 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: tylerharris
Date: 2013-04-17 19:31
When I play notes in the altissimo register, my tone gets really thin and "squeaky". My D's and D#'s are okay, but every note after that gets progressively thinner. By the time I get to G and Ab it sounds like I'm squeaking.
This is particularly evident in the Spohr concerto during the sixteenth note runs when you go from the clarion to the altissimo register very quickly. It sounds like I'm squeaking and missing notes.
Is there anything I can do to make my altissimo register sound like a clarinet? Thanks!
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Author: sonicbang
Date: 2013-04-17 20:25
What is your mouthpiece-reed combination? How big is the gap between the register key and the register tube? Do you use a voicing pin or anything like that?
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Author: tylerharris
Date: 2013-04-17 21:22
I have a Buffet E11 with a Vandoren M13 and Vandoren V12's size 3 1/2. I am having a hard time measuring the gap between the register key and register tube. It's a little bigger than the width of a quarter. I have no idea what a voicing pin is!
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Author: sonicbang
Date: 2013-04-18 06:27
If you mean a 1/4 inch and this is 6.35mm, then the gap is too much. First try to make it smaller by adding cork to the end of the key (not the pad). Check the throat Bb while doing this. Your mouthpiece has the closest facing from the Vandoren line. Try a little harder reed (V12 3.5+ or blue box 3.5) and see what happens.
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Author: tylerharris
Date: 2013-04-18 06:45
No, no, no I mean like a 25 cent quarter! I don't know how else to describe the distance, it's difficult to measure because it's so small.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2013-04-18 09:00
Since only a short portion of the reed vibrates that quickly when you are up there, the tendency is already for the sound to be thinner. Therefore, if there is any sort of (dare I say) 'biting' going on, that would cause the lack of a good air column through the horn and make it all the more thin and harsh.
Just concentrate on maintaining an even pressure ALL AROUND THE MOUTHPIECE using your lip and cheek muscles (upper lip too!!!).
Also the concentration of a focused stream of air becomes even more important and the position of the middle part of the tongue may come up further toward the roof of the mouth to accomplish this....... some of us call this voicing.
.................Paul Aviles
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Author: tims
Date: 2013-04-21 06:49
It is imperative to have an excellent reed when playing in the altissimo register. If your C#, D and D# are playing well and your can get a good cold start pianissimo on these notes then your reed and embouchure are probably reasonable. The E can be a difficult note on the best of instruments and the best of reeds.
Usually, though, quick passages speak rather easily as you ascend a scale. If you are losing the tone quality, it is likely your embouchure is not set and you are simply tightening as you ascend, when in fact your embouchure needs to be more precisely placed (your lip, jaw, how much mouthpiece you take in, where and in what direction you are pressing against the reed, etc.).
Try this:
Pick the top note of the run and play a long tone on it until you get the sound you like. Try several cold starts (take the horn out of you mouth and then put it back in) until you can get the note to speak easily and consistently.
Once you are comfortable with the sound of the note and your ability to repeat it, then play the high note briefly, then without taking the horn out of your mouth or letting your embouchure change and with no break, go to the beginning of the run and attempt to play it without allowing any significant change to your embouchure.
The key point to remember is that you can play with a reasonable tone through most of the range of the instrument with a fairly sloppy embouchure, but not in the altissimo register. You don't need to have a different embouchure for the high notes because whatever embouchure works for them will also work well for the rest of the range.
You will be surprised at how little you really have to work between registers. The problem is we get lazy on the easy notes then can't find our way back when the harder notes pop up so we end up working way too hard.
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2013-04-22 00:52
Some good suggestions above but it could be any number of things. My opinion, probably not your clarinet or register key if the D and D# sound good. Chances are it's you. Lack of air support and or using your throat to control the release of air causing your throat to close off choking the tone. Could be that your pinching the reed or taking in less mouthpiece and not being aware of it and very likely the placement of your tongue is contributing to the problem. It could be too high in the back of the tongue and or the front of the tongue not allowing enough air to freely pass through causing you to "force" the air which will produce a thin bright tone. Could even be a change in your embouchure that you're not aware of. It could be any or all of these, you have to experiment to see if changing one or all of them helps. Of course it could be the reeds you're choosing or your mouthpiece is not a good fit for you.
In my playing life I used to have trouble playing the real high Bb ot C with a MP is used for years. When I changed to the one I use now, the last 20 plus years, I have not had trouble at all with a decent reed. This mouthpiece is just a better fit for me in the extreme register, as well as the whole clarinet of course too.
ESP eddiesclarinet.com
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