 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: charidemus
Date: 2011-10-20 04:46
Hi
I'm fairly new to the clarinet. I'm getting a good tone in the lower registers. however, at the moment i'm learning to get a smooth, sweeter sound in the upper registers.
i can tell all i need is practice, long tones, refining breath support, pressure etc. i'm getting there. However when i play the lower notes in the clarion register, such as high C, i never get a clear, smooth and pleasant tone. in fact, i often manage to sound some pretty nice altissimo notes on occasion, and for me they're easier to play than the lower clarion notes! i've never, happened upon a nice high c though. it's always slightly scratchy, a hint of muffllyness. ii'm almost certain it's not my embouchure - i've been keeping an eye on pressure, b support etc.
Now from what i can see, the metal work on those lower notes seems alright, though i haven't been at it with a knowledgable eye. in regards to my clarinet as a whole, i presume it's a student chinese product, given a random brand name by the australian importer (''Steinhoff'' in this case). I don't know better, but the tone is satisfactory.
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Author: charidemus
Date: 2011-10-20 05:02
ah okay, does that mean 'adjusting' in regards to the metal key work?
i think the lower keys may be either not clamping down enough or there's some obstruction. that said, when i get someone to hold that low clamp down while i play the high c note, the poor quality remains.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2011-10-20 13:24
Gee, I'm not envisioning the problem outside of the High C issue. For a good High C (just thumb and register key), you need to ensure that you are producing a good, fast, thin stream of air. Focus the air toward the aperature formed by the reed and mouthpiece. Another good way to think of it is to produce a stream of air as you would to cool off a hot cup of coffee.
The upper reaches of the clarinet are all about AIR.
As for the sealing issue, you can take the lower joint by itself, placing your left palm over the bottom, cover the tone hole with fingers 1-3 and close the Right "B Key." Now you can blow into the top end and there should be no leaking of air. The better (more accurate 'tell') test is a suction test. All you do is same as above but suck in. You should be able to retain good negative pressure for a few seconds (or more) much like it would feel doing the same with a coke bottle. If you hear air leaking while blowin in, or cannot get the joint to hold air during suction, there is a leaky pad. Either some mechanism need to be adusted (most likely scenario) or a pad has gone bad (torn surface, not sitting flush with tone hole).
Naturally you can do the same test with the upper joint as well.
..................Paul Aviles
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The Clarinet Pages
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