 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Whitney
Date: 2002-06-13 03:13
Hello!
This is the first time I've ever posted on here... It's nice to know that there are tons of other clarinet fans out there, heh! :-) To start it all off, I'm a senior in high school, and I'm playing in my local musical this summer, Fiddler on the Roof. I'd like some advice on how to get just the right kinds of sounds, since I'm doing first part. Lately, I've been having a lot of different problems with my tone, and now that I'm going to have to do special kinds of tones, I'm not sure what to do. I play a Normandy 4 clarinet (I want a different one!), use a Fobes mouthpiece, and have Vandoren reeds (in the dark blue box) of sizes 3.5 and 4, as well as a V12 size 3. My director gave me the V12 to try because he thinks my tone is fuzzy... I have played on the 3.5 reed size most of high school, and just recently changed to a 4 for concert contest because of overblowing problems caused by having played Eb clarinet for part of the season.
Also, I'd like to know how to get a dark, rich tone (I don't like really bright tone...) without sounding fuzzy or just plain wrong. Thank you very much for your help!
Thanks again,
Whitney
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Author: Whitney
Date: 2002-06-13 03:22
I forgot to say... I've been having problems with my embouchure since last summer, when i was forced to take several months away from the clarinet due to back surgery (I couldn't do much of anything!). After that, I picked up the Eb for our region band auditions, and started playing Bb regularly again around Christmastime, I suppose. I'd noticed embouchure problems in myself late in every school year for as long as I can recall, but this has just been ridiculous!
And as much as I'd love to sit down with someone and say "fix my sound, I beg of you!" I wouldn't even know where to bein. Still! Any help at all is appreciated. I just have to make do with what I have until I can beg my college-bound music major friend to get me some help! :-)
Whitney
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Author: charles
Date: 2002-06-13 03:38
Hey there Whitney, are you a recriational player? If so where from? I am looking for someone to play with my age around where I live. I have my lesson instructor, but he is so much more superior than me, sometimes I just want to play with someone my age, I am also a senior, but I am now going on to major in clarinet as well as your friend. You may be able to fix embochure problems by simply taking maybe 2 minutes each time you first sit down to practice just placing yourself and holding. Such as making sure mouth is on solid, no leaks and tounge position, high arched back wall, low dip in middle, come up at 90 degrees. The biggest way to cure a problem is to fix it more than once, so always make sure to set before you attack, it wont come into place once you start. For that music the best sound for it, is to mimic the fiddler, so for that, IMO, I would say listen to a recording of it, and really hear the part, then when you sit down, picture the fat guy dancing around in it. Works wonders, haha. But you want the same sound as always out of a clarinet.....beautiful. Hope this helps you some, if not email me and I can try and give you a little more of what I got out of playing that musical.
Charles
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Author: RonD
Date: 2002-06-13 04:15
I suggest you log on to the Klezmorim Forum to get advice for that style of playing. You will find the link at the top portion of the opening page of The Clarinet Bulletin Board. There are some very deticated players for that style.
Good Luck
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Author: susannah
Date: 2002-06-13 12:15
if your sound is fuzzy and you're playing on Vandoren 4's (which are pretty hard), your director is probably right to suggest a softer reed. Try playing around with some other reed strengths to see if they help your tone at all.
For the style of playing, I agree with both the previous posts, ie.asking Klezmer players for help and advice, and listening to a recording of the piece.
Good luck
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Author: David
Date: 2002-06-13 13:19
Go for a blarey, bright Jewish sound. A slightly loose, almost out of control embouchure with some enthusiasm should get you in the right neighbourhood.
Actually, you'll probably find that, sitting in with the rest of the band, the way they play will give you the right feeling.
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Author: Kai
Date: 2002-06-14 02:58
The Clarinetists in my CD of Klezmer Music are simply amazing. How do they actually achieve that particular sound and teachnique of playing which is really quite beautiful! Does anybody play this way?
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Author: Bob
Date: 2002-06-14 15:32
Try a cheap plastic(or metal) horn, a too soft reed , a bad mouthpiece and a loose lips.....should do the trick for an authentic "Fiddler".
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2002-06-14 17:16
Bob wrote:
>
> Try a cheap plastic(or metal) horn, a too soft reed , a
> bad mouthpiece and a loose lips.....should do the trick for an
> authentic "Fiddler".
Tell that to Giora Fiedman ...
And duck when that roundhouse tries to take your head off.
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Author: jez
Date: 2002-06-14 17:19
I wonder if John Denman used that approach in the film version?
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