 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: nicole
Date: 2005-10-22 12:47
hi..I'm nicole,and I'm from Malaysia.Im a beginner in blowing clarinet and it is really hard to find a clarinet teacher around here...Im facing some problem(as i have to struggle to learn clarinet myself..) n i hope can get some advice from all...thanks a lot!
1.It seems that i'm facing problem in playing long notes..I cannot play long notes more then 8 beats...what should i do in order to play longer?
2.how to control the embouchure?
n thats all...thanks for any advise...i do appreciate them very much!
[ Post retitled for clarity - GBK ]
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2005-10-22 15:51
Dear Nicole,
Just to get things going I would make sure that there is no leaking out of the sides of the mouth. Any leaked air is air wasted. The embrochure can be thought of as a rubber band that is firm all around the mouthpiece. Once that's done, make sure the reed you use is not too hard. If you find yourself making a considerable effort of embrochure pressure (I don't want to say biting; biting is bad) to keep from just getting a whooshing sound through the horn and no note, find a softer reed (for now).
Use an easy note to get, just play soft and keep counting higher. Try nine or ten at the same tempo.
This is similar to a long tone study I use to this day to get started. Start a low "E" by just blowing delicately and applying embrochure pressure until a note starts (just ever so audible). Once it starts, begin counting at 60 beats per minute or less, crescendoing to the loudest sound you can make in 8 counts.....continue counting back down from 8 to 1 as you diminuendo to nothing again. Repeat this with "F" then "F#" and finally "G." This is quite advanced and beyond where you are now, but once you get it, you can use it for as long as you play clarinet and it will help develop sustained sound and good tone production.
............Paul Aviles
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2005-10-22 16:43
Nicole,
being a beginner myself, here's what's working for me:
1. It seems that i'm facing problem in playing long notes..I cannot play long notes more then 8 beats...what should i do in order to play longer?
Practice, practice, practice. At the beginning, I had tough times keeping the "end-of-a-piece" note for more than three or four seconds. Too much work with thinking of the embouchure (muscles getting tired), breathing, finger pain etc etc.
After a month or two of keeping trying, I'm doing a lot better. Things just take their time. Don't get impatient.
2.how to control the embouchure?
See 1). When you play a loooong note and you change your embouchure you'll see how the sound changes. Right now, your brain is telling your lips/tongue/cheek muscles what to do. After some time, they know it by themselves. It's a bit like learning to bicycle, or when a toddler starts to walk and eventually run - those limbs need to "automate" these movements, without the help of the brain. And these things simply take time.
BTW I'm practicing roughly half an hour per day. Sometimes more, sometimes less.
--
Ben
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