds that are too stiff". Try moving down a 1/2 number with whatever you use and try for a more double lip kind of embouchure feel. Afterthough: practicing full double lip during a few scales warm-ups might also help loosen up your embouchure tension.
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2009-12-11 15:32
Chrissy said, "I have no problem playing with a beautiful sound during scales, but once I begin playing rep, my sound changes and sounds a little forced."
I've experienced this with some students over the years and I believe it is a very simple problem, though the solution is not always always simple. If you analyze what you're doing differently when you play your scales and determine what you change when playing rep. you will soon overcome that problem. When I would have a student with this problem I would have them play for me when they felt they sounded good, I would agree or not of course, then I would watch them carefully to see what changed when they began to change the way they played. Your teacher should be doing the same thing with you. You should also play in front of a mirror and watch and listen to see what you do differently. Playing double lip for a short time is always good to practice "less tension" in your embouchure but this problem can go further than that. It could very well be associated with the way you inhale or exhale differently, the way you open or close your throat or if and how you change your tongue position. You and your teacher have to determine what you do differently when playing scales, which you are more or less on automatic pilot and therefore playing more freely and naturally, and when you play rep. thinking more about how you're playing and therefor changing something in your execution. Unless you're really using a reed that is much too hard for you I don't think a softer reed will do it because it will simply make you change the way you sound and you say that you sound good when you play scales. Perhaps a half step down but I wouldn't go further. Solve the problem by finding out what you do differently first then consider going a half step softer on your reeds if necessary. ESP http://eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2009-12-11 15:58
Stuff like that used to happen to me. I found a change in philosophical approach to be the effective remedy. With solo repertoire, the inclination is often to think of the situation as "this is about me. It's about how well I can play this piece. What happens in the next 10 minutes is primarily a vehicle for me to demonstrate how awesome I am at this instrument."
It puts a lot of pressure on you psychologically, as everything is "incredibly important," unlike, say, your scales. If you can step back, look long and hard at your goals, and determine whether it is about you or the music, you might have an easier time of it. When I play something now, my greatest concern is the ability to explore all the cool things that can be done with a given piece of music, and so it is no longer about me, about how well I'm playing, etc., but all about what the music can become. Something is futzed up, I'm unhappy, but I don't take it personal.
When I get into a situation where I somehow make it about me (I'm just barely dodging this at the moment, and thank you for your post, as it served as a reminder), I tend to "try harder" when something goes wrong, which just makes matters worse.
An excessively tight embouchre, which would lead to quick fatigue, might be a manifestation of this. Exercises will only buy you a bit more time, but I think they're unlikely to fix the problem.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2009-12-11 17:35
Ed's advice is more than likely exactly on target, and he leaves lots of room where the difference can be coming from. In my own experience, one of the first things that cause real music to be executed differently from scales is that scales (and even arpeggios are predictable and move in small intervals that doesn't involve big changes in resonance or resistance. (You don't say, by the way, if arpeggios and "scales in thirds" come out the way your scales do or if they also cause you to start working harder.) When you play repertoire or even etudes, you have to negotiate larger intervals, sometimes deal with very long phrases, or add articulations that are more irregular or perhaps faster than those you use in your scales (if you even articulate the scales at all when you practice). All of this requires more flexibility than do scales or even arpeggios that go up or down in a pattern a step or a third at a time. It could easily be that you're substituting tighter facial control for breath support as a response to the additional demand for control that more rugged repertoire or etude material makes.
Ed is right - figure out what changes. You can only fix a problem when you know what it is, and right now you only know the result. It might help to find the most scale-like passages in whatever you're practicing and try to play each of them as though it *were* a scale. If you can achieve that comfortably, then add a little before and/or after the passage to try to extend the feeling into more extended passages.
