 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: AGH
Date: 2018-06-27 17:02
Hi,
I was wondering about how much air pressure there should be in the mouth in order to create a clean supported sound? I'm not referring to air speed, or embouchure pressure, but the pressure inside the mouth.
Is there supposed to be no pressure inside and just fast air gliding along the tongue into the mouthpiece, or should there be alot of pressure?
Thanks.
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Author: Tony Pay ★2017
Date: 2018-06-27 20:56
The sound of the clarinet is generated by the vibration of the reed against the mouthpiece, and that is driven by the pressure difference between the inside of the mouth and the inside of the instrument. The frequency of the vibration of the reed is coupled to the frequency of vibration of the current effective air column inside the instrument, so you get different notes with different fingerings.
Depending on the mouthpiece and instrument design, the pressure difference for a given dynamic can vary, so setups are termed ‘free-blowing’ or ‘resistant’, corresponding to small and large pressure differences. Players on a given setup learn to produce the sound they aspire to – or fail to produce the sound they aspire to – by varying embouchure and reed choice. There are of course schools of thought about what you SHOULD do, but an intelligent player will experiment to find what suits them. People do well on both free-blowing and resistant systems.
The system you choose limits what you can do in different ways. Thus, German, French and Italian systems tend to bias your results differently.
Though the airspeed you mention forms a part of some pedagogy, its significance is primarily metaphorical, being correlated with a mental image of tongue position. The size and shape of the mouth cavity is varied by tongue position, and though indeed air does flow down the instrument, this is not fundamental. What vibrates is the air already inside the instrument, as well as the air inside the mouth. This latter has an effect on the reed behaviour too, varying from almost negligible to quite substantial, depending on the register.
I have a horn playing friend who can play a quite acceptable note on his instrument by SUCKING; you can’t do this on a clarinet because there’s no way to make the reed vibrate. On the horn though, the lip buzz can be achieved with the air moving either in or out.
Tony
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2018-06-27 22:26
So much wonderful information in Tony's response!
I would only add that when I execute a "stopped tongue" exercise (you continue "blowing" as if you are playing, but you stop the sound and flow of air by placing the tongue on the reed), you continue to feel the "effort" as you continue to push.
So there is "effort" and perhaps pressure per se but I don't know if it is helpful to actually try to be conscious of PRESSURE in and of itself, certainly nothing like what might force cheeks to bulge or anything like that! Dizzy Gillespie might have looked cool, but the bulging cheeks are counterproductive to good technique.
..............Paul Aviles
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Author: Tony Pay ★2017
Date: 2018-06-28 01:04
Talking about what happens when you stop the reed vibrating with the tongue just confuses the issue, because other considerations then come into play.
What is required to START the reed vibrating cleanly is different from what is required to maintain its vibration in a steady state.
"I don't know if it is helpful to actually try to be conscious of...."
You could have stopped that sentence after the first three words.
Tony
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2018-06-28 05:42
Nice response Tony
Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces
Yamaha Artist 2015
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Author: Mojo
Date: 2018-06-28 17:09
Air would not flow if there was no pressure. Pressure differential is what drives air flow. [Once moving you could stop the pressure and momentum would carry it for a while.]
Air flow is only important in that it (along with the reed, mouthpiece, embouchure) creates puffs of air to excite the standing wave inside the clarinet.
At soft volumes, the reed does not even fully close against the facing. But softer puffing is happening.
MojoMP.com
Mojo Mouthpiece Work LLC
MojoMouthpieceWork@yahoo.com
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2018-07-01 17:16
AGH,
Awesome info from Tony above. Find what's comfortable for you (with regards to free blowing setups, which will give you the sensation of very little pressure in the mouth, to resistant which will give you a sensation of more pressure in the mouth as you play.)
As far as whether it's producing a clean/supported sound, only way to know is to record yourself. Get a good recorder or mic, set it up in a room at a distance of where an audience would be, play, and listen back.
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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