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Re: Why Upgrade from Yamaha 4c To vandoren 5RV Advice Please?

Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2016-09-27 19:43

Bjazz wrote:

> It is really hard getting to grips with it and particularly
> getting the middle long 'b' above throat 'a' to speak without a
> lot of difficulty especially when slurring up from throat 'a'
> and when starting on the note 'b'.
>

A great many "over the break" problems happen because either (1) your hands become tense and grab too tightly, pulling fingers partially off of holes that need to be covered or (2) your embouchure tenses up and presses on the reed either out of anxiety or to keep the clarinet from moving.

The mouthpiece can influence this only to the extent that something about its resistance is making you work too hard (try a softer reed) or is allowing the reed to close too easily (try a harder reed).

A test that could indicate whether your embouchure is moving or your fingers aren't staying on the holes might be to have a skilled player (the woman at the store?) do the fingering while you do the blowing and reed control. Turn the mouthpiece around. You hold onto the barrel to steady it while the other player fingers the keys (which are now facing you). As you do this together, you won't know when the other player is going to move from one note to the other, so you won't be able to react to it by tensing anything. If all goes smoothly, the the instrument and mouthpiece are probably not causing the problem. It's something you're doing when you're working the whole clarinet. Something - in your hands or your embouchure - is moving to cause the problem. If the connection is not smooth, maybe it's a mechanical problem after all.

Karl

Karl

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