One thing you mention raises a bit of a red flag. You say "I feel as though I am lacking strength in my embouchure, which makes me blow funky at times, especially during performances." This may go back to my suggestion earlier in this post that you may be substituting embouchure or jaw pressure for good support. So you might make a special point of thinking about how you breathe when you play, especially when under pressure or nervous (during performances) - where the air goes when you inhale, how much you inhale, how quickly that air is used up, etc... It seems suspicious that a master's level student, practicing as much as I'm sure you must, would have serious endurance issues. It's less likely that "lacking strength" in your embouchure is causing tension and more likely that tension from some other cause is creating your endurance problem. Poorly executed breathing technique can force the facial muscles to take on a lot more than they should need to.
One last thing - it seems obvious, but for the sake of completeness: how long do you practice the scales before you begin to work on repertoire? If you're already exhausted by the time you've "warmed up" on scales and other rudiments, it wouldn't be long before you couldn't play anything else without a rest. You'd know far better than I whether this could be a consideration.
Karl
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Author: grifffinity
Date: 2009-12-11 19:21
You mentioned practicing scales - but are these just traditional scales or are you also working scales in thirds, fourths, octaves? - adding arpeggios, broken chords, etc. all the good stuff in Baermann, etc. I'm confused if you are using the word scales to mean just that, or as a general word for technique pratice. If you are just practicing the traditional scale pattern, your issue may be dealing with the varying resistance of the clarinet in larger leaps than half and whole steps.
Post Edited (2009-12-11 19:24)
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Author: TianL
Date: 2009-12-11 21:16
I just have two quick suggestions:
1. think of the clarinet as something you can sing with, not something that you fingering with. Focus on the musical aspect - as if you are singing the piece, but with the clarinet instead of your voice. This approach, at least for me, can get rid of a lot of tension.
2. Make sure your airflow when you are playing things other than long tones/scales, is just the same as you are playing long tones / scales. Try to not subconsciously alter the air flow when you play.. just think as if you are playing long tones.
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2009-12-12 01:17
Try playing a scale and then going straight into a musical passage.
For example, play an ascending C major scale and when you get to clarion G, continue it into the opening of the Mozart Concerto.
Then start on low F, continue up through two octaves and make the final F the first note in the opening of the Brahms Sonata #2.
In each case, continue the good tone and ease of production as far as you can, stopping when you feel yourself working too hard.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Arnoldstang
Date: 2009-12-13 16:48
Possible solution. Mouthpiece. I visited Robert Scott(mouthpiece facer, oboist) several years back. As he worked on my mouthpieces he made a point of tweaking the facing length. He tested the mouthpiece (double lip) which is what he plays and put his thumb on the reed as he blew. He felt that if the reed needed a thumb assist that the "venting" point(length of facing) needed altering. In my own experience I have found players take different amounts of mouthpiece in their mouth. If it isn't enough for the given facing length they might have to compensate by biting more for high notes. It is critical that effortless slurs should be made to high notes without resetting the embouchure or being fixated on pulling up with the right thumb. There are probably many theories here. I would also suggest you try a mouthpiece with more horsepower. If the mouthpiece is too chamber music oriented(bathroom projection) then you will be working too hard in a performance situation. It is inevitable that some players are naturally louder or softer so having the same equipment as someone else might not be right. You might be on the right track with addressing the psychological issues of performance here but I thought there might be a chance that there is a physical problem for you. Best of luck.
Freelance woodwind performer
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Author: Nessie1
Date: 2009-12-14 12:58
I wonder whether, if your problem realates especially to a performance situation, it is partly a question of nerves. Are you still breathing where you planned to when you practised or are you forgetting in the heat of the moment? Are you aware that you need to breathe OUT at certain points to avoid stale air building up in the lungs? It's easy to panic in a performance but try not to. You probably have a lot more time than you think to do what you have to.
Also, in terms of phrasing in pieces, have you ever tried taking the first note of a phrase and making the dynamic shape of the phrase just on that note before playing the whole phrase as written when you practise?
Hope this helps.
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