 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2015-06-07 23:26
You know, long tones are a means of practicing for better sound, but if not done with the correct methodology, they are no better than just getting a new mouthpiece.
A colleague of mine told a student of mine "to push from the gut," and made a huge improvement to that student's production of sound. So I will leave it at that.
What I will add though is that at ALL volume levels, in all registers, you should feel the clarinet vibrate under your fingers. That is the check on whether you are producing a correct, resonant sound.
...............Paul Aviles
Post Edited (2015-06-08 16:23)
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Author: faltpihl ★2017
Date: 2015-06-08 16:36
Paul: I always had a hard time feeling the vibrations in higher registers.
They are very prominent in the lower notes, but clarion and above I don't really feel anything in my hands.
Any thoughts?
Regards
Peter
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2015-06-08 20:03
You ALWAYS need to be feeling the "push" from the gut. First off, what is needed is the ability to have a very VERY steady flow of air. This comes pretty naturally at a double forte when you literally pushing the amount of air you CAN push, to supply the amount of air NEEDED. However, as the dynamic decreases, it is necessary to create this rock steady flow of air. The way to accomplish that is to have your abdominals literally work as hard as double forte ALL THE TIME. What brings the actual volume of air down is the PULL of the diaphragm.
One analogy may be pressing on a soft soap dispenser. You may want less than a full, fast glop of soap. So you press less hard on the top, but to accomplish this the "clarinet way," you'd have to take your other hand to pull back on the active one to get the result you wanted.
So what I'm saying is that the only way to achieve this really smooth action is to have muscles working in opposition.
Also moving from note to note, register to register, dynamic to dynamic (a sforzando for example) the air speed (and amount of air) needs to change quickly. This also can only be done properly with muscular opposition all set up.
I used to go on and on about air pressure. And that's the way it feels (from your core's point of view), but in reality it is only abdominal "STRESS" that is the constant - it is obvious to me now that at pianissimo you are moving a much smaller amount of air than you are at fortissimo.
And yes, you should feel quite a bit of vibration through the altissimo as well (though the vibrations are faster and more faint.....they are there).
...............Paul Aviles
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2015-06-10 07:10
That question is like a child asking why is the sky blue or how high is up. The reason I say this is because there is no eaay or simple answer. There are many reasons why players get the sound they get and a lot of it is natural. Think about singers, even pop singers that have never got any formal training. Some have very nice sounds, for the style they're singing of course. Then with the proper training they can cultivate their natural born sound to be improved. So what I'm telling you is that it starts with you. What you have to offer. Than it becomes a matter of you hearing in your inner ear what you want to sound like other wise you will never know if and when you achieve it.
So, experiment with your embouchure formation, with your tongue position, with the throat opening, relaxing of your throat, your air support, both intake as well as supporting the air on the way out. Good support doesn't mean forcing. And finally of course, experiment with mouthpieces and reeds to find the right combination. The reason for playing long tones, or slow 12th or what ever is to work at doing the things I described. A good teacher guides you in doing these things, shows you what you're doing wrong and how to do it right. Of course different people are built differently so what works for one person may not get the same result as another. Example, different thickness lips, different size tongues etc. So even with a good teacher one has to experiment to find what's best for you. Check my website, I have some ideas.
ESP eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2015-06-10 12:08
Hey Ed,
If we are actually speaking of 'musicianship' which is an elusive quality to be sure, I would agree with you one hundred percent. In many respects the ingredients that make up musical performances are very difficult (or impossible) to put into words let alone replicate. So if "good sound" boils down to what is REALLY important, then I have no difference of opinion.
I do feel (however misguided this may be) that getting a really nice, big, robust, professional TONE on a clarinet can be taught to ANYONE willing to work on the basics as taught to them. I would further say that you can listen all day long to great players in person and in recordings, but you may not necessarily have enough wherewithal to figure out the technical aspects of what is creating this sound that you are hearing.
But then, do we really want a bunch of clarinetists with big beautiful sounds running around who can't phrase worth a damn?
