The Clarinet BBoard

The Clarinet BBoard The C4 standard

New Topic | Go to Top | Go to Topic | Search | Help/Rules | Smileys/Notes | Log In

Previous Message | Next Message

Re: Support

Author: Tony Pay ★2017
Date: 2007-02-24 07:50

James wrote:

> Have you read the "Support" article offered by Tony Pay in the
> keepers bulletin board?

:-)

> I believe that you cannot "support" with the diaphragm: the
> diaphragm is a muscle that pulls air INTO the lung cavity. It
> cannot push air out.

No, you CAN support with the diaphragm -- it's just that there are two senses of the word 'support', and the second sense is being used when we talk about the action of the diaphragm in clarinet playing. (The fact that there are two senses has been responsible for much confusion over the years.)

The diaphragm 'supports' the blowing action of the abdominal muscles in the same sense that the chair supports the downward action of your weight when you sit in it. In both cases the supporting action OPPOSES the primary action.

This means that when you play with support, you are in fact 'playing quieter than you are blowing', because of the opposition of the diaphragm to the abdominal muscles.

The advantage of the technique is that you have more precise control and faster response at your disposal.

The wrinkle in the explanation, and why the subject is so controversial, is the rarely-appreciated fact that we can't FEEL our diaphragm in the same way that we can feel our abdominal muscles. But we can learn to use it.

The clearest way to get an idea of the situation is to perform what I call the 'magic diminuendo'. That's explained in the thread that James referenced above; there are some other aspects of the technique discussed there too.

James further wrote:

> There are many different paths to success... and this is a good topic to
> disagree about...

There are many different ways to talk about the experience of playing. However, I believe that it's important to understand the basic facts behind those ways of talking; and I've tried in the thread, and here, to outline those.

Tony

Reply To Message | Avail. Forums | Flat View

Newer Topic | Older Topic

Topics