Author: latb
Date: 2009-01-06 04:47
I have a newbie question, trying to get some advice on how to overcome a brick wall that I hit when I took up the clarinet.
It was more or less on a whim that I bought a cheap plastic clarinet (an old Buffet B12) a couple of years back, "just to try". I'm really playing classical guitar and a bit piano. Well, I tried and immediately got hooked on the sound of the clarinet, and in general playing a "melody" instrument. I love the sustained notes and the espressivo of the clarinet, so much richer than playing the piano or guitar!
I actually started to take lessons, initially, for maybe 15 weeks, which however I stopped with too much job-related travel etc.
Also, I always found playing (or rather, producing the sound, I have less problems with the fingering) difficult, and in particular physically challenging! I think I learned the basics of how to provide air support etc, and I think I have some idea how to form the embouchure.
But I find myself to always having *too much* air, getting out of breath because I can't get rid of air through the clarinet (so at the end of a phrase I have to breath out *a lot* before breathing in again).
Even simple and short pieces make me breathless and powered-out. After the last week of daily "long tone" exercises I literally feel the muscles around my chest ache!
Now, my question is, how hard *should* it be to blow the clarinet, how much resistance is expected? Is this just how it is supposed to be, at least initially, and I just have to practice more and/or get used to it?
Or could it be that there's something wrong with my instrument? I never had a chance to try another clarinet, although I tried different reed strengths and even bought a new mouthpiece, a Vandoren B45-dot. I get a decent "large" tone using a Vandoren 2 1/2, and a much nicer tone with a 3, but my embouchure is not strong enough really to support a 3 or 3 1/2 yet.
But the breathing resistance is the killer for me. At some point I even rented a Tenor Sax to find out if that worked better, and indeed, it was so much easier to get a good strong tone -- but a veto from my family who hated the sound of it stopped that -- they love to hear the clarinet though!
Anyway, after a few months I just gave up, for a year or so, until recently. But I'm still hooked on the clarinet and so I gave it another try over the last weeks.
I'm writing this to find out and decide if I should finally give up and return to the polyphonic solitude of my guitar and piano, or if people think there is a chance to get beyond this. Should I consider getting another/better clarinet (which I certainly would, if I had reasonable assurance to get over this pain)? Or should I just invest the time of a few painful weeks of daily "long tone" exercises and it will all work out? Or is playing the clarinet really just a physical pain in the neck (lungs?) and wimps like me should stay away from the instrument?
As you can tell, I'd really love to give it another try, but will I have a chance to succeed?
Please help!
Thanks and best regards, LatB
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The Clarinet BBoard
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