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Re: Fast air and volume

Author: nellsonic
Date: 2019-05-12 06:16

With younger intermediate/advanced-beginner students first coming to lessons I often talk about one's 'loudest' sound as compared to one's 'best' sound and demonstrate the difference. I often encourage them play with their 'loudest best' sound as a default at this stage. Learning to combine power with focus requires careful listening and developing proper air management. Once they have a solid resonant full tone as their daily 'normal' experience it's much easier to get them to maintain color and pitch at softer and changing dynamic levels. We've all heard plenty of student clarinetists who play with a whispy colorless near-wheezing effect. There's not much you can do musically with that. This all assumes a reasonably well-formed and established embouchure, of course.

Fast air, in my experience, is a concept that works well for most students, regardless of the actual physics involved. To play softer in this model one uses less air but moves it even faster otherwise that whispy unfocused sound appears. Long tones that decrescendo from that 'loudest best' sound are a good way to start exploring this.

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Fast air and volume new

Maruja

2019-05-10 20:33