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Re: Squeaking student

Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2018-03-31 17:27

E6 can be a little tricky to control - so can G5 on some clarinets (at least French Boehms - I don't know about other systems). Have you tried his clarinet? Something as simple as dirt in the register tube or a slight leak in any of the closed pads on the upper section could increase the instability, and I find that E6 is the first place something like that shows up.

As sax panther suggests, some mouthpieces, especially with poorly adjusted reeds, can be difficult in the altissimo, and, again, I find that E in such cases is the most affected victim. Have you tried his mouthpiece?

One way to make E6 pop up to A6 (the next harmonic) is to press the RH F#/C# lever instead of the Eb key. So maybe check the C# pad to make sure that isn't leaking enough to cause the same effect even if it isn't being pressed.

He may be able to produce the note more comfortably by "half-holing" - only partially opening - the LH 1st hole. The note can be played in some situations with all LH covered (like G5) and opening the throat G# key. These are more useful for leaps than scale passages.

A few more details may help. Does the squeak only happen in leaps, like (in the Weber) the one after E or third bar from the end of the first movement? Or does he also have trouble in the linear passage 6 after K? What about the leaps to D6 (9th of K, 5th of N, O, 6th of the 2nd movement, etc...)?

Karl

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