 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: paul
Date: 1999-04-19 16:37
I have a bunch of interrelated questions in this posting.
First, how do you "bend" notes and where (i.e. what kind of music) is this technique used the most? Why? Is there readily available published music for the clarinet that I can purchase that has musically written directions to "bend" notes? What's the formal musical instruction for such a wild thing?
Second, I've heard through the grapevine that it's easier to bend notes on a straight bored clarinet versus a polycylindrically bored clarinet. Is this correct? Does the size of the inner diameter of the bore affect the ability to "bend" notes? Would, for instance, an old Selmer straight big-bore horn be easier to bend notes on than say, a recently produced polycylindrical narrow bore Buffet R-13? Why? Does the mouthpiece size and design have an affect on the ability to "bend" notes? Ditto on strength of the reed for the mouthpiece?
Third, what mechanical method is used to "bend" notes? Is it an embouchure trick? If so, how is it done and how can I train myself to do it?
Fourth, I know that I'm just an adult novice and I'm concentrating on the fundamentals for now. However, I'd still like to liven up my practice sessions and explore music outside of the typical drill books. With that in mind, are there drill books (or other formally published items) available that can help students of the clarinet to learn some of the advanced techniques, such as "bending" notes, the glissando ("smear"), and other such tricks?
Thanks in advance.
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Author: Don Poulsen
Date: 1999-04-19 17:04
As far as published music that calls for bending notes, one example is Mancini's Pink Panther theme. In this instance, it is indicated by an arc that curves downward immediately following the note.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 1999-04-19 18:48
To me, the old dance band trick [best on sax] is to attack low and lip-slur up to in-tune as rapidly as you desire, depending on music character [Dixie]and gig location. You can often add "real character" to an otherwise "bland" phrase [with care!]. Enjoy an exchange like this. Don
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Author: Kevin Bowman
Date: 1999-04-19 19:22
The term "bend" has many connotations in jazz. Generally, to bend a note means to temporarily raise or lower the written note pitch (reed instruments can only effectively lower the pitch while stringed instruments generally find it easier to raise the pitch). A bend can come in the form of a small drop-off (as opposed to a fall-off), a short slide (as opposed to a longer rip or gliss), or a true bend. These all correspond to where the pitch displacement is located (respectively after, before or middle of written pitch). These are typically written with a short curved line into the note, after the note or a little curved sign above the note (like a tenuto mark in the shape of a shallow U).
In all cases, on clarinet and sax, the bend is usually performed by "dropping the jaw" or releasing lower jaw pressure on the reed. This will make the note flat but will also cause the tone to deteriorate - especially on small bore clarinets. That is why you may have heard that large bore clarinets are preferred for this type of thing - it's easier to keep the tone more consistent with them. (I've also found glissandi to be much easier to do on my 1930's Selmer large-bore clarinet than on my modern R13).
Now - the reason I wrote "short" above - relating to the duration of the bend - is that longer notations are usually meant to be smeared over a larger range than can be done with the lip (or jaw) alone and require more of a gliss or "rip" effect using the fingers.
BTW - if you can master the lip bend technique, it's not much more effort to control this into a continuous lip or jaw vibrato - just get the bend to happen regularly and smoothly at about 3 or 4 beats per second.
Kevin Bowman
Clarinet and Saxophone Instructor,
Rochester Conservatory of Music, Rochester, MI
and
Saxophones, Clarinet, and Keys,
B-Side Blues Project (www.bsideblues.com)
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Author: Rick2
Date: 1999-04-19 19:43
Kevin's post is very good as we have come to expect, but I think some of your questions have been sidestepped.
Bending notes: As mentioned, usually done with the lip. Anything you can do up you should also be able to do down, ie start high and bend the note low. You can also cheat and do it by sliding the fingers off the tone holes, but that is, of course, limited to notes without low keys. I also think it more ugly sounding and more prone to error.
It's normally a jazz effect, maybe somebody else has seen it in classical but I have not. Anything Benny Goodman played will have this type of markings all over the place. You'll also see it all over saxophone transcriptions. I have a David Sanborn transcription that is full of wiggles and curves denoting different effects. Also note that jazz notation does not conform to a standard, therefore you may see the same effect notated differently in any two random pieces of jazz sheet music.
You can pick up a book called Mel Bay's Complete Jazz Clarinet Book. It's filled with this type of thing, however, it's not written with a lot of text description, so you might need help in understanding it. It has plenty of good exercises but is meant to be digested very slowly, as in over the course of several years.
Another point not yet mentioned is that if you ever hope to glissendo over the break, you absolutely MUST learn to control pitch with the lip. That is how the break is compensated for. It is possible as I managed to do it once by accident.
As to mouthpiece, definitely an open mouthpiece with a relatively soft reed is better for jazz techniques. Note bending and lip vibrato are far easier with an open facing.
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Author: Kevin Bowman
Date: 1999-04-19 20:39
Thanks, Rick.
I was going to mention a couple of other things but I got running on with the keyboard and forgot.
1) You are right, Rick, on the open mouthpiece/softer reed. Although it is possible to do everthing with a more medium setup, I find the more open setup more flexible in jazz (of course I lose some of my precious classical tone).
2) lip bending is easier in the upper registers (than in the chalemeau).
