 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Steve Klein
Date: 2013-04-07 21:14
I am a high school clarinetist and have been playing for 5 years. I just got a Vandoren M30 mouthpiece (big change, since the last one I had was the one that came with the clarinet, not very good quality) and am now having some tonguing issues. I was never too fast a tonguer to begin with, but now my tonguing has gotten a lot slower and I'm not sure how to fix that problem. Does that come from changing my embouchure? And if so how should I change it? I use a size three Vandoren blue box reed, if that information helps.
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Author: Katrina
Date: 2013-04-07 21:22
It's really hard to diagnose what's holding you back over the internet. Is there no way you can take even a few private lessons locally?
Ultimately, the act of tonguing is to REMOVE the tongue from the reed effectively and then to put it back on in order to stop the sound. Air is almost as important as tongue in this activity. Hope this makes some sense. If it doesn't, see paragraph 1.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2013-04-07 22:07
There are a lot of unknowns in your scenario. What is the relationship between your old and new mouthpiece in terms of tip opening and length of lay? Are you using the same strength reeds? How long have you been on the new mouthpiece? Why didn't you like your original mouthpiece (even if it is a stinker you need to have specific issues with it that you want improved to know what to look for in the next)?
My first guess here would be that you had a more closed mouthpiece and now there is more air/embouchure support needed to produce the same volume and this would take away from the quickness of your articulation.
Perhaps just giving it a few weeks to get used to your new arrangement will help. However, you can't just pick a mouthpiece out of the ether and expect to give you MORE of anything no matter how well reviewed it may be. You must always try out new equipment and sense some sort of simpatico with it FIRST. Since we are all different, what works outstandingly well for one person may be the bane of another's existence.
...................Paul Aviles
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Author: kdk
Date: 2013-04-08 01:26
As a player who has struggled all my life with relatively slow tonguing speed, I am not the person to tell you what you need to do to tongue faster. But I do have lots of experience with discovering things that slow me down and that may be interfering with your speed as well.
The most important thing, maybe the thing underlying any other causes, is excess tension in your tongue. The most common source of extra tension is trying to *make* the reed respond in fast articulation.
If you feel yourself pressing the reed as if you are literally "attacking" each note, it will slow you down. You need to try to develop a feeling (again, especially in rapid articulation) that you are interrupting the reed's continued vibration with a touch, not a press. While pressing may provide the kind of explosive attack that may be musically appropriate at slower speeds, I've found it impossible to maintain any kind of speed when doing it.
If you aren't providing a steady stream of air your tongue speed will be slowed. The delay in the reed's response while you re-establish the air stream once you've stopped it will slow you down.
If your embouchure isn't formed in a way to support the reed's efficient vibration, the response will be sluggish. I've found I can tongue faster when my embouchure is the same as it is when I play my best legato sound. Sluggish response obviously slows tonguing speed.
One thing I find often slows my students down is moving the tongue too far - the farther back in the mouth it goes while the reed is vibrating, the longer it takes to get back to the reed to stop it and prepare for the next release.
Being careful about these things may not make your tonguing speed world-class, but it can free you to tongue faster.
As far as the change of mouthpiece is concerned, some mouthpieces are easier to articulate than others, especially if you haven't yet found reeds that provide optimal response. The M30 is discussed here frequently. It's an open-tipped mouthpiece with a long curve that could have a very different response from the one you were using especially if it was a traditional original-equipment mouthpiece. You may need to experiment with reeds. Start practicing articulated material at a comfortable speed with your tongue as relaxed *as control allows* (realizing that complete relaxation would result in the absence of any movement at all) and try to build without adding tension.
Karl
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Author: Grabnerwg
Date: 2013-04-08 02:49
I know that hindsight is always 20/20, but you should have probably not selected that particular mouthpiece in the first place. I guess you had a limited number of mouthpieces to choose from, but next time, select on the basis of 1. feeling comfortable 2. producing a good clear tone 3. providing easy and quick response and 4. playing well in tune.
If the mouthpiece doesn't give you all four within the first two minutes of playing (assuming you have a reed that fits it), it probably never will. It might be a great mouthpiece for someone else, but it's not for you.
Walter Grabner
www.clarinetxpress.com
Used bass clarinets and contras for sale
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2013-04-10 00:59
I have some good ideas on my website, it might or might not help but would be worth checking out.
ESP eddiesclarinet.com
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