.............Paul Aviles
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2015-06-10 16:42
Paul, I totally agree about the musicianship statement you made. I was only referring to getting a good sound. I didn't mean to imply that a good sound can't be taught by a good teacher, of course it can and is often done. I've done that myself all my life. What I was referring to was that not everyone can get the same sound no matter who your teacher is and what equipment you use. If a teacher was able to teach all their students to sound like them, as in the case of a respected player, they would all sound the same, they don't. One can really, if ever, say a student sounds exactally like their teacher. Perhaps the same concept but that's not the same sound. As I pointed out before, we are all built differently and therefor many of us need to use a different mouthpiece and even do things slightly different to achieve a good sound. A good sound also differs among different players. What one person considers a "good" sound someone else may consider to bright, to dull, to dark etc. I will conclude by saying that in my teaching career I always tried to help find the equipment that gave the student the best tone that they and I looked for. Some players naturally get a brighter or darker sound but want to improve or even change their quality, that was my job as a teacher to help them acheive that. The Russianoff style of teaching. I myself changed mouthpieces and barrels several times in my career in my search for "the perfect" tone, for me, not for anyone else. As I've said, no two singers sound excastly alike, the same is true on any wind instrument.
ESP eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: locke9342
Date: 2015-06-13 05:14
What's everyone favorite form of long tones? Lately I've been doing the robert spring style, where you play 4 notes at a time
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2015-06-13 06:38
As given by Clark Brody:
Sneak into a low "E" from absolutely nothing (do this by having embouchure looser than can produce sound and bring it up until you just catch the note at a pianississimo), now continue to crescendo from there at a very slow count of eight (around quarter=54), each count getting progressively louder until you reach the loudest you can possibly play at 8. From there you count back down, diminuendoing until you are back to a "fade to nothing" at one (or a little more than the one to execute a tapered fade out). So this is a S-L-O-W fifteen count cresc/dimin.
Do this twice on low "E," twice on low "F," twice on "F#," and twice on the low "G." That should be enough to make you feel like you've just run around the block a few times. Great to build breathing, counting, dynamic range, embouchure control, air control - it does it all. Oh, and also serves to "assign" a number to the eight possible dynamic levels you have (per Marcel Tabeteau's discipline of teaching phrasing).
................Paul Aviles
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Author: Tom H
Date: 2015-06-13 08:33
Lots of good advice above. Mine is try different mouthpieces and reeds/reed strengths. Or different clarinets. I use to fool with various ligatures--don't think that matters a whole lot.
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2015-06-14 05:27
Quote:
What I will add though is that at ALL volume levels, in all registers, you should feel the clarinet vibrate under your fingers. That is the check on whether you are producing a correct, resonant sound. Quote:
Paul: I always had a hard time feeling the vibrations in higher registers.
They are very prominent in the lower notes, but clarion and above I don't really feel anything in my hands. Relax. As in very light pressure. Just enough to keep the ring down and create a seal (which really isn't that much pressure). I go for the vibrations as well, however I don't equate it only with air pressure, but I find my culprit is finger tension. To feel the vibrations, your fingers need to be very relaxed. Try playing a scale at a strong forte but really concentrating on finger motion being minimal and relaxed. You'll feel those vibrations stronger. It's likely that as you climb into the altissimo, you're tightening up a bit in the embouchure, and that the rest of your body is tensing up a little as well (including the fingers) which will not allow you to feel those vibrations. Quote:
Sneak into a low "E" from absolutely nothing (do this by having embouchure looser than can produce sound and bring it up until you just catch the note at a pianississimo), now continue to crescendo from there at a very slow count of eight (around quarter=54), each count getting progressively louder until you reach the loudest you can possibly play at 8. From there you count back down, diminuendoing until you are back to a "fade to nothing" at one (or a little more than the one to execute a tapered fade out). So this is a S-L-O-W fifteen count cresc/dimin. Wanna really torture yourself, throw a tuner up there and try to keep yourself from going flat at fff and keep yourself from going sharp at ppp as you taper off! AAARGH!!!!!
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2015-06-14 05:42
Oh, yeah I try NOT to get very detailed about tuning with this exercise (may drive the perfect pitch amongst you crazy). This is all about exploring the extremes of your dynamics. I even have my students "loosen up their embouchures" for the maximum sound to see just how loud they can play.
There are plenty of places in our practice session to get persnickety about pitch. This isn't one of them.
...............Paul Aviles
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Author: Bennett ★2017
Date: 2015-06-14 08:22
Batman advises long tones in the supersonic range - the echo-location helps you find the conductor.
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Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2015-06-14 16:53
Note also that Batman incorporates a significant embouchure adjustment with his recommendation for long tones.
Best regards,
jnk
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