3) I learned glissando the hard way - sheer perserverance! I think it might be easier to learn if you first achieve a VERY RAPID chromatic scale. Keep the fingers light, relaxed. Then make the the transition to gliss by "brushing over" the keys, only slightly touching touchpieces and gently sliding the fingers away from the rings. Some clarinetists pull the fingers "up" toward the mouth, I prefer to pull my fingers "away" to the sides. The key is to not grip the instrument in tension. Gliss'ing over either break is difficult - and especially difficult is gliss'ing through the throat tones. Fortunately, the Rhapsody in Blue gliss actually starts as a "rip" (fast chromatic) then switches to a gliss after crossing the break! Also, going up is a lot easier than going down. If you want to hear some truely amazing gliss work, nobody beats Artie Shaw (IMO). I have some recordings where he does the most amazingly slow and smooth gliss from about clarion D to somewhere in the stratosphere of the clarinet's range. One more thing - I always loosen the lower jaw when I get into a long gliss so that I can "lip up" to the final note (actually, I pretend the whole thing is a lip gliss so that my embouchure get firmer as I ascend). I have yet to master descending gliss's except for short ones in the upper clarion and altissimo.
There's probably more I could say but for fear of getting too far afield I'll leave it here. Hope this gives you a good start.
Kevin Bowman
Clarinet and Saxophone Instructor,
Rochester Conservatory of Music, Rochester, MI
and
Saxophones, Clarinet, and Keys,
B-Side Blues Project (www.bsideblues.com)
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Author: Amy
Date: 1999-04-19 23:58
I'm not a jazz clarinetist at all, but I have been checking out the Rhapsody in Blue solo and learning to play around with that gliss, and bending notes. To first learn I just practiced with a high C (thumb and register key) and just tried to bend the note down as far as possible by dropping my jaw and releasing a lot of pressure on the reed. You're supposed to be able to reach an F from the C, but I haven't come near that yet. I'm certainly no expert, but that helps to develop the control necessary for the glissandos and bends.
Amy
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Author: Rick2
Date: 1999-04-20 00:16
From what I have read, you can't really bend a note more than a full tone, maybe 1-1/2 tops. No way you can go from C down to F by lip alone, it's just too far.
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Author: Tim2
Date: 1999-04-20 00:35
I have heard people put a gliss at the top end of the last run up on the Copland Concerto. (the classical end)
Good stuff. Thanks for talking about it.
Tim2
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 1999-04-20 01:05
Rick2 wrote:
-------------------------------
From what I have read, you can't really bend a note more than a full tone, maybe 1-1/2 tops. No way you can go from C down to F by lip alone, it's just too far.
----
Not just lip anone, but by sliding your fingers off and loosening the embouchure. <B>I</B> can't slide very far without sounding absolutely horrid, but Giora Fiedman sure can!
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Author: rICK2
Date: 1999-04-20 03:35
How do you gliss down by sliding your fingers off? You need to slide them on.
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Author: Evan
Date: 1999-04-20 04:22
I can get a C(register and thumb) down to the Bb in the middle of the staff. I learned sliding on the sax(where you can not roll your fingers off notes). Using your jaw alone will only get you about a step and a half. But, if you open your throat, move your tongue back to get rid of all the restrictions of proper embachoure and tone, you can slide a lot ( it is almost like gagging yourself). I play on a Pete fountain crystal mp, with the tip thinned(makes it more freeblowing). Pete Fountain, Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman, Buddy Defranco, Woody Herman, Sidney Bichet can all do it, and they sound great.
(for the smoothest glisses ever listen to Artie Shaws Concerto for Clarinet, towards the end. Combonitation of accents and smooth playing make it amazingingly difficult to reproduce.
(a reall low slide sounds more like a growl than a clarinet, the really tricky part is getting it back up to pitch smoothly and completely with out jumping tones).
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Author: Jim Carabetta
Date: 1999-04-20 11:31
As a start to learning the technique, I've developed a few exercises with a student familiar with the chromatic scale. Working with chromatics down the scale, the next tone is anticipated, meaning you know what it should sound like -- with that tone in "mind", I ask the student to slacken the jaw and loosen the embouchure in an attempt to match that sound without changing the fingerings. Once the student is reasonably successful at that, we try the entire scale. As an exercise in tone control while learning, play a Hi-C, bend down to a B, finger and play B, bend down to Bb, finger and play Bb, bend down to A...and so on. It's a quick and easy exercise to practice bending 1/2 steps -- then the process starts over again, this time trying to bend full steps once the halfs are mastered. The third exercise entails playing the entire chromatic scale, but only fingering every other tone. The challenge for my people is to play a chromatic octave in as few fingerings as possible -- it's a fun way to learn.
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Author: paul
Date: 1999-04-20 14:18
That's what I was looking for! Wow!
Thanks a bunch.
Looks like all of these postings are "keepers" for my file.
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Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 1999-04-21 16:51
A couple of notes.
If I bend the top clarion C just by relaxing my embouchure, then, as Rick2 says, it's hard to get it below Bb.
To get lower, I drop my jaw down and also pull it back, while puckering my lips outward so that no part of the lip is over my teeth. (This is much easier with double lip embouchure.) I also direct the airstream higher by raising the back of my tongue to nearly the roof of my mouth and pushing it forward. This makes the airstream feel like it hits the hard palate behind my upper teeth and gets stuck there. I can blow against that stuffiness and force the tone lower by opening my throat and puckering my lips harder, in from the sides.
Also, sliding by moving your fingers on or off the holes gradually works better if you forget about proper hand position and shove your fingers forward so that the second section of each finger is over the hole -- as if the tips of your fingers had been cut off. This makes it easier to move your fingers gradually, and you can also bend your fingertips up, causing the holes to "leak" gradually more and more.
If you listen to classical music from India, players of the shenai (a sort of oboe) always use the second section of each finger to cover the holes, and they slide all over the place. Bagpipers do the same thing.
Slides, bends and glissandos always sound awful when you start to learn how to do them. Practice makes perfect.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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