Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2009-01-06 12:35
The simple answer to your main question is - No, it shouldn't be so hard or taxing, even at the very beginning.
You don't really say whether the sound that results from all your effort is a full, free tone or a thin, quiet one, or a fuzzy, airy one. The problem is almost certainly _in part_ with the equipment you're playing, but it could be a leaky clarinet, a mouthpiece with a damaged facing or table (the part the reed sits against) or just reeds that don't work well with the mouthpiece you're using.
What did your teacher say about all of this? The topic must have come up during those lessons over 15 weeks. He/she would have had the best chance of judging what might be wrong by hearing the sound you are producing.
Exhaling before taking in a new breath is more or less normal technique in situations where there is time for it. If you only top off the air in your lungs with quick, short breaths you quickly have little but oxygen-depleted air in your lungs, which can predictably lead to feelings of breathlessness and eventually fatigue (think how you'd feel under water or just "holding your breath" after a half-minute or so even with a lungful of air). Leaving aside the question of resistance for a minute, are you breathing in very often while you play, even if you still have air left? Before they're taught to articulate with the tongue, a lot of beginners separate notes by stopping the air and taking very short breaths between notes. Could there be some vestige of this left in your playing even though you no doubt know how to articulate correctly? Obviously, this wouldn't explain a problem with long tones, but breathing too often without using the air up (expelling the depleted air) might in some way be involved in your overall discomfort.
Another thing that can cause you to "bottle up" all the air and not use it up in playing a phrase might be that you're pinching the reed off and the air just isn't going through. That's one thing that can be heard in the sound you're producing, but unless you're able to listen objectively enough while you're struggling so much, it may be hard for you to judge whether or not this is part of the problem. Again, a mismatch of reed and mouthpiece or a distorted facing could encourage this, and it might take more experienced ears to sort out the problem.
A teacher would be your best bet. I'd disagree to an extent with sfalexi - you should be looking for a professional teacher who plays the clarinet well. It doesn't need to be a university professor, and I don't know if a "hot shot symphonic player" (given what "hot shot" implies) would take on a beginner in any case. But there should be many teachers in your area who can help with these kinds of problems, and many of them will be flexible about accommodating lesson schedules to your work schedule.
Good luck. It is definitely not as hard to produce a sound as you've experienced, and helping you make it easier shouldn't be a mystery for someone who knows what he/she's doing and can hear what's coming out of your clarinet.
Karl
|
|
The Clarinet BBoard
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
