 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: 12of12
Date: 2017-04-24 05:41
So I have to play the 14th etude (Tempo di Polacca) for an audition an I am having trouble with making notes staccato. I am a freshman in highschool and I just switched to a new mouthpiece (m13) and as well as a vandoren 3.5 strength reed which is the minimum requirement for this mouthpiece. At first, notes were quite hard to blow but it has gotten better. However, staccato is still quite hard for me for notes that use the register key. In this piece, the notes that are particularly touch for me are the middle b and the middle c. Whenever I try to play them short (not too short) I tend to make this squeak and the note is really resistant. I noticed that pressing the reed with my tongue too hard will stop its vibration and lightly pressing it while loosening/opening my jaw helps me play the note. But even then, playing notes consecutively are hard when I don't press my tongue on the reed. At this point, the note isn't staccato but more of a legato quarter note. The middle e and f# that I sometimes have to staccato as well arent as resistant however. Is it because I may be leaving some holes a little open? Or is it because I need to get use to the higher strength reed? Any tips on how I can play these notes shorter?
Thank you all for your help,
Jawad
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2017-04-24 06:13
12of12 wrote:
> So I have to play the 14th etude (Tempo di Polacca) for an
> audition an I am having trouble with making notes staccato. I
> am a freshman in highschool and I just switched to a new
> mouthpiece (m13) and as well as a vandoren 3.5 strength reed
> which is the minimum requirement for this mouthpiece.
The mouthpiece and reed you use, if they produce an acceptable sound, have little or nothing to do with your ability to play staccato notes.
> At first,
> notes were quite hard to blow but it has gotten better.
Better is not necessarily to goal. Does this combination play easily for you?
> However, staccato is still quite hard for me for notes that use
> the register key. In this piece, the notes that are
> particularly touch for me are the middle b and the middle c.
When these notes don't speak easily and the pads all cover, it's almost always in my experience that the player is either pinching the reed or not covering all the holes.
> Whenever I try to play them short (not too short) I tend to
> make this squeak and the note is really resistant. I noticed
> that pressing the reed with my tongue too hard will stop its
> vibration and lightly pressing it while loosening/opening my
> jaw helps me play the note.
You may have the keys to a solution in this sentence. The likelihood is that you're biting up against the reed with your jaw (pinching) instead of supporting it with your lips. To make a note start cleanly, you have to allow it to vibrate and you have to be supplying air at the reed. Then, if you're holding the reed still with light tongue pressure on the reed tip, you start the note by releasing the reed - moving your tongue off. Pressing hard with your tongue and biting up with your jaw are a prescription for balky, unresponsive attacks.
> But even then, playing notes
> consecutively are hard when I don't press my tongue on the
> reed. At this point, the note isn't staccato but more of a
> legato quarter note.
The difference between staccato of any length and long or connected ("legato") tonguing is in how long you let the reed vibrate and how soon you stop it by lightly putting your tongue back on the reed. The longer you hold the reed still and the less time you actually let the reed vibrate, the shorter the note. Staccato means separate. How separate depends on how long you let the reed vibrate.
> The middle e and f# that I sometimes have
> to staccato as well arent as resistant however. Is it because I
> may be leaving some holes a little open? Or is it because I
> need to get use to the higher strength reed? Any tips on how I
> can play these notes shorter?
I don't think you need a harder reed. But that's a judgment that you or someone who can actually hear you will have to make. As I mentioned earlier with long B and C (B4 and C5), if the notes don't speak and there's not a leaky pad involved, then either you're biting the reed off or you're opening part of a hole somewhere and causing a leak.
It would really be best to have someone knowledgeable (your band director? even a more experienced student?) listen to you in person. But try to open your jaw, round your lips and use as little tongue pressure as possible to stop the reed from vibrating in between notes and see what the result is.
It should go without saying that you need to be providing a good column of air in order to produce any kind of tone, whether the notes are short, long or slurred.
Karl
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