 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: jacoblikesmusic
Date: 2010-03-05 23:00
How can you develop a good tone quality that doesn't sound "flat". A rich, colorful, dark tone. How much of it depends on equipment and how much depends on the player?
Is just playing regular long tones enough, is there a certain way to play them, or are there other ways to improve tone?
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Author: davetrow
Date: 2010-03-05 23:18
There are many people on this board far more qualified to comment than I, but I will note that for me, two things that helped a lot were a new mouthpiece (in my case, a Hawkins student model), and the Ridenour ATG reed finishing kit, which gives me consistent reed quality at exactly the right hardness.
I might also recommend Larry Guy's book, Embouchure Building for Clarinetists, as well as Tom Ridenour's book, The Educator's Guide to the Clarinet. Both of these have a wealth of information and exercises on developing a good tone.
FWIW, I'm still a fumble-fingers, but I regularly get compliments on my tone quality, so something is working.
Dave Trowbridge
Boulder Creek, CA
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2010-03-06 03:11
My mantra is........... AIR, AIR, AIR !!!!
Use a focused, quick stream of air, much like what you would do to cool off a hot cup of coffee. Quite the opposite from the sort of warm air blowing one would do to warm his hands after coming inside out of the cold.
To aid a steady stream of air you need to engage your abdominal muscles, feeling much like it would if you were to attempt blowing up a very, VERY stiff balloon.
You should be able to actually feel the clarinet vibrate under your fingers. Now that' a good sound.
..................Paul Aviles
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2010-03-06 04:52
About your imageries: If it's dark you can't see colours as good, so that's sounds like it's the opposite. Re rich, what are you planning to buy with your tone? 
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Author: Neal Raskin
Date: 2010-03-06 05:09
I agree with the above comments, though I think they are missing one fundamental, and IMO, the most important factor in developing a "good" tone... You need to know what you want to sound like. We can use as many words as we want, but words mean different things to different people. My recommendation, and maybe you've already done this, is to listen to many different recordings and decide which player creates tone characteristics you desire. Maybe its one player or a combination of several. Then you need to listen to as many recordings of those players as possible.
The next most important step for me would be to gather information about embrochure, equipment, voicing etc., then you need to experiment. Listen to the recordings and maybe even play along and just play. Try to emulate the sound you desire to create while listening to that desired sound. Figure out what works for you and your equipment.
That is where I recommend everyone start. I have an entire theory on why clarinet players in public schools (generally) sound nothing like a clarinet should sound like. And that has mostly to do with having no sound model or image they are trying to create...but that's another post..
Good Luck,
Neal Raskin
www.youtube.com/nmraskin
www.musicedforall.com
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Author: NBeaty
Date: 2010-03-06 06:02
It takes the knowledge and concept of what a good sound is and the technique and equipment that will let you realize it.
Not as easy as it sounds though...
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Author: Liquorice
Date: 2010-03-06 06:45
I agree with Neal- you need a sound model of what you are aiming for.
I disagree to some extent with Paul-
My teacher (Thomas Friedli) advised using exactly the opposite kind of air that Paul advocates. So to create his sound Friedli used "warm air"- the kind you would use to warm your hands in winter. Presumably he was aiming at a different sound model to the one Paul aims at.
Which is exactly Neil's point. Taking (and giving) rigid advice on how to produce a good sound isn't much use if we don't agree on what a good sound is in the first place.
I also feel that Paul's advice on the abdominals is a bit unbalanced and "old school". It's important to use the abdominal as well as the back muscles in order to maintain a good posture, which itself has a pronounced effect on sound quality. Personally I like to think of the lower ribs extending sideways as I inhale, which widens the back. But it's hard to explain this over the internet.
Perhaps the best thing you could do to create a good tone quality is to find a really excellent teacher.
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2010-03-06 14:36
There is no one thing to do to develop a good sound. Many of the above posts have good recommendations to follow. My feelings are as follows.
