 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Garth Libre
Date: 2020-01-08 21:37
I've made recordings of my playing and one thing I've noticed is a subtle pitch drop at the end of the last note in any phrase. I've tried stopping the last note with my tongue but that sounds a bit abrupt, and when I lessen the air in a natural decrease of volume as sounds aesthetic I can't keep the pitch from dropping. What's the solution?
Garth, 305-981-4705. garthlibre@yahoo.com
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2020-01-08 23:41
That sounds slightly atypical to me. I suspect that maybe you are "ending" the sound by releasing your embouchure. Air should stop from your mid-section. That is, there is an equal opposing force between your abdominal muscles pushing air out, and your diaphragm sucking air in.
Maybe try this with the clarinet on its stand. Sit there and take a deep breath. Now expel a brief puff at a time with pauses in between ("Huh"........"Huh"........Huh") until that tank of air is depleted. During the pauses you should feel that firmness in you gut as if you were doing crunches (that's the oppositional forces at work).
Once you get that, try that on the clarinet. The ends of the "Huhs" should be nicely, natural sounding tapers.
Why I think your issue sounds backwards is that folks that have the note ending down pretty good will often throw in tightening of the embouchure at the end.......causing a rise in pitch.
Don't do that either.
...................Paul Aviles
Post Edited (2020-01-09 02:25)
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Author: Ken Lagace
Date: 2020-01-09 17:25
Stopping a sound with the air loses pitch and sound quality. Keep the air speed and increase embouchure pressure the proper amount watching a tuner. Listen to Wrights exquisite diminuendos.
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Author: Ken Lagace
Date: 2020-01-09 20:53
When it is sound is down to nothing, stop the air. I demonstrate to students by pulling out the mouthpiece when there is no sound and there is a puff of air like a steam engine hiss. Some players do it that way and others may do it another way - doesn't matter. What matters is the sound color doesn't change and the pitch doesn't change. My way works for me.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2020-01-09 22:36
So.............
When you're playing a fortissimo note that diminuendos........what is the action that you are taking to get it there?
.............Paul Aviles
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Author: Ken Lagace
Date: 2020-01-10 01:22
Closing the embouchure down. Keith Stein describes this technique in "The Art of Clarinet Playing" p. 19. As the air quantity is diminishing, the air pressure is increasing.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2020-01-10 05:31
I do readily admit there is a bit of a tight rope walk between pushing air (or not) and embouchure modulation when it comes to the dynamic range. This is best practiced in a long tone exercise moving from one extreme to the other (so that we can fully appreciate just exactly what we have to do at both ends and everything in between).
BUT...........
If you take the example of an isolated marcato, say on the down beat of each measure. You want the sound to be forceful and abrupt, but with a taper.......sounding more like a pizzacato on a double bass. For me, using the tightening of the embouchure would be too slow to execute this and get the right sound. This is why I would advocate for a quick pocket of air producing a "HUH" or "HAH" effect.
I recall liking Keith Stein's book (he's a good mid-western boy), but I agree to disagree with page 19.
.................Paul Aviles
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Author: Ken Lagace
Date: 2020-01-10 07:07
Of course Paul, On a long note you play one way and on a short....etc. etc.
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2020-01-11 05:04
To suggest a completely different direction, I find that some reeds on some mouthpieces are harder to keep in tune when you stop your air column to end a note. If you have a quality mouthpiece you may be using too soft a reed. What are you playing on?
Karl
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