 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Maruja
Date: 2020-07-14 13:02
I have been going back to basics while in lockdown and try as I might, I cannot eliminate that slight bump between going from throat Bb to C - I have tried pretty well everything that has been suggested on this board, on line elsewhere etc - extra support, fingers down, fingers close to tone holes etc. Am I just going to have to live with this or is there any way I can improve? It is more obvious when playing long notes.
Any advice really welcome.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2020-07-14 13:54
I would say the first thing to do would be to make sure you use a really stable, versatile fingering for throat "Bb." My suggestion would be to use right and left hand 2 and 3 along with register and "A" key. You can come from pretty much anywhere and go to pretty much any other note from this stance.........and it's resonant and in tune (usually; may require slight upward adjustment embouchure wise).
Then you have to be honest with yourself about middle line "B" or third space "C." Once you enter the next series of harmonics it requires a bit more air (support, whatever you want to call it). So I believe if you approach the transition slowly, it helps to crescendo slightly into the next register from the "Bb."
The smoother you get this transition slowly, the better it gets once you start speeding it up.
.......................Paul Aviles
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Author: Maruja
Date: 2020-07-14 14:31
Thank you Paul. New fingering is always difficult to incorporate so I shall just have to practise. I liked your idea of crescendoing rather than 'support' - I used what I thought was the technical word. I was going to use the words 'more puff'!
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2020-07-14 17:27
Maruja wrote:
> I cannot eliminate that slight bump between going from
> throat Bb to C - I have tried pretty well everything that has
> been suggested on this board, on line elsewhere etc - extra
> support, fingers down, fingers close to tone holes etc. Am I
> just going to have to live with this or is there any way I can
> improve?
>
> Any advice really welcome.
No, you don't have to live with it. Some of what you're trying to do may be getting in your way because you may be trying too hard and introducing tension into the process. A little clenching in your fingers or in your embouchure can defeat whatever you're trying so hard to do "right."
What matters most, IMO, are the continuity of your air stream, the mouthpiece's stability in your mouth and the accuracy of your fingers as they cover all those holes at once.
One important problem to guard against is letting the clarinet move even a little as you move your fingers. Movement can jar the mouthpiece out of position and potentially cause you ever so slightly to close the reed. On the same track, be sure you aren't inadvertently gripping the mouthpiece (and the reed) to compensate for not having as much control with your fingers when you play throat notes (putting some fingers down as Paul suggests can help keep the instrument stable).
Then, you have to be sure your fingers are closing all the holes you weren't covering already, and that they're coordinated well so everything closes at once. Check in particular that your "ring" fingers (next to your "pinkies") are covering and that you aren't bumping into the "sliver" keys above them.
You need to provide an uninterrupted air stream. It's really easy to unconsciously stop or reduce the air as you go over the break. You don't realize it if you aren't paying close attention. One thing I routinely do with younger students who are dealing with break crossings for the first time is to turn the mouthpiece around so the student blows into the clarinet while I do the fingering. If they don't know when I'm going to change notes, they can't change either their embouchure or their air and the upper note appears without any effort. Having experienced it with me doing the fingering it's easier for them to provide the continuity when they're in control of the whole process.
One other thing I do routinely with students is to have them do their first break crossings downward. Try starting with a good C5 and slur down to Bb. If that's smooth (it's much easier than going up), then try starting on C, slurring to Bb and then slurring back to C. Pay close attention to how the first C feels in your fingers and in your mouth, then try to return to exactly the same feel on the return. This can help by starting your fingers in the right places and giving you a clear sense of how your blowing feels as you play C. It's easier to return to what you started with than to start on Bb and have to more or less imagine what you're trying to do when you move to C.
> It is more obvious when playing long notes.
Just one last comment: don't spend a long time on either note (or any of the three notes if you try the descending version of the interval). The longer you stay on one note, the longer you have to tense everything up anticipating the next move. Tension is a major enemy, as it so often is. The muscles need to be engaged, but any anticipatory gripping or extra tightness can make everything harder. Just hold each note long enough to establish it - a beat or two.
