 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Musikat
Date: 2018-07-27 07:43
I notice whenever I see videos or pictures of myself in a section I hold my clarinet out from my body quite a bit more than anyone else. Occasionally when playing I even hit the stand.
Other than that, is this a problem? Should I aim to have it more between the knees or is it just a matter of preference/optics? It hasn't seemed to have affected my playing as I am a pretty accomplished amateur and usually end up in the first section in bands I am in; but if working on that will improve something I'm willing to give it a go.
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Author: nellsonic
Date: 2018-07-27 08:21
It's really a matter of your dental structure more than anything. For awhile having the clarinet really close to the body was in vogue because a very famous teacher had a large overbite and thus played with the clarinet tucked in.
A good way to determine the best position for you is to stand up straight with your back and head against a wall and move the clarinet angle up and down as you hold a note or notes. Keep your head flat against the wall as you do this.
You'll pretty quickly find the sweet spot that gives you the best focus and openness to the sound. 45 degrees, or just above the knees when sitting is pretty standard, but your natural set point might differ from that somewhat.
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Author: Dan Shusta
Date: 2018-07-27 10:44
Nellsonic pretty much hit the nail on the head.
Here's Michelle Anderson of Clarinet Mentors giving a video on posture and clarinet position angle with reference to the player's body:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFJR_M8kHlg
There are several videos on YouTube covering the same subject. However, I have found them to be rather similar as to correct body position and varying the angle of the clarinet for best tonal quality.
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2018-07-27 12:07
When you hit the stand are you moving your head in that direction? If so it's no big deal.
The main question of course is your sound. If you aren't sure ask some fellow players. Often when we play we really don't know how we sound in the real world. This kind of sucks.
The great Robert Marcellus sometimes asked me how does this reed sound? So he was too close to judge it. He wanted a reed that buzzed a bit so he would adjust the rails, the sides of the reeds, but never touched the spine, the center or also known as the heart. Now 5 feet away the buzz went away and a warm huge sound appeared bouncing all over Severance Hall. I refer to this as a ping and a ring, but I won't get into this. It's on older posts. Players like my sound but I honestly can't hear it. Gennusa was said to have the best sound of everyone. He played with alarm clacks buzzing so he could tell if his sound was carrying. I do this too. A bad habit from studying with him. So you can try this. Oh, a friend that records sample mouthpiece designs for me has a great mic that sounds pretty darn good hooked to an iPhone. So these are ways you can test yourself.
Hope this makes sense as it's a great question. Another concern or comment is the placement of your tongue in reference to the reed. This too is critical to a pleasing sound. But let's move on thinking that there is nothing wrong.
My guess is you are fine and this is quintessential excitement running through your veins! So just go with it and have blast. Music should surely be fun. Oh, lot's of jazz players played this way. Even Benny Goodman was seen holding the horn way out towards the last seat of the audience. Pretty fun!
Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces
Yamaha Artist 2015
Post Edited (2018-07-27 12:14)
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2018-07-27 16:05
Playing posture is both an individual thing, but it can also be a learnt or taught thing - I tend to use an oboe/soprano sax-like posture when playing clarinet with the elbows out to the sides and the instrument held away from the body as opposed to elbows in and the instrument pointing downwards. But I trust my teacher's advice on that and as it's pretty much the same posture I use on both oboe and soprano sax, it's not out of the ordinary for me.
If you have a pronounced overbite and prefer the instrument to be held away from the body, a mouthpiece with a shallower angled beak (eg. Vandoren Profile 88 series) will make that more comfortable than one with a much steeper angled beak.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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