 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Nick
Date: 2002-12-26 16:15
Hey, everyone.
I started playing clarinet about 6 months ago, and I've been coming along really well, but for the time I've been playing I notice I still have trouble getting over the first 'break'. I can play through all the registers--even lower altissimo--just fine, but when it comes to moving from a note in the chalumeau to the B, C, or C# in the next register, I find that I really have to force that note out. Sometimes it doesn't come out at all, and sometimes it makes that awful rough noise that you hear with saxophones.
I'm wondering if it's me, or if it's the instrument. My little brother always tells me that I have the hardest clarinet he's ever played on--he plays saxophone (yeah, I know), but he's tried his friends' clarinets and they seem easy to play. I hear him sometimes playing on my clarinet, and he's really struggling to make any sound at all.
The instrument has a lot of sticking keys, swollen pads, and two huge cracks in the topjoint. Is that the problem? I am getting a replacement joint in a few weeks.
If this is an embouchure problem, can anyone suggest some techniques I can use to strengthen my embouchure? (I already practice with double-lip for about 10 minutes a day)
Thank you, and Merry Christmas!
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Author: ed
Date: 2002-12-26 16:28
"The instrument has a lot of sticking keys, swollen pads, and two huge cracks in the topjoint. Is that the problem? I am getting a replacement joint in a few weeks."
I think this says it all. Get your instrument to a really good repair person as soon as possible.
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Author: David Pegel
Date: 2002-12-26 16:52
Nick, you say six months of playing? Then it's probably both you and the instrument. It takes a bit of practice, experimenting, and <i>patience</i> to cross that break without ease. I was playing for year before I learned how to do it without hardly any effort.
Just keep at it. You'll get there eventually.
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Author: Robert Small
Date: 2002-12-26 17:03
If the instrument has adjustment problems like leaks the best player in the world won't be able to cross the break. Get the instrument into the shop. Then you'll know if it's you or the horn.
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Author: Willie
Date: 2002-12-26 19:30
You did say your clarinet needs some work, but try this. Play F (top line on the staff) down to middle staff B slowly. If you can do this then it may be you just haven't got your fingers down right when going up over the break from the lower notes. Takes some practice, Slowly. As David said though, it may be a combination of you AND the clarinet. A small leak can cause middle staff B (and C) hard to play.
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Author: Mark Pinner
Date: 2002-12-26 21:29
If it has swollen pads and cracks then I think you have given your own answer.
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Author: Nick
Date: 2002-12-26 21:34
Thank you for the suggestions, everyone.
I'm getting the instrument looked at and repaired next week, and I'll see where I have to go from there!
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Author: Hans
Date: 2002-12-27 14:36
Your earlier replies have identified the most likely sources of the problem. I would add one more: check to make sure that the middle joint's bridge is adjusted properly so that no pads are prevented from closing. A very slight adjustment here can make a big difference. You will still need to get the repairs mentioned earlier in any case. You could also try a clarinet known to be easy to play to make sure that it is not just you.
Hans
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Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 2002-12-27 15:50
Nick -
You say you can play the second register OK, so the instrument is working at least a little. Crossing over the break going up is always a little difficult to learn, since it involves moving several fingers together.
The solution is a great exercise from Dee Hayes Flint. Start bycrossing the break going down, which is easy. That is, play third space C, then third line B, and then throat A, moving only your left thumb and index finger. Keep all the other fingers down.
With your left index finger, don't roll it too much. Lift it jsut off the hole and just nudge the A key. With your left thumb, lift it off the thumb hole and register key a tiny amount. Your goal is to make the movements almost invisible.
When you can get from B to A smoothly, play C, B, A, B, going back up to the B, once again moving only your left thumb and index finger.
Getting the pads tight will help a lot, too.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Anonymous
Date: 2002-12-28 16:25
Start on first finger B-flat and begin descending to F. After this play the twelfth above each of the low notes. (E-B, F-C, G-D, A-E, B-F#, and B-flat-F) Do this slowly at first. Do not expect yourself to play the high note right away. This might be incorrect, but it is one of the methods of playing the clarion register.
Good luck and Happy New Year.
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