The Clarinet BBoard

How do I play high altissimo?

Author: BRNman  Date:   2012-02-13 00:00 I've been trying for a while now and have gotten something near A#. But even that's a squeak, and not easily replicated. Are there drills or any tips for getting those high As and higher notes out?

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Re: How do I play high altissimo?

Author: bethmhil  Date:   2012-02-13 00:49 ^^ Not really sure what happened above...? First thing's first... Get some solid fingerings for everything from G to above here: http://www.wfg.woodwind.org/clarinet/cl_alt_4.html 2nd Thing: Go sloooowwwwwly. Once you have found fingerings that work best for you and your horn, play from high C above the staff to as far up as you can in long tones (I set a metronome at quarter = 60 and just do whole notes). Doing this in long tones will help you learn the fingerings correctly, but also well help you learn how to voice the notes correctly, which is equally important. If you do this everyday... Boom! Your range will expand ninja-fast! This helped me immensely when I had a very limited range in my first year of college, and it also works wonders for my students. BMH Illinois State University, BME and BM Performance Post Edited (2012-02-13 00:53)

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Re: How do I play high altissimo?

Author: Ken Shaw ★2017 Date:   2012-02-13 15:28 BRNman - The key to secure altissimo playing is voicing the higher overtones. The best way I've found to learn to do this is the swab-in-the-bell exercise. Stuff a cotton swab up the bell, finger middle B, take plenty of mouthpiece and blow (hard). You'll get a weak Eb5 . Blow harder and harder until you get a full tone. Then find the Bb above by varying your tongue, palate and jaw position. Double lip helps, or at least a lot of upper lip pressure downward on the top of the mouthpiece. Then find the Eb6 , G6 and Bb6 above. Practice moving from one note to another until you can play bugle calls. Then pull out the swab and practice the altissimo using the voicings you've learned. Voicing is also necessary at the transition between the clarion and altissimo registers. In the slow movement of the Saint-Saens Sonata, for example, you must slur back and forth at pp between C6 and Db6 . Proper voicing makes it possible to do this without a hesitation and "click." It's even necessary between the chalumeau and the clarion. For example, the second and third notes of Debussy's Premiere Rhapsody are Bb4 and C5 , and later there are repeated slurs between the two. You avoid any hesitation/click by changing the voicing. Charles Neidich gives the following exercise: Finger the first space F4 , reset your voicing and go to the corresponding clarion C without using the register key. It helps to move your lower lip toward the shoulder of the reed. Then play a slow descending chromatic scale. The voicing and lip position become more critical as you go lower, and you probably won't get beyond F5 , but it's possible (as Neidich demonstrated) to reach the B4 . So - go home and practice. Ken Shaw Post Edited (2012-02-13 15:33)

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Re: How do I play high altissimo?

Author: bethmhil  Date:   2012-02-13 22:39 Ken, the playing with a swab in the clarinet sounds fun! Is it similar to playing taps with the clarinet bell jammed just right into your calf? BMH Illinois State University, BME and BM Performance

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