Every person has "their own" sound, your voice. Just like every singer has their sound but all can be developed to their full potential. So it's a combination of the individual person, their equipment and their training. As ably stated above, you need to know what you want to sound like to begin with. You need to have that sound in your inner ear and work to match it even though that concept can change as you develop and grow as a clarinetist. Yes, listen to recordings and live performances when possible. Search for the equipment that gives you the best chance of obtaining that sound, especially the mouthpiece and reed combination. Find a teacher that doesn't insist you play what they play or sound like they sound, even if you like their sound. The reason, you need to find what works for you not for them. The Russianoff way, help the student find the equipment and style of playing that fits them, not you, the teacher.
Then of course, you have to do everything right that works for you. Embouchure, tongue position, (sorry Paul) breath control, throat position, proper voicing (for you). I know I've said it many times before, and will say it many times again. What works for one person may or may not work the same way for another. Think about it, if everyone could sound exactly like some great player by using the same equipment and doing exactly what they do, even if they know what they are naturally doing, we would all sound just like that player. It just doesn't work that way. ESP http://eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: Barry Vincent
Date: 2010-03-06 16:17
Jacob, get your hands on Dr Downings' Playing the Clarinet is Easy by Peter Moore. This is a very straight forward method that cuts out all the obtrusive and quite often inaccurate information that seems to abound in Clarinet circles. It is a revelation! It is so well written that even experience players can use it as a refresher course. Then after this , move onto W Thomas Ridenour's The Educators Guide to the Clarinet. There would be others as well , but these are two of the best. The first one covers the basics and the second one covers things in much more detail.
Skyfacer
Post Edited (2010-03-06 16:21)
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2010-03-06 17:04
In my booklet, good sound "blends in" when you're both accompanying and soloing. You support the group and the music, and I think there is not one concept or one school of sound; a lot is interpretation and taste, not an absolute truth.
Listen to what your teacher, your director and your bandmates say. Do record yourself and find out what you like and what you hate about your sound. Do listen to others and find out what you like or hate about their sound. And be prepared to revise your own concept of a "good" sound from time to time. We all change...
--
Ben
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Author: William
Date: 2010-03-06 18:41
Play by "ear"--if it sounds good, it is good. You just have to have a good concept of sound in your head and try to emulate it every time. A well developed embouchure with plenty of good breath support is needed. Keep listening and working. And remember, there are lot's of ideas out there about what is *good*. Be yourself and be happy if you think it's good--good luck.
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Author: Bassie
Date: 2010-03-06 19:17
Good comments above.
It's a fusion of man and machine. You have to listen hard to yourself, both solo and ensemble. Then you have to try all the reeds you can. Blow from way down in your middle. When you think you've got the reeds right, go mouthpiece shopping.
I have entire practice sessions where the music can just go hang and I work on getting the tone right.
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Author: Avie
Date: 2010-03-06 22:09
All very good advise above. It takes a long time to develope good tone quality. I like Ed and Williams approach to good tone quality. Play by ear Listen and continue to improve on what sounds good to you. If it sounds good to you, hopefully it will sound good to others.
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2010-03-06 22:55
I'm in Paul's camp. I find my best sound comes from very VERY little pressure with the embouchure and lots of breath support and air moving through the instrument. Different mouthpieces sound different, and I certainly sound different than my favorite clarinetists, but I find that if I'm not pinching the reed at all, and with a good airstream, I find I can make a very sweet and smooth sound. It's my finger technique that I think I need to work on, but overall I'm pretty happy with my sound.
Alexi
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Author: OmarHo
Date: 2010-03-06 23:33
A good centered sound obviously is subjective, but to me, it start's with listening to the 12th above the fundamentals. All good sounds have a strong presence of the 12th. In Jon Manasse's recording of the Brahms Sonatas, I can distinctively hear it.
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Author: BobD
Date: 2010-03-07 10:49
I think Ed P's comment about every one having his own sound is right on target. I am of the opinion that "one's own sound" is also a function of one's mouth and bone structure and that because of that there may be sounds that you cannot emulate as much as you try.
Bob Draznik
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2010-03-07 16:08
Be aware that you need to get the clarinet's air column really, really excited; and to do that, you need a whole lot of reed flapping round up there at the top of the horn.
Three things required for this are:
1.) Take a lot of mouthpiece. If your tone is weak, stop! Play an open G and see if you can take in more mouthpiece without squeaking. When you get re-set, take off again.
