 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: 12of12
Date: 2017-04-02 00:53
Hello, I am a beginner clarinetist and I've been playing for 3 years. I own a ventus protégé by backun with an m13 vandoren mouthpiece and a rovner dark ligature. I also use a 3 reed by rico. My problem is that when I play my 3rd octave e and f I get this weird growling noise. This is more apparent when I play the notes extremely staccato and short. On lower notes its not a problem at all and even some really high notes such as the high c sounds fine when I play it staccato. These two notes especially sound bad. Also another thing I noticed was that to play any high notes especially above the high g, I have to put my mouth in my mouthpiece a little further than usual. I feel like I don't need to put in so much.. My airflow is quite fast and my embouchure is also okay. I have my chin straight, corners of my lips are tight and firm around the mouthpiece and my tongue is high like if I were to say "hee". This is a brand new clarinet and I upgraded from my student plastic clarinet so maybe I'm doing some thing wrong? I got it repaired twice already so I am pretty sure it might not be the clarinet. Any help is appreciated!
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Author: Sum Randumb D00d
Date: 2017-04-02 01:45
> "3rd octave e and f I get this weird growling noise"
That's a strange place to get a noise. On most horns, that general area should be rather "clean".
Although the three-fingered D just below there can be problematic on many horns, and the middle-finger F# just above there can be anywhere from problematic to disastrous.
Maybe Backun was trying to improve D & F# at the expense of E & F?
> "another thing I noticed was that to play any high notes especially above the high g, I have to put my mouth in my mouthpiece a little further than usual"
You're compensating for deficiencies in your reed - pushing the reed past its comfort point - relative to your embouchure & diaphragm strength and what you're asking of the reed.
In addition to re-arranging the placement of the reed in your mouth, you can also help the reed by pushing as hard as you can with your diaphragm muscles. Even if you allow only a little bit of air "out", it helps for the pressure [& speed] of the air column to be as high as possible.
Or you can just graduate to more powerful reeds.
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Author: 12of12
Date: 2017-04-02 02:51
So what should I do about the e and the f? I have a piece that uses these two notes often along with the 4th octave e and the high c and d but this growling noise translates to the other notes and its almost impossible to play them. Its almost as if I was playing the high notes with enough to air to produce this half sound the other half a weird undertone (noise you get when not using enough air) type of noise and its really annoying me. If I play anything without the middle e and f everything is fine. Could it be maybe the ligature or the mouthpiece? Possibly even the reed? I have a ligature and mouthpiece from a cheaper marching band clarinet that I could switch to check? What should I do? If its really necessary I'll post a video on what I'm talking about.
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Author: echi85
Date: 2017-04-02 02:58
If you are playing an M13 with 3 reeds, I guarantee you a harder reed will solve your problems. Vandoren themselves recommend a 3.5 minimum.
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Author: 12of12
Date: 2017-04-02 04:00
okay definitely going to try that! I just really am confused as to why the sound exists in the first place particularly on these two notes?
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Author: echi85
Date: 2017-04-02 04:49
If you play a setup that doesn't have enough (or too much) resistance, response suffers. You're playing a really low resistance mouthpiece with a low resistance reed. I imagine the notes are cracking because there's not enough hold in the sound.
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Author: 12of12
Date: 2017-04-02 05:35
ah alright! I'm only in my freshman year and I've been trying to improve a lot. First time using "professional" equipment so I am very inexperienced in all of this. If there is anything I should know in terms of maintenance (of my equipment), or just simple tips on how to perform well (in terms of tone, how to breath, faster articulation, intonation etc.) please let me know. Thank you all for your responses
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Author: Sum Randumb D00d
Date: 2017-04-02 05:38
What's the quality of the "D" just below the E & F, and the quality of the "middle-finger-F#" just above them?
On most horns, "D" is wobbly, and "middle-finger-F#" is disastrous [especially as regards the intonation on "middle-finger-F#" ].
If your D sounds great, and if your middle-finger-F# sounds great [and especially if your middle-finger-F# is in tune, which it won't be on most horns], then I'd guess that it was a design decision.
jus sayin
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Author: Sum Randumb D00d
Date: 2017-04-02 05:43
One other obvious question: Is your lower joint's uppermost padded key [just above the three rings of the right hand] sealing fully?
If those "non-fingered" padded keys fail to complete a nice hard air-tight seal, then they can drive you nuts.
[This is true on all woodwinds, and it especially drives the oboists nuts - everything you can feel with your fingers seems nice and tight, but there are other hidden "non-fingered" pads which are leaking like crazy.]
jus sayin
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Author: 12of12
Date: 2017-04-02 05:45
Quick question: I noticed that there are quite a few different reeds for a Bb clarinet. Ive used the traditional reeds many times before (on my plastic clarinet) but I've heard many people use the v12 and the v21 reeds. Can someone please tell me the difference and what reed is recommended for me to use? Fact is I should probably use the traditional if I am not knowledgeable enough on the other reeds but it is still good for me to know. Anyways, thank you again!
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Author: 12of12
Date: 2017-04-02 05:51
Right now I am unable to check but I've played both of those notes and I think they sound fine. I'll check sometime tomorrow and I'll report back if you are still there (I hope I didn't bother you by wasting your time). And the nonfingered hole on the lower joint has definitely come to my concern a couple of times. I need to stay aware that I am covering it properly though I think I am because I've played in front of a mirror. Thank you for your amazing advice!
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