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Re: Proper Embouchure and how to get Ping sound

Author: echi85
Date: 2017-08-14 05:37

When you say she has a ping at the beginning of the sound, are you referring to the actual start/articulation of the sound or the sound itself? All great clarinetists have learned to articulate with a pingy articulation because it projects very well. Often clarinetists lose clarity of articulation compared to other woodwinds because of the difference of how vibrations work on a single reed instrument. A pingy articulation remedies this problem.

If you are referring to the sound itself, I would argue that you have to have a responsive setup. That is say a reed that is as light as you are comfortable with. Brightness projects. A tone that has more higher partials will project more than one without. A slightly buzzy reed is one that has these partials, a warm reed has significantly fewer. The problem with this is that it doesn't sound good up close. If you have ever studied Gigliottis playing under Ormandy, you can hear this idea taken to the limit. I've sat next to some big name clarinetists in my career, I can tell you that many of them don't sound great up close. There's always some stuff in the sound, but they sound incredible in the hall.

The modern clarinet sound we hear is a more moderate approach to tone. One that will project but also sounds fairly good up close. Many players refer to this as "holding the sound". It's a sound that moves away from brightness towards something with more middle partials. It's certainly a trend but one that nearly everyone has latched on to.

I would also add that from what David Blumberg said in a different thread, Ricardo switched to a crystal mouthpiece for reasons of longevity. He said that the Legere reeds he uses wears down the facings of mouthpieces quicker. A crystal mouthpiece is harder and is more durable. Knowing how picky he is with equipment and color, I am sure there are other reasons but this one is certainly compelling.

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