 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: nahya^^
Date: 2002-08-25 20:34
should i not even practice fingerings or anything until i get a teacher? which is after the school starts.
i could wait about a week. i just don't want to not practice when i should.
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Author: nahya^^
Date: 2002-08-25 20:36
cause everyone wants me to join the band on the 2nd semester. (no reply needed on this statement )
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Author: jez
Date: 2002-08-25 20:53
nahya^^
If I were you, I'd learn as many fingerings as I could. There are good charts available on this site. I'd experiment with blowing a bit, but be careful, if you get used to bad habits, it can take a long time to get out of them. A good teacher will make sure you get used to the right ways from the beginning, which speeds things up and prevents you having to 'unlearn' mistakes.
However it seems churlish to try to curb such enthusiasm and I've known very good players who were self-taught.
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Author: RonD
Date: 2002-08-25 21:15
Do whatever you want. I dont think you will pick up any lifetime bad habits in just one week. After you have lessons you can judge for yourself the difference between the proper way and what ever technique you teach yourself. By the way you might just pick up the correct techniques all by yourself.
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Author: ron b
Date: 2002-08-25 22:15
A week or two is a verrrrry short time indeed.
In my personal experience and observations, I've lately encouraged newcomers to blow all they want... good notes, bad notes, crazy sounds, funny sounds, annoying sounds - try out all the buttons and levers and things. The interesting thing about it, RonD... is that IMO you're correct. More than half the students I've kept in touch with developed a fairly good sound all by themselves. Some of their teachers have been surprised and happy that their students had such a good head start. I think the only 'secret' is that they weren't timid or intimidated by any "mysteries" surrounding the playing of musical instruments. Their teachers and lessons (proper embouchure, fingerings and how to count, etc.), were a normal extension of their inate abilities.
I never thought for one moment, Nahya, from your first posting here, that you, would be intimidated by a musical instrument... or anything else....
Happy tootin' :]]]
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Author: jackorion
Date: 2002-08-26 00:43
Fingerings are only half of it. You could waite a very long time before you started in on them. For now practice your loooooong tones. Try to keep the note steady, if you have a tuner use it, it will show you just how much a note can wobble. Good luck.
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Author: RA
Date: 2002-08-26 01:39
If you are a brand new beginner, I would recommend taking the plastic off of your instrument before your first lesson. Major time savor. I would what I would say may get me into trouble. I cannot say that I can teach, however I can say that I would practice assembling your clarinet and if you do want to try and practice, blow softly. Tryto get the very first note out which is an open g. PUt your lipfs on the mouthpiece almsot if it were sucking aosur lemon in your mouth, and see if you have enough air.
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Author: terry
Date: 2002-08-26 03:30
I am very sorry that you have been exposed to the
self-important bitchiness that can feed on itself.
Go ahead. Start practicing, long notes are a
great start...
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2002-08-26 03:31
I think Nahya needs some guidance. She has already had a bent bridge key, probably from assembling the clarinet inappropriately. Next it will be a wrecked register pad, or top side key pad......
Now the topic is "practice". Unless you have SOME guidance do you know whether you are practicing how to do things right or wrong? Every time you play something wrong (especially inappropriate embouchure) you are probably going to have to spend 10 times as long UNDOING the practice of doing it wrong!
A forum may never pick up and correct poor practices which a live instructor can deal with in seconds.
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Author: JMcAulay
Date: 2002-08-26 06:49
Hey, nahya^^, here's another time when everyone is right. Gordon (NZ) is telling you that you must first learn your instrument so you can take good care of it, so if you're really going to put it together, look at the mechanism first and then do it slooowly and carefully. As you have discovered, it is not difficult to damage some Clarinets in the assembly process. But one way to help avoid this is to put your left fingers down while you are putting the main joints together, and do *not* depress the right joint's rings. Doing this will almost surely keep you from bending the bridge mechanism. Beyond that, if you do play the thing before a teacher tells you how, you might have to unlearn things that you teach yourself. So I suggest that you don't really try to "practice," just play. Make some notes. As others suggest, it is not likely that you will be stuck with a lifelong bad habit because you did anything for a couple of weeks.
Playing, or trying to play? Well, the best way to get an idea of what a Clarinet embouchure should look like is simply to watch a good player blow into a clarinet or even just the mouthpiece. There are almost as many embouchure suggestions as there are teachers. Single lip, double lip, force a big overbite, don't force a big overbite... good heavens, even less than a hundred years ago, there were still some professional players who stuck the mouthpieces in their mouths with their reeds *UP*. Just about no one does that nowadays. The lower lip goes over the teeth, and the upper goes either over the teeth or not. Please don't look like Dizzy Gillespie, with your cheeks puffed out like a Blowfish. That might come in handy someday, if you learn circular breathing, but not now. First, learn good habits. Learn when and how to break them much later.
So, it's up to you. If you just plain can't wait, well, try it out... but with the realization that you might be doing something that your instructor will want you to change. Oh, yes... the left hand goes above the right hand. And while most will suggest starting with the open G (no fingers down at all), I agree with those who suggest making your first note an E, with left thumb on its hole and depressing the ring (but not the register key) and also the left index finger on its hole and depressing its ring. When you can produce a reasonable-sounding long tone there, try some other fingerings, starting primarily with the left hand's fingers. But before you play... Moisten the reed thoroughly with saliva (stick the skinny end in your mouth for a while) before mounting it. When you fasten the reed, there should be a very fine black line barely showing (the tip of the mouthpiece) just above the reed tip when you look directly at the upper surface of the reed. Tighten the ligature, being sure the reed is well-centered.
Good luck, and let us know what's going on.
Regards,
John
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Author: nahya^^
Date: 2002-08-26 18:57
k. thanks guys. i'll try to be aware that i may pick up some bad habits and stuff.
i guess i should stop practicing cause by the beginning of shcool, i'd be 'practicing' for a month and i don't want to pick up any bad habits.
P.S.: Gordon (NZ), I am he; he that I am... i don't know where you got an idea that i was a she but.. i am he; he that says that he is i that is he.
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2002-08-26 22:34
OK, "he". Sorry!
There can be few insturments as critical as a flute for 'right' embouchure. While teaching hundreds of beginner flute players I noticed that if they had a go themselves for a week before they received guidance, it could often take months before that early damage was done. I don't think that applies anywhere near as much for clarinet, which is much more forgiving of embouchure.
JMcAulay mentioned "... put your left fingers down while you are putting the main joints together..."
This may be OK if the tenon joint is an unusually loose fit, but I have found that for most players this method is not appropriate.
1. It is totally unnecessary to lift the upper part of the bridge key.
2. It is very difficult to get a firm grip on the clarinet in this area.
3. To get a decent grip on the instrument in this area AND keep the A/D key down means exerting great pressure on the key's pad, which hastens its demise.
4. For the majority of joints, which are quite firm, and the majority of hands, which have limited strength, the method is close to impossible to implement.
I recommend grasping the instrument firmly in the vicinity of the register vent & top side key. If one places ones hand in a well thought-out appropriate position these two keys are straddled by areas of little hand pressure, e.g. 'bridged' by the knuckle joints, and no excessive pressure is exerted on these keys. Experiment with this position until you find it.
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