 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Eugene Park
Date: 2001-01-19 05:00
I've had a very pressing question for a while: In the beginning of Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue," the clarinet solo has a huge glissando. How do you do that!?! I've heard fragmented things about "half-hole coverings" and other techniques but I'm still not completely sure how to do such a gliss. I'd really appreciate any help!
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2001-01-19 05:18
There's a ton of stuff here if you do a search, along with another ton of stuff in the Klarinet archives.
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Author: Aaron Gallant
Date: 2001-01-19 06:24
Well to really explain it you'd have to be with somebody who knows what they're doing (preferably your clarinet teacher if you take lessons), but the best I can explain it over the web:
Yes those fragmented things about "half-hole coverings" hold some truth, but I find that what is the most important and hardest to get (initially) element to the glissando (or at least the flexible glissando, i.e. allowing you to bend pitch not just up but down, great for improv solos, etc., but I suppose that's more sax then clarinet) is it's all in the embouchre (I probably spelled that wrong). I don't know if you know anything about vibrato, but I find that, for me, glissando is sort of like exaggerated vibrato. The glissando in Rhapsody in Blue goes from a D (twice above middle C) up to the "high" C. The run starts on a low G, trills to an A for a while, then goes straight up, I believe in concert F (for clarinet G) key, which means F is sharp, I think, I'd have to get my clarinet out to check, but anyway goes up until the D and then glisses up to the C. For the gliss, the best way I can put it is loosen your embouchre as you slide your fingering from that of the D to the C, and then tighten the embouchre back up as you near the top... practice first going from D to G, then G to C, and then D to C. I'm not a clarinet teacher or anything, my advise isn't the most goodest stuff in the world, but I'm personally able to glissando and that's as close as I can come to explaining it in typed-up format.
Anyway, I highly advise you get together with a clarinetist whom you respect and ask them, in real life, while you both have your clarinets out. That'll teach you more then any article.
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Author: Allen Cole
Date: 2001-01-19 11:17
A good approach to the gliss would be to think of it as a direct jump from D to high C. At first, that high C is forced down in pitch nearly an octave by dropping your jaw, forcing your tongue down (as with an 'Oh' vowel sound), and keeping your fingers loosely over the tone holes.
You rise to pitch by improving the high C. Gradually, you raise your jaw to normal position, raise your tongue (as with an 'E' vowel sound) and pull your fingers away from the tone holes. To keep it gradual, you slide your fingers sideways from the tone holes rather than actually lifting them. Keep the sliding of your fingers s-l-o-w.
It's hard to slide down much further than the D, but with some practice you can take the slide up into the altissimo register.
Good luck, and have fun!
Allen
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