 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Yusuf Zaid
Date: 2000-12-16 22:18
Thank you all very much for your kind responses to my posting. It makes me happy that I've been of help to others along the clarinet path and I'm thankful for all your good advice and tips. The 'self-assessment continues now on a regular basis and is paying off.
One of the troubles I was having was that the clarinet was drooping down slowly whilst I was playing until it was almost resting against my body. It happens unconsciously. Well I thought I would try a neck strap, so I made myself one up complete with adjustment facility. It took a lot of strain from my wrist and right thumb and I found I was quite relaxed in the rest of my body as well. A great improvement all round. With the strap properly adjusted with the instrument away from the body ( around 6 - 8 inches) I found that, should the clarinet and /or the head begins to droop, the neck strap becomes slack and the mouthpiece begins to slip from my mouth so I am forced, even unconsciously, to keep the instrument in the right position. Whether or not I shall keep the neck strap remains to be seen but now and again I shall take it off and see what happens. Hopefully it will become automatic to keep the clarinet and head up, with or without the strap. But for now it is a definate help.
It was mentioned that I had some anatomical details wrong. I think I expressed myself badly on that point. I mistakenly said I was pushing air out with my abdominal muscles. This was incorrect. What happens to me is that I tense my abdominals when I play and, when that happens, it makes it difficult to breath properly. Try it. Tense your abdominals - now try to breath . You can';t can you? But I still do it if I don't concentrate enough. I take a good breath, pull the diaphragm down THEN my abdominals tense and I'm stuck with a column of air going hardly anywhere untill I consciously relax my abdominals. I'm now trying a course of breathing exercises to try to stop this phenomenon. I don't know if anyone else has experienced this problem or if it is just my own peculiarity.
My left thumb still climbs up the clarinet, if I don't watch it, leaving a leaking thumb hole. It is getting better , though I still have to watch myself carefully at present.
One good bit of news. I have been practicing a small piece for my own enjoyment at the end of my practice routines. It is a choral piece and comes from Felix Mendelsohn's 'Hear my Prayer'. The piece occurs near the end and is known as 'Oh for the Wings of a Dove'. This sounds very nice on clarinet. I play it in Fmaj. to practice going up and down the break.
Yesterday, at a staff Xmas buffet, I was asked if I could play something on my clarinet for them, as they had heard me practicing when they passed my office. At first I said No, No ,NO, blushing furiously. They insisted ,however , and I fetched my clarinet out, thinking feverishly what the hell was I going to play.
Well I stood in front of around 20 expectant faces and went for this piece from Mendelsohn. I was so nervous I thought I was going to cause an earthquake but I played it through with as much feeling as I could muster and played it through faultlessly. A huge round of applause and me sweating from every pore in my body at the end from the effort. I was so emensely relieved it went so well. The experience was something else. It has given me a great boost to my confidence but I still break into a sweat when I think about it. I've never been so nervous for a long, long time.
That's it for now. Take care all.
Yusuf
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Author: Bob Curtis
Date: 2000-12-17 01:52
Yousuf:
You have just had one of life's most rewarding experiences - that of pleasing yourself AND someone else. Congratulations!
On your breathing, imagine a small baby lying in bed breathing. They breathe naturally because they do not know any better. It comes from the stomach (diaphragm). When the air goes out the diaphragm tightens to force the air out. When the air goes in the diaphragm changes to suck in the air, but it is still the diaphragm.
Imagine you are going to pick up a balloon full of water. It has a knot tied in the open end so the water will stay in and not spill out. When you pick it up by the END you are afraid that the balloon will stretch and burst. When you place your hand UNDER the balloon and then lift it up you are picking the balloon up with SUPPORT. This is what the diaphragm does when you tighten it. It supports the air column as it EXITS the instrment thus giving you more control over the air as it leaves the instrument. This is the way I try to explain how the diaphragm works to my beginning students.
Another concept. Place one hand in front of your mouth. Place the other one on your stomach. COUGH!! What happens to the stomach when you cough? It tightens up AS you cough. This is the diaphragm working. It does not tighten up as you breathe in, just as you cough OUT. Do you hold your stomach THAT TIGHT as you play? If you do, then you are on the right track.
ON the instrument constantly slipping down. Your body might just be tired. You failed to state how long you have been playing or your age, etc. I suspect that this is showing you that your body just might be tired. Play a while, rest, play some more. Without actually seeing you it would be hard to say. There are all kinds of things you can do, and if it works for you and you continue to sound good, go for it. If it doesn't sound good, etc. then re-evaluate it or get some help. You might, while sitting down, let the instrument reat on the end of your knee, thus offering some needed supoort. I know some would object to this, but for some it works. Who knows?
Keep on trying and asking as you really seem to be sincere about playing the clarinet. Good Luck!!
Bob Curtis
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Author: Jim
Date: 2000-12-17 04:18
The Mendlesohn "Hear My Prayer" is a favorite of mine (I'm a chorus singer as well as a clarinetist.) The ending section "Oh for the Wings..." is written as a soprano solo and is quite high (for voice, not clarinet). I never thought about it for the clarinet... I'll have to try it. It sounds like you are making great progress both technically and in exploring the tremendous versitility of this great instrument. Best of luck!
Jim
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Author: Don Poulsen
Date: 2000-12-18 15:13
Hey, if your neckstrap helps, why stop using it? Neckstraps have been recommended many times on this message board for clarinetists having problems with their right thumb or wrist. And if you made your own rather than buying one, it is that much better.
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Author: Dee
Date: 2000-12-19 00:43
Yusef, regarding your neck strap. There is nothing wrong in continuing to use it. As I have said many times on this board, the thumb, hand, wrist, and arm are not really designed to support the weight of a clarinet. As an engineer, I would never design such a structure to hold any kind of weight. That many people are able to get by without a strap is simply luck. One published clarinet instructor, Robert Lowrey, is a strong supporter of neck straps and says that they should be used from the beginning. This frees the thumb etc from the job of supporting the weight so that the hand can easily be positioned for correct playing. Other people find neck straps necessary to prevent the development of tendonitis or carpal tunnel or to alleviate the stress after these problems develop. I have seen Ricardo Morales, principle clarinet of the Metropolitan Opera, using a neckstrap during one of the television broadcasts.
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