Karl
Post Edited (2020-07-14 18:45)
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Author: Matt74
Date: 2020-07-14 19:59
One issue that can complicate crossing the break is a leak, especially on the 1 - 1 Bb/Eb bridge link. If the bridge is misadjusted it makes it much harder. Check to make sure the upper bridge is centered where it should be on the lower bridge. Next, try holding down the LH Bb/Eb pad cup (on the ring key), then press the RH three ring key pad cup. The 3 ring key pad should go all the way down with VERY light pressure. Then try the reverse. The LH Eb/Bb key should close firmly with only light pressure on the RH 3 ring key. If there is any slop in either, or you have to use pressure to close either, you have a leak.
- Matthew Simington
Post Edited (2020-07-14 20:00)
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2020-07-14 20:23
Matt74 wrote:
> One issue that can complicate crossing the break is a leak,
> especially on the 1 - 1 Bb/Eb bridge link.
Yes, and no one has mentioned other possible leaks - especially those large pads at the bottom that need to be closed for B4 and C5. Any leak can make crossing the break harder.
To Maruja, if you haven't had your instrument checked by a skilled repair person, have it checked. All of us at some time or other have struggled with a problem we've assumed we were causing when it turned out to be a mechanical problem with the clarinet.
Karl
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2020-07-15 00:15
You may not be able to fix a leak yourself, but you should be able to check easily enough with a negative pressure test. You hold the bottom joint in your right hand covering the holes and have your RH pinky on the "B" key. Then cover the bottom of the joint with the heel of your right palm and put your mouth at the top end (somewhat like a brass player). Now suck the air out of the joint (you may have done something like this with an empty coke bottle). Hold the negative pressure to see how long it holds on its own. Three seconds or more is good. If it does not hold suction at all, there is a pretty good leak somewhere.
..............Paul Aviles
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Author: donald
Date: 2020-07-15 04:47
Hi there,
Approach this problem methodically and you should be able to IMPROVE it (though many top players still find they have to spend a bit of time improving it!). This will also help work out if there is a technical problem...
[all these exercises = very slow, think minnums/half-notes]
Start with the left hand...
- can you slur middle C - throat A - middle C?
- can you go smoothly from "thumb F" to "thumb on register key, nothing else down" back to "thumb F"? (note- the thumb on register key is not a "real note" and just blow softly so it doesn't become a high register note- the real objective here is to isolate your thumb movement). Remember your thumb is pointing at 2 or 1.30 on the clock, NOT 12 or 3. [note, the thumb MUST come off the tonehole AND clear the ring]
When you can do both of these smoothly with no gap in sound or airflow, then...
- can you play middle C to throat Bb smoothly? [note, "middle C" is the left hand lower register C, we're still not in the upper register or using the right hand]
Then the right hand...
- Middle C to (low) Bb
- C to A
- C to G
- C to F
Now try coordinating both hands....
- Middle C to low F [right hand on its own]
- D above to F [two hands combined]
- E to F
- F to F
- open G to F
Then, depending on the student, I try this exercise...
- Low F - throat Bb - low F
Then...
- Low F - Bb - F - THEN register key to take it up to C (listen to the sound here, are you getting a smooth register jump? Is your throat Bb, fuzzy though that note may be, as STRONG as you can get it? Resist the temptation to "back away" from that note because of the resistance and fuzz)
Then...
- Low F to Bb to C but don't lift your right hand fingers, so it is just your left hand that moves.
Now, eventually you will want to use different fingers down in the right hand, depending on various factors (the note prior to Bb, the best tone/tuning on your particular clarinet) but try to improve/master the interval FIRST keeping ALL the right hand fingers down - each time you do that you will able to focus on the left hand movement. You can complicate it by (for instance) using different combinations of "right hand fingers down" later.
