 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: welshwoodwind
Date: 2007-05-14 12:21
Can someone please tell me how to execute a clarinet portamento. I would really like to start playing jazz and would love to be able to do a portamento!
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Author: skygardener
Date: 2007-05-14 12:42
start from 'bending' excercises. play high clarion C and bend down to B and go back. then B to Bb. etc.........
after a while you can play with it more but this can help.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2007-05-14 12:52
It's pretty much like whistling a note and dropping/raising the pitch - use the muscles in your tongue and throat to do the gliss.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: ZCClarinet
Date: 2007-05-14 14:01
(I'm just a student, so most of my advice, while I figured it out and it works for me, may not apply the same way to you)
After you get the whole pitch bending with your airstream, work on the concept of using your fingers to get the same effect. For example, holding the G above the staff, slowly sweep your ring finger off the hole (so that from completely covering it, you're only covering 3/4ths of it, then only half, then only a quarter, then all the way off). With some minor help from the first technique (adjusting your air stream very slightly) the effect should be the same but should have pretty good control over it based on how far off your finger is, and have minimal effects on airstream.
The mix of both of these techniques is a pretty good way to "bend" (portamento) from any pitch on the instrument to any other. Trouble spots are the standard "breaks" between registers, which just require you to depend more on adjusting pitch with airstream since you can't really rely on your fingers.
I note using the phrase "airstream" is rather vague, but the more you focus on adjusting what's going on inside your mouth rather than physically distorting your embouchure, the better. Sometimes you do have to let your embouchure go to get the sound you need, but first understand you don't have to depend entirely on adjusting the physical pressure on the reed to get around most of your range.
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Author: butterflymusic
Date: 2007-05-15 05:37
There's lots of threads here on the topic, having recently researched it myself in preparation for Rhapsody in Blue. Do a search on 'rhapsody in blue' or 'portamento' and you should get some very good information.
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