 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: spf
Date: 2001-07-01 01:54
While listening to a recently purchased CD from Russia, I heard what sounded like a lip slur of about 2-3 half steps. This wasn't several notes slurred together, but one tone "bent" up. I am too new at clarineting to seriously try to put such a thing in my bag-o -tricks, but with my setup I can't come anywhere close to that. My setup is a 5RV lyre, vandoren 2, on an R-13. The sleeve translation is not much help as it identifies "Ain't misbehaivin" as "Now I'm an obedient child."
Forgive my inexperience, but is such a thing possible on a clarinet, or were my ears deceived?
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Author: Joseph O'Kelly
Date: 2001-07-01 05:09
Sure it is possible, I do it many times. Listen to the opening statement of Gershwin's "Rhapsody on Blue." When I play this passage I do two of two things. I slide my fingers gradually off the tone holes. This will "bend" the notes sharper. I will also voice it by loosening my emboucher and gradually firming up. I do both because this is such a long glissando and I can not seem to do just one. When it's only a few half steps I will just do it with my fingers. On saxophone I do not have such a luxery because the tone holes are covered. I must then do it with my mouth. I start very, very loose and then go gradually to my normal, in-tune emboucher.
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Author: Keil
Date: 2001-07-01 05:36
OMG!! that is ONE way of doing it however, if you do a search right here on sneezy this topic of "bending", "smearing", "glissando"ing, of notes has been discussed quite extensively. If that doesn't help post again and i'll tell you my sure fire way of doing it... here's a hint, the trick isn't sliding the fingers off of the instrument nor is it the lips...
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Author: spf
Date: 2001-07-01 05:50
Thanks. I tried searches on slur. Never thought to try those searches.
I suppose the hazard to being able to do this is missing the note the first time?
spf
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Author: William
Date: 2001-07-01 16:22
One way to start to learn lip slurs, is to play C above the staff (thumb & register key) and see how far you can let the note go flat by just loosening your lips. Practice letting it go down and then bringing it back up without breaking the sound (precise control of intonation is not important at this point). When you get the "feel" for this technique, the pick any note below that high C and see if you can slowly remove your fingers (to thumb & register) and keep the pitch without letting it naturally go up to C. Ex: play high A and slowly remove your 1st & 2nd fingers maintaining the "A" pitch by loosening your embouchre. Then, let it gradually rise to high C by slowly tightening your lips. The reslult should be a "glissando" or "lip-slur" from A to C. If this works, try it from G, from F, from E, etc until you can start of middle B and "gliss" all the way back up to C. (You will find that for the lower notes, you will need to leave your fingers almost covering the tone holes to maintain the sound of the note before it goes back up to C.) Then, start on high C# (TR-023, 450) and learn, by slowly and lightly, fingering the chromatic scale, to gliss up to high G. An experianced clarinetist can easily gliss from middle B all the way up to double high C without a break in the sound. Some can go from the low G in Rhapsody in Blue (I have read that the late Benny Goodman could do this), but most have to mimmc a gliss with fast and rather sloppy diatonic notes to middle B and then gliss from there (Larry Combs, for one). Learning to do a lip slur is also a helpful technique in controling those out of tune notes that we all have on our clarinets. Well, enough cyberbable--hope this helps a bit. Good Clarineting!!!!!!!
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Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 2001-07-03 19:12
William -
A couple of Rhapsody in Blue recordings are claimed to have Benny Goodman playing the opening solo, including one with Earl Wild and, I think, the NBC Symphony. That recording begins the gliss in the usual place, on 4th line D.
Augustin Duques was the NBC principal at the time. Perhaps Steve Hartman, who was his student at Juillard, can tell us more.
A good story about someone who did the gliss over the break was told a couple of years ago on the Klarinet board at http://www.sneezy.org/Databases/Logs/1999/04/000649.txt .
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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