 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Constantine
Date: 2012-06-29 00:16
Hello everyone,
I am a brand new member, I was recommended by the best clarinet player I know personally and he told me that I would be able to find some help.
I am auditioning for a chance to preform with my school orchestra next year and i have selected the Copland Clarinet Concerto as my piece. I have about 6 months to put it together. I got the piece and started working on it yesterday and I've run into a problem with the high register. I can play the E above the staff almost perfect, in terms of getting the note to come out instantly and with decent tone, but anything above that is giving me trouble. I cant seem to get the notes to come out instantly and if i do get them to come out i cant sustain them very well at all. I could use some advice.
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Author: MarlboroughMan
Date: 2012-06-29 03:13
Hi Constantine,
I strongly recommend you pick up a copy of Baermann's Complete Method for Clarinet, Divisions 1 & 2 (they're sold in the same volume). At the very least, make it your goal to work through all of the "short finger exercises"--especially the ones which extend your range. Also, practice scales and long tones up to Double C, daily.
I wrote a blog post a while back on the subject of Baermann and the altissimo. You can read it here:
http://thejazzclarinet.blogspot.com/2012/01/baermann-and-altissimo.html
Good luck!
Eric
******************************
The Jazz Clarinet
http://thejazzclarinet.blogspot.com/
Post Edited (2012-08-31 23:36)
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2012-06-29 12:19
For me, I would say that you may tend to "bite" (the B word again) and close off the aperture as you get higher. The best way to avoid this is NOT to bite, but to ensure that you are putting more energy into pushing the air faster as you go higher (particularly in the altissimo). You do this by using more abdominal muscles (push from your middle........and keep your stomach area OUT as the air supply dwindles).
Faster air is ALWAYS the answer!
................Paul Aviles
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Author: Eric V
Date: 2012-06-29 16:18
Hi Eric Marlborough Man,
Enjoyed the blog post link very much! I dug out my Baermann 1&2 combined (Carl Fischer, green cover) but do not see a lot of altissimo work here except p.54 (short exercises 1 to 2 bars of eight notes). What exercises do you recommend most?
Best regards,
Eric V
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Author: Merlin_Williams
Date: 2012-06-29 16:24
I got a lot out of the Altissimo studies book published by Kendor Music. Norman Heim was the author, IIRC.
Jupiter Canada Artist/Clinician
Stratford Shakespeare Festival musician
Woodwind Doubling Channel Creator on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/c/WoodwindDoubling
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Author: Eric V
Date: 2012-06-29 16:27
Hi Constantine, I'm working on the altissimo too and as Paul Aviles says, biting is the big problem. In addition to his advice about air support, I found that I was (and still am) biting to compensate for too low tongue position. When I can manage to get the correct tongue up and forward position, I can get those notes to sound good without biting. It's still gonna be a long road for me before it comes more naturally. Voicing practice helps a lot here, where you play a 12th below and then sneak the left index finger off, then try to play the altissimo notes without lifting the left index finger. You will find how the up and forward tongue position helps when you experiment with this. Next challenge is to keep the throat open too, and the swab stuffed in the bell trick is good for practicing that.
Eric V
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Author: MarlboroughMan
Date: 2012-06-29 17:31
Eric V,
Pages 53 & 54 of Baermann are the most important for the altissimo. Think of it as suring up your the first half of the altissimo--and do them as prescribed (with the 20x repetitions). While you're doing this, practice whole tones every day all the way to Double C.
After you've worked on pages 53 & 54 and feel flexible and comfortable with them, improvise similar exercises for the "high" altissimo to Double C.
I'm not a huge fan of the Heim book, though it has some good exercises. There are too many dogmatic statements in it--such as the "best" fingering for double Bb (on page 7). This is nonsense: most makes of clarinet have certain fingerings that work better than others (a Selmer will use different fingerings from Buffets or Wurlitzers)--and they can differ from horn to horn. He also says a lot of things about embouchure and breath support which are at best only a beginner's understanding of altissimo flexibility, and need to be disregarded after a basic level of competence has been reached.But those issues are best dealt with in private lessons, rather than internet postings.
I also recommend supplementing with Kalmen Opperman's The New Extended Working Range for Clarinet--it's just a big fingering chart, but it can be very helpful for finding alternative scale fingerings, etc.
Eric
******************************
The Jazz Clarinet
http://thejazzclarinet.blogspot.com/
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2012-06-29 20:02
You have to be able to play those notes with a certian degree of comfort before starting to use books. I'd suggest that you find fingerings that you're comfortable with first, perhaps a few for each note where possible. Example, there are several good high F# fingerings to make to large skips in the intoductions. I have a good fingering chart on my website, try them, mark the ones you like the best and practice them. Play each one sustained, then play slowly from the high D up and down over and over. Keep doing that until you have good control, good tone and good intonation. But you have to remember, you need a good reed strength for the mouthpiece you use. Too soft the notes won't come out or be very choked and pinched, too hard and you have to work too hard to obtain good control. You also need good sustained breath control, and opened throat,not choking in the back, taking enough mouthpiece in your mouth, a good tongue position, experiment raising and lowering it a little in front and in back to find the optimium tongue position for you, a good solid embouchure, not loose, not pinching. It's not just as easy as getting a book. Spend 30 minutes a day practicing them as I suggested and concerntrate on "how" you're playing. ESP eddiesclarinet.
