 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Ashley91489
Date: 2009-01-01 04:19
G and Ab and particularly flat. What can I do to help improve this? C to E are a bit on the sharp side but from there on, they go very flat.
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2009-01-01 05:16
depends the fingerings you use, your clarinet, mouthpiece, player, etc.
Do you use the "regular" (regular to me at least) G fingering: R T o x o x x o If you do, do you add the G#/D# key? It is necessary for the G. It also helps all/most flat altisimo notes. For some notes like F and especially F# with: R T o x x o o o C#/G# for F and R T o x o o o o for F# (sometimes to other notes too like E maybe) I add the B/F# banana trill key (if it is not too fast). Try other fingerings too, there are many.
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2009-01-01 18:14
Ashley, there are many reasons for this happening. Don't you study with someone? They should be able to identify your problem. It could be your choice of fingerings. Clarinbass gave you some good options, especially using the "banana" key for the F# and almost always using the pinky g#-d# key when playing anything above the C#. The G fingering he gave you is almost always the sharpest G fingering there is, it's the first most people learn but really should only be used in fast passages, there are so many better G fingerings to use for that note. There are also several better fingerings for the high G#. There are many fingering charts available.
It could also be your mouthpiece, your clarinet, using too soft a reed, fingerings or not voicing properly. Let us know what you use as far as clarinet, mouthpiece fingerings you're using and the strength reeds you use and I'll try to recommend something to help you. ESP www.peabody.jhu.edu/457
Listen to a little Mozart, live performance.
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Author: Ashley91489
Date: 2009-01-02 01:05
I'm currently using a R-13 w/ Vandoren M30, Optimum lig, and V12 3.5 reeds. Generally I use the standard fingerings but I do add the sliver key to help improve intonation. And yes, I am currently studying with someone but I'm on break right now so I thought I'd ask here for now until I get back.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2009-01-02 01:29
Is this a new problem? Or one you and your teacher have already worked on solving?
The most likely cause for those notes to be badly flat is too light a reed. Or maybe you're taking too little reed into your mouth. But you may not want to just plunk a harder reed on your mouthpiece - whatever you're using still has to be responsive and full sounding over the rest of the instrument. An M30 has a fairly open tip (by American standards), so a #4 V12 may or may not vibrate well on it (I don't have experience with anything so open).
Karl
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Author: vials
Date: 2009-01-02 17:56
quote:
"An M30 has a fairly open tip (by American standards), so a #4 V12 may or may not vibrate well on it (I don't have experience with anything so open)."
I'm not sure what the exact tip opening is, but to me it certainly doesn't feel very open. I play on an M30, and use #4.5 V12. Sometimes I use #4, but especially during winter season my reeds tend to feel softer, and here in Sweden the winters are looooong (or at least the cold, dry weather), so #4.5 often works best for me.
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Author: NBeaty
Date: 2009-01-02 18:09
The M30 can be played very easily, and very well with v12 3 1\2 strength reeds. It is very open with a very long facing, providing less resistance than other mouthpieces of similar tip openings.
It can be played with a very wide range of reed strengths though, as has been mentioned, depending on embouchure style, music demands, climate, and desired sound.
An m30 is a very flexible mouthpiece though, and to me is not appropriate for many young players. To me, it can cause a player to do weird things with their embouchure\tongue position to compensate.
The upper register notes with a loose embouchure or low tongue position can vary the pitch much more than with a more closed\short facing mouthpiece.
Just my two cents...
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Author: kdk
Date: 2009-01-02 23:27
The tip opening is apparently 115 (1.15 mm). However. as NBeaty says in the next post, the curve is described as "long." The longer the curve, the less resistant it is, so the mouthpiece resistance is a balance among the curve length, the tip opening and a few other internal dimensions. I don't know what "long" means, so I have no good idea of how much the length may compensate for the tip opening. I guess, if you're comfortable with V12 4-1/2 reeds on it, that the overall resistance of the mouthpiece may not be what I had imagined. I've never played on an M30.
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2009-01-03 02:51
Well it could be the reed, a stronger may make it easier but may also make everything else more difficult. I'd guess, without hearing and seeing you, that you are either not using enough embouchure support, or your tongue position is too low in back by your molars, maybe even in front depending on the size of your tongue. Try raising the back of your tongue first in combination with a firmer, not biting, embouchure. More upper lip support as well as around the sides and bottom. Don't get to tight though, there's a happy combination of support for every person. Good luck, ESP
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Author: Tony Beck
Date: 2009-01-03 03:55
One of the issues with long facings is that intonation doesn't lock in. They are great for jazz and klezmer, where you want to bend notes all over the place, but where intonation is a consideration, shorter facings often solve a lot of problems.
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Author: Bassie
Date: 2009-01-05 10:40
Once you get above 'E' everyone's instrument is different. Fortunately there are numerous fingerings to choose from... you just have to pick the right combination for your playing style!
The Eb/Ab key generally makes things sharper, and is usually essential for the 'E'. Other keys in that cluster can also help: one I picked up on this site is the C/F key for 'A' with the 'E' fingering. For 'G' I favour the first finger of each hand.
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