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Re: Support

Author: Liquorice
Date: 2005-05-22 22:56

I've waited a while before responding to this post, because I had to think long and hard about what Tony was saying. At first it ddn't really make sense to me, but after some attempts at the various things that he is describing, I realise that it is in fact EXACTLY what I am doing. I've never fully understood the anatomy of the opposition between diaphragm and abdominal muscles, although I did have a sense that that is in fact what is going on. Thank you Tony for giving an explanation of "blowing the clarinet" that for me finally makes sense.

I would like to add something to this discussion. Many people seem to advise "blowing a lot of air through the instrument". In my experience this idea is misguided.

The amount of air that you blow through the instrument has an effect on the type of sound that you wish to produce. If you blow as much as possible, eg. as if you were blowing out a candle, you produce a very "thin" sound. I find that the fullest, richest sound comes when you blow as little air into the instrument for the required dynamic, combined with substantial support form the abdominal muscles. This seems to allow the sound to resonate more. You should choose the type of blowing according to the type of sound that you want to produce in the context of the music. To simply say "blow more air into the instrument" can easily make a student produce the wrong kind of sound.

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Tony Pay

2005-05-21 14:58