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Author: MarlboroughMan
Date: 2012-06-29 20:19
Ed's advice is good.
By recommending Baermann, I'm not suggesting that a book will solve your problems: only that the flexibility gained from the exercises in Baermann will help a player solidify their altissimo technique, provided the player already knows good fingerings and is looking for consistency and ease of execution.
My advice is NOT for beginners. But then, I'd assume that anyone tackling the Copland Concerto was more than a beginner, and knew the notes.
Eric
******************************
The Jazz Clarinet
http://thejazzclarinet.blogspot.com/
Post Edited (2012-06-29 20:20)
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2012-06-29 20:27
It takes a lot of experimentation to get your high notes to work for you.
You need to try almost everything that affects responsiveness and intonation; so you'll need to do some exploration.
Here is a list of things to fiddle with:
Note that, when the clarinet is sounding a steady tone, the reed is vibrating in synchronism with the air column. When you change pitch, the reed must quickly change its motion to match the pitch of the next note. This requirement calls for the reed to be "stiff" or "hard" in order to respond quickly to drive the note that you are searching for. You're "shoveling it up hill" if you're trying to play a too-soft reed.
In addition to getting the reed to vibrate fast enough for the altissimo notes, it needs to be damped (not wetted) enough so that its vibration doesn't get out of control. Damping depends on how the reed wraps against the lay of the mouthpiece and how your lips squeeze against it.
There have been some studies that suspect that, for the high notes, the reed may quit "flapping" and twist, so that the left and right sides of the reed alternately bang against their edge of the mouthpiece. I suspect that flapping is the desired vibration mode --and that twisting is bad because it doesn't drive the air column. One side toward the mouthpiece and one side away as the reed twists means that, on average, the reed is not affecting the air column through the mouthpiece and barrel.
So, you need a balanced reed for the altissimo. To check for balance, twist the mouthpiece against your lip so that only one edge of the reed can vibrate. Play a sffz and listen and feel how the clarinet rings. Twist the mouthpiece the other way and repeat. If the reed is balanced, the two sides will give the same attack.
You can balance the reed by moving it left/right across the mouthpiece of by thinning the side of the reed that doesn't respond as well as the other when you do the test.
(Be aware, that biting the reed (pressing it hard against the mouthpiece and shortening the amount of reed that sticks into your mouth and can vibrate compensates a bit for using a softer reed. It is really awkward to have to BITE to get an altissimo note to speak when you're lower registers sound so much better with MORE REED. When everything is going for you, you don't need to bite; and if you are biting, there is more work to do to refine your playing.)
With the reed balanced, you need to fiddle with all the following to see what works for you:
>>How much mouthpiece you take. Take a lot --as much as you can without having the horn squeak on you when playing an open G. Change the amount of mouthpiece until you understand just how far you can poke the mouthpiece into your mouth before you can not prevent a squeak. The more reed, the harder you can beat on the air column.
>>Remember that the clarinet is a wind instrument, and you need to constantly supply all the wind it needs. Search here for threads on "support."
>>Try all sorts of voicing --how you open your throat. Try shutting and opening until you really understand what works and what to avoid.
>>As part of your voicing work, include your tongue position. Lift it toward your palette in order to steer the airstream right into the tip of the mouthpiece.
>>Experiment with raising and lowering the bell until you unleash the full power of your tone.
>>A "trick" to get the clarinet to "pop" into its upper register is to half hole with your left forefinger. That means to only partly uncover its tone hole. Sort of like changing the size of the register tube under your register key. My teacher has worked hard to get me to quit half holing because doing that (on my Buffet RC and on his Buffet R13, and on my Lyrique A) tone quality suffers when half holing. Try it (half holing) because sometimes it makes things that seem to be impossible actually work.
>>get a good fingering chart for the Altissimo (This bulletin board has a very good one that you can download). As you work in the altissimo knowing alternative fingerings is a huge advantage. Often moving between two carefully selected fingerings (changing either the first note fingering or the second note fingering --or both fingerings) can really help. That's because some will respond easier and because some will play better in tune.
>>Use the right hand Eb/Ab pinky key above C# to improve intonation. That key also affects responsiveness. Some fingerings absolutely require it in order to respond quickly.
Just be patient and try everything, being sure to remember how all those things interact and which combinations work for you (and your instrument) the best.
Bob Phillips
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Author: Constantine
Date: 2012-06-29 20:46
You all have been such a great help! Ive been playing all morning, experimenting and i have made a ton of progress, my double F, G, and A are coming in very nicely thanks a ton.
-Constantine
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2012-06-30 09:48
Spend a lot of time with a tuner. I use Buffets and the upper register fingering can vary a lot between every Buffet and of course use or find a top quality mouthpiece is extremely needed to help hit the notes as well as playing them in tune. Your practice sessions should go to the very top C and above. I'm able to hit F above that C. My reasons for doing this is there will be a composer looking for the limits of the clarinet.
Play slowly for some time, until you can hit all of the notes without fear! There are 2 notes with this concerto that I simply over blow using the same fingering.
Best of luck to you. Pay attention to the last few lines at the ending. I think this is the hardest part for me and most likely for pretty much everyone.
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