2.) You need to be able to blow (hot air or cold air) INTO the mouthpiece. If your tone is still weak after taking a big chonk of mounpiece, don't stop! Tip the clarinet away from your body and listen for a fuller sound.
3.) Support, support the airstream. If you're abdomen is flaccid, firm it up. Stand on one foot so that you MUST tighten your belly.
If I let any one of these things: CHONK, TIP or SUPPORT fail, my tone sounds like a constipated squirrel.
Bob Phillips
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2010-03-08 15:52
Dear Bob,
I did like the reference to constipation. That is often how I describe the feeling in the abdominal region when supporting the air properly - it feels much like trying to "get past" constipation.
The hot air comment speaks to somewhat to another threads topic. So to avoid SOME controversy, I will say here that it is probably better for your sound NOT to make any conscious changes to a tongue position which should be much as it is at rest, OR when saying the "EEEEEE" sound.
The other point that may be helpful is that once your air column is focused properly toward the front of your mouth, there is no need to keep the clarinet "UP" to catch it. In fact I find that keeping the clarinet close to the body aids the "fulcrum" created by the upper theeth hitting close to the tip of the mouthpiece vs the bottom teeth being much further down. Having the upper and lower teeth in direct opposition (what happens when the clarinet is at 45 degrees or more) may lead to more of a "biting" syndrome.
................Paul Aviles
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Author: job_man
Date: 2010-03-11 21:22
Having read everyone's messages, it seems to boil down to this, which is what I would have said straight away if I had read your posting early enough:
Your sound will depend on your physical characteristics
(in my opinion and experience, very little of the sound the listener hears will depend on refinements of equipment such as one reed type as against another)
Your sound will depend on your native language (this is so ingrained in the use of the mouth that only the very determined can completely overcome this)
Good support is essential
Air speed control is essential
Absence of bite is essential
A firm embouchure is essential (in my opinion it is not possible to obtain this with less than an average of three hours playing per day)
Most of the things which players change, in the instrument itself (ligatures, reeds etc) make the player feel more comfortable, but are not discernible by the listener, except to the extent that the player will play in a more relaxed way because he is more comfortable.
I remember well being told, when I commented to a top clarinet designer that I wanted to sound like famous clarinetist Mr X:"why don't you concentrate on sounding like YOU?"
Years ago I heard Jack Brymer playing on a cheap clarinet. What did he sound like? Jack Brymer playing on a cheap clarinet!
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Author: Johnny Galaga
Date: 2010-03-13 02:33
The amount of resistance you feel when you play is important too. Both the read AND the mouthpiece affect how hard or easy it feels to blow and get a sound. You have to match the strength (a.k.a. size) of the read to whatever mouthpiece you happened to be playing.
The amount of resistance you feel when you play needs to be "just right." This is not a matter of what's right or wrong, it's what's right for you. If you are trying out different mouthpieces, you may also have to use different strength reeds. For example, a size 3 reed might feel "just right" to you on one mouthpiece but may feel too hard or too week on another mouthpiece. This may cause you to misjudge a perfectly good mouthpiece when in fact you simply needed to use a different strength reed.
This means that the strength of reed you play is NO indication of your skill level, unless you're a brand new player. Someone who plays a 2 1/2 isn't a worse player than someone who plays a 4 BECAUSE they play a 2 1/2.
Once you have a reed-mouthpiece combination that gives you that "just right" amount of resistance, then you'll be off to a good start.
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Author: Its_Michael
Date: 2010-03-14 05:47
Okay, I know I'm not too qualified to say this, but I'll give it a shot. This is a bit out there, but it may help.
Tone comes from a control over the overtones. A 'darker' sound is a result of quieter overtones, while a 'bright' sound comes from louder overtones. To learn to control this, I play a low C, then without using the register key, I play a G above the staff, then an altissimo E and then an altissimo A. All these can be played with the same fingering because they are the different harmonics of the C. This can be repeated for many of the low-register notes (I have trouble going below an Ab). The control over the registers allows you to
1. play with stability in all registers and
2.control your overall tone
You will have to know what kind of sound you're going for in order for this to help, but once you have a sound in mind, this exercise should help you reach that sound.
Again, I know this may be a strange suggestion, but it works for me.
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