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RE: low throat tones sharp F

Author: reece
Date: 2002-06-19 22:24

I can definitely see where these replies are coming from. These will definitely help the problem. However, there might be a much different problem with your playing. It sounds like you are at an advanced level if not a professional by the words you write with, but I wonder if you might want to step back a while and examine your air support. Have you ever read the Ridenour Clarinet teaching manual?
I recently read it and it changed my life. I had always been very successful in my playing, but I could never get to that next level. The book helped me to realize that I was biting the mouthpiece, as several of us do. After realizing this (and you understand that even the slightest extra pressure can be detrimental) it opened up a whole new wold.
I couldn't figure it out at first. How was I supposed to even get a sound out without that pressure? Well, the key lies in the concept of compressed air. Now, after several months of playing long tones for hours a day, I am beginning to understand just how important this "compressed" air can be. And, as Ridenour suggests in the book, this kind of blowing is definitely not what comes natural to a clarinetist...it has to be learned. Anyway, to make a short story long, I notice that on my own clarinet, the throat tones are low and the f is sharp, and the rest in well in tune, that is, when I play without compressed air. I might be way off the mark with you in particular, but I am absolutely convinced that most of our clarinets play amazingly well in tune when we use the right air.

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