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Quickly spanning near octaves

Author: ThatPerfectReed
Date: 2011-08-18 03:58

Those fast passages that take us around the clarion register, up and down quickly, from [C6]

and back again--or reversed...like

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDavB-YSIVI&feature=related at 2:04

or as little as [A5]

and back have always baffled me--to do and teach.

Do we make subtle adjustments in embouchure to hit these notes that are far enough away on the scale to make them tricky to play fast repeatedly? If so, are embouchure changes most to accomodate the higher or lower notes in the range.

Or do we play this with as little embouchure change as possible, slow on the metronome at first, and build up speed. Do we blow harder to get the notes out? Do we play such spans with the fingers as gentle as possible so as to minimally affect the embouchure? Do we get the span from [A5]

perfect before we try the harder [A5]

?

Or do we just fudge this stuff, like I've actually heard done on professional recordings of the above referenced Spohr Concerto?

What's the best way to quickly straddle these significant note differences played back and forth quickly with miminal compromise to all else (tone, intonation)?

Thanks.

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Re: Quickly spanning near octaves

Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2011-08-18 09:38

You are pushing a bit more air for the upper note and a little less air for the lower note. At the risk of starting another heated debate about "voicing," I would say that NO other changes (embouchure, oral cavity/tongue position) are to be made here. None of your examples should be too terribly difficult, but as you increase this distance (octave and beyond as well as straddling registers) you also increase the differential in pushing of the air (again, more for the top, less for the bottom).

...............Paul Aviles

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Re: Quickly spanning near octaves

Author: ThatPerfectReed
Date: 2011-08-18 16:06

That makes perfect sense to me, sitting here reading your post Paul... : - )

..every so slightly more air on the higher notes...

let me take that "recipe" into the dungeon (the music practice room) and see what I can conjure up.

Thanks...

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Re: Quickly spanning near octaves

Author: Maruja
Date: 2011-08-18 17:15

Thanks for this post - this was something exercising me too. My teacher also told me to give more air when the C at the break refused to speak - and also to round up the mouth more. This seems to work.

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Re: Quickly spanning near octaves

Author: sfalexi
Date: 2011-08-18 21:29

For right now, and I am probably wrong, but I disagree with Paul about using more air for the higher notes. I say keep the airstream constantly strong. And there shouldn't need to be much embouchure change (if any at all) for a leap like this. If anything, I would say focus on making sure your fingers are moving together. Moving fingers on two hands all together as one might take some practice. But keeping a strong steady airstream is probably what I would do.

But then again, I have a fairly free-blowing clarinet with VERY even resistance between notes in different registers so I wouldn't feel the need to change airstream. A different clarinet might feel more resistant on those higher notes and warrant a stronger stream of air, or might feel "too" free on the D and warrant "backing off" on the air to make sure it's not overly harsh in comparison.

As far as embouchure changes, if you look up on this board, a few people have commented about Tom Puwalski's idea of forming an embouchure. Take an open G and play it with a strong forte. Then keep putting more and more mouthpiece in your mouth testing each time till you hear a squeak. Then back off a tiny bit and THAT should be the amount of mouthpiece you take in. I believe that one of the effects of doing it this way is so you can play the complete range of the clarinet without having to make drastic changes to your embouchure. Instead of REALLY having to shove more mouthpiece in for the higher notes, a subtly shift of the lip downwards is needed, if at all.

Alexi

US Army Japan Band

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