Also - check your embouchure rather than just worrying about support. The tendency is to PINCH the embouchure when playing the B flat (particularly if you have been encouraged to get a "dark tone" by using hard reeds) to help clear that note up, but this will cause B and C across the register to hesitate when you slur to them.
I have found that this "step by step" approach to this interval works with most students- even if they can't do it after one or two sessions, they have identified the problem that needs to be solved.
The 2nd step above- working the left thumb - has proven to be invaluable at helping students from early to advanced. Basically, I'd go as far as saying if you can't do that you can't really play the clarinet.
Post Edited (2020-07-15 06:27)
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Author: seabreeze
Date: 2020-07-15 05:10
Donald is certainly right that intervals of this sort from throat to clarion across the "break" can be smoothed out satisfactorily with the right kind of diligent practice. I would suggest starting with a simpler model at first. Don't just practice legato slurring from throat Bb to C; that would be an exercise in repeated frustration. You need to find a template or model "benchmark" that you can copy for smoothness and evenness. So try legato Bb to B, Bb to C#, Bb to D; also throat A to C, B, and C#, and throat Ab to B, C and C#. Do some of these intervals sound smooth and even? Select the ones that do and alternate them with the challenging Bb to C. Use the smooth ones as a model to copy by trying to get the Bb to C to match them in ease of emission. Work to make the bad interval slowly begin to approach the good ones in overall sound. If for instance, the Ab to C sounds smoother than the Bb to C, say to yourself "ok, guy (Bb to C), you're going to fall in line and sound just like the Ab to C interval." By setting your goal so concretely and definitely, you will have a narrow and effective target in your ear, breath and fingers to work toward. In music, a very concrete goal and standard beats out a vague and general one every time!
Also, just because your final goal is to smooth out a legato connection doesn't mean that you have to practice the intervals legato all the time. You can articulate them as well to give yourself a different perspective on exactly what the problem is. Is it finger control, breath support or something else. Practicing staccato can sometimes paradoxically clear the way for practicing legato. An example would be those scales in intervals studies in the Baermann III. Many players who find them next to impossible are surprised to learn that after a few weeks of playing them staccato, the fingers suddenly know how to play them legato as well.
Post Edited (2020-07-15 08:17)
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2020-07-15 05:15
Maybe try using a mirror? While playing check and see what your fingers are up to, maybe just one finger not covering a hole or just slightly hitting a wrong key, often from hand tension. I've used a mirror most of my life. Yes the above players also helped with good suggestions.
Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces
Yamaha Artist 2015
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Author: Maruja
Date: 2020-07-15 12:59
Many thanks to all of you for spending so much time to help a clarinettist in distress! Opening up the Bboard this morning has given me much food for thought. One of the things I have been doing is to record these notes on Audible and then to look on the wave pattern to see if there is a break between the 2 notes and how much of one. After several tries, the gap does seem to get smaller.
Maruja
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Author: seabreeze
Date: 2020-07-15 22:23
Kalman Opperman's Modern Daily Studies for Clarinet Book I has some good practice material for equalizing intervals over the break. One of the best music excerpts to practice for this is from Kent Kennan's clarinet transcription of the Sergei Prokofieff Sonata, Op 94 (originally for violin or flute). In movement III, the Andante, (page 13) measures 56-73 are a challenging workout in throat to clarion playing--so much so that the transcriber wrote a footnote for these bars to be played "8va ad lib . . . for players who wish to avoid an extended passage in the break." Of course you would want to perfect that extended passage rather than avoid it! Unfortunately Kennan's transcription seems now to be available only in a rather expensive "print on demand" edition. Larry Combs recorded an excellent performance of the Kennan transcription on CD some years ago that demonstrates the evenness across registers we are all looking for. Listen to Combs play the long series of intervals smoothly here, from timestamp 2:18 to 3:00, approximately measures 56-73.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Sf1so3CfldU.
Post Edited (2020-07-17 21:31)
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The Clarinet Pages
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