 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Tobin
Date: 2010-08-22 19:08
A fantastic clarinetist, at first glance it appears that it's going to take some work.
Some portion of his circular breathing interrupts his singing, and he's having to circular breath rather quickly to sing so loud...appears to be a self defeating cycle at the moment.
Does Fröst always circular breath so quickly Alphie?
I'm not suggesting that he won't figure it out, but I'm thinking that it's a difficult feat.
Lord knows I have too many mundane issues to bother tackling this one!
James
Gnothi Seauton
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2010-08-22 19:11
Humming the tune and playing the accompanying figure.
At 5:00, he does the Bach Well Tempered Clavier Prelude # 1 in C with effortless circular breathing.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Tobin
Date: 2010-08-22 20:12
Watching the Bach later he doesn't circular breath as quickly as when he's doing the playing/singing trick.
James
Gnothi Seauton
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Author: vials
Date: 2010-08-22 20:43
and for those who don't understand Swedish, before he starts playing (and singing) he tells the audience that he needs to practice several more years in order to become any good at this technique. He actually even calls his own attempts "pathetic" so far!
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Author: William
Date: 2010-08-22 21:11
Even though I could not understand a single word that was said, Martin's personallity comes across. What also is impressive is that the audience, although it appears to be bad weather, is sitting there and enjoying the concert under less that perfect conditions. And the members of the orchestra--given they are under cover--all seem to be enjoying themselves as well. Martin does make the clarinet sound easy.....even in bad weather.
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Author: 2E
Date: 2010-08-23 02:01
Is there a translate function? I'd love to know what he was saying.
His clarinet tone is amazing, and his dedication to new alternative techniques.
Post Edited (2010-08-23 02:02)
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Author: Alphie
Date: 2010-08-23 07:42
Here is the whole concert:
http://svtplay.se/t/102895/filharmonikerna_i_det_grona
At 8:00 Martin is playing a kletzmer in an arrangement by his brother Göran. Among other things he is playing Mozart 2nd movement later on. The concert was recorded Aug 15 at our annual outdoor concert in a green park in Stockholm. 30-40 000 people usually show up.
Alphie
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Author: Liquorice
Date: 2010-08-23 12:05
I'm not 100% sure I understand the technique...
-In order to hum you need to emit the sound out of your nose (if the sound comes out of your mouth then that's singing).
-In order to emit the humming sound out of your nose while playing the clarinet, you need to use the air from the cheeks to produce the clarinet sound, just like you do in circular breathing when taking a breath.
-So each time Fröst hums a note, he is actually using only the air from his cheeks to produce the clarinet sound. Sometimes, after the hummed note he also quickly takes a breath before returning to normal blowing.
Is that how everyone else understands it?
It still sounds a bit clumsy, but that's forgivable considering how complicated it is to do! Go Martin!
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Author: William
Date: 2010-08-23 15:45
The hum emits from your vocal cords and can come through the mouth or the nose, which really acts as a resonating chamber rather than a "portal". It's a fairly common instrumental technique used mainly sax players for that "growl" effect and by flutists for a similar "fuzz" sound. In fact, humming while playing is a good technique for developing good breath support. My old college french horn professor could actually hum and play Bach two part inventions for the amusement of his students. He was the former NYP principal hornist, John Barrows, also hornist for the New York Woodwind Quintet before he came to Wisconsin to teach at our university.
Martin is using his amazing breath support to operate his vocal cords and his clarinet reed simontaneously, not one at a time. Try humming some harmony to notes on your clarinet or whistling one note and humming another. It takes some "brain power" but can be done. And with a little practice, there might be "America's Got Talent" in your future.......lol.
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Author: Tony Pay ★2017
Date: 2010-08-23 16:22
Liquorice wrote:
>> So each time Fröst hums a note, he is actually using only the air from his cheeks to produce the clarinet sound. Sometimes, after the hummed note he also quickly takes a breath before returning to normal blowing.
Is that how everyone else understands it?>>
I imagine that he hums whilst breathing IN through his nose, whilst using his cheeks to play the clarinet.
Try it. (The humming while breathing in, I mean:-) It's difficult, but well possible.
Tony
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Author: Sylvain
Date: 2010-08-23 18:19
Great playing from both orchestra and soloists.
Well done Alphie and thanks for sharing.
--
Sylvain Bouix <sbouix@gmail.com>
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2010-08-24 04:48
>> I imagine that he hums whilst breathing IN through
>> his nose, whilst using his cheeks to play the clarinet.
>> Try it. (The humming while breathing in, I mean:-)
>> It's difficult, but well possible.
A friend of mine sometimes, as a joke speaks "inside". A bit of a robotic sound and it's funny Yes it's possible (singing too) and I guess it's possible that's what he is doing in the clip but I don't think he does that.
It also doesn't look like he is doing what William described. I've played a piece which had a part with two voices, one playing and one singing in the same way William described. Not like the effects he described but same technique of playing and singing two melodies at the same time. This sounds very different.
Anyone can try humming/singing while blowing air and then humming/singing while blowing air from the cheeks, same as blowing/playing while circular breathing. It is different and in the clip it sounds like the latter. So, it sounds/looks like in the clip he is doing exactly what Liquorice described.
So to Tobin: Some of the cheek puffs are for breath and some are for humming. It's not very fast circular breathing.
Post Edited (2010-08-24 06:07)
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Author: Liquorice
Date: 2010-08-24 06:13
William- I disagree...
A hum can inly come through your nose. If you open your mouth it becomes "singing".
I'm familiar with the technique of singing while playing. But here Fröst seems to be doing something else. I think that he's humming (through the nose) while playing, in order to get more volume without distorting the clarinet tone (as in the growl often used by jazz players). This is why he has to only do it when he keeps the clarinet tone going with the puffed air from his cheeks.
It doesn't sound to me like the humming IN which Tony describes.
I tried doing what I think Fröst is doing, and it worked. It's not too difficult to produce a hum while keeping the clarinet tone going with the air from the cheeks. But what IS difficult is to coordinate humming, playing from puffed cheeks, and finding all the right notes in both your hum and your playing! Will also need another few years practise...
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Author: Alphie
Date: 2010-08-24 10:33
Liquorice is correct in his analysis. The technoque itself is not difficult given that you already can circular breathe, what is mind blowing is coordination.
Alphie
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Author: Noel
Date: 2010-08-24 15:51
I saw him do this at the Wigmore Hall in London this year. The audience were very busy laughing, and he made a big joke of it, but I just sat with my mouth open in astonishment. At the time he referred to it as '3 stage circular breathing'.
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