 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: JerryForsyth
Date: 2011-11-12 14:11
I just began the clarinet in July of 2010. I have no teacher as there are none in my area. But I have enjoyed learning off of the net and have made good progress.
One technique I have been unable to learn is tonguing. I must admit to not having put in the time I probably need to on it. But I just feel I am doing it wrong as when I place the tip of my tongue on the bottom of the reed I invariably end up with a drop of saliva getting between the reed and the rails and there goes the sound. How do you guys tongue and keep your reed dry?
I read some suggestions in another thread and found them very helpful and I am looking for other practice ideas. I am playing a Buffet B12 with a Zinner/Eddie Daniels Santa Fe mouthpiece. I use a #3 Rico Royal reed. It probably does not matter but I am 64 years old. Thank you for your help.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2011-11-12 14:57
While playing you DO want your reed to be damp (this can't really be avoided in your mouth anyway).
The most important point to know, is that the term ATTACK refers to the sound of a sudden starting of the note...... the SOUND, not an actual assault on the reed.
The sound is produced when your tongue LEAVES the reed. So you begin by having your tongue ON the reed with your lungs full of air and the air in your mouth just ready to escape (think of the tongue on the reed as a closed valve). Then you release the tongue from the reed (open the valve) and you'll get a "TAHH" or "THaaah" ("thah" is ok while first learning).
Your tongue should be pointed so that only the thinnest point you can create is touching the reed. Where you touch the reed varies. I would say most players place the tip of the tongue just under the edge (somewhere an 1/8 of an inch down or so). Others can actually feel the edge of the reed and the mouthpiece (literally the very tip). This stance has always 'tickled' or irritated my tongue so I don't personally recommend it.
The other half of the equation is STOPPING the note. This happens naturally with a fast succession of notes because it is actually the tongue coming back to the reed that 'stops' the note (but again, just think of PLACING the tongue back onto the reed).
In a long note the 'stopping' comes from the abdominal muscles. You can try this without a clarinet in your mouth. Take a full breath and just let out short packets of air at a time WITHOUT STOPPING THE FLOW OF AIR WITH THE BACK OF YOUR TONGUE. Doing it correctly, you'll feel the tension throughout your abdomen. The bottom line is that on any note that ends a phrase, you want it to sound with a natural decay instead of 'UT.'
.......................Paul Aviles
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2011-11-12 17:01
Jerry -
You really need a teacher who can see and hear what you're doing. Is there a college with a music department near where you live? If not, call up your local Board of Education and get contacts for school band directors. Call some of them and find out which ones are clarinetists.
In the meantime, you might try the exercise I described at http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=1&i=359995&t=359995.
Ken Shaw
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Author: JerryForsyth
Date: 2011-11-12 17:11
Guys,
Thank you very much. I will give your suggestions a good go. I fear there are no colleges closer than 75-miles from me and only one high school whose music department is probably a kazoo and two spoons. I did call the high school and they gave me the name of an old band director who had retired. I found him but he had moved away when he retired.
Actually, now that I have gotten used to it I kinda like teaching myself and learning by listening and imitating into a tape recorder. I'm sure it is slower this way but I have four hours a day to play with it and I do not want it to become work. I want to just play and enjoy it. And I really do enjoy it. My tone may never rival that of Martin Frost but the smile I get when I play already does.
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2011-11-12 17:26
I'm assuming by the "bottom" of the reed you mean the tip (the thin end). Most players contact the surface of the reed, not the space between the reed tip and the mouthpiece tip rail. I'm not sure from your description where your contact point is on the reed.
In any event, (without intending to be snide in any way) the best way to keep a drop of saliva from getting between the reed and the rails is for the drop not to be on your tongue in the first place. Your tongue will always be moist, but it shouldn't have saliva accumulation that can be deposited on the reed.
Karl
Post Edited (2011-11-13 01:50)
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2011-11-13 17:01
Check my website for an article on articulation and see if it helps you but you should find a teacher even if you have to travel every couple of weeks for a lesson. ESP eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: Person4me2
Date: 2011-11-13 18:29
Its indeed pretty simple. When you want to tongue, while keeping your reed dry, just touch your tongue at the back of your teeth. Meaning, when ever you need to take a breath, instead of stopping and breathing, just take your tongue touch it at the top, back of your teeth. That way you can catch a quick breath and your reed wont get wet. If you have any further question, just post it up on here.
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Author: JerryForsyth
Date: 2011-11-14 10:15
Well this has been a huge help. It appears my basic error was in starting the tongue practice with my tongue off of the reed. So I was sounding, stopping, then sounding. Now I practice by starting with the tongue on the tip of the rid, then sounding. This makes the whole process much more logical than what I was doing. I'll be doing the flight of the bumblebee in no time. Thank you all so very much.
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2011-11-14 18:27
JerryForsyth wrote:
> I'll be doing the flight of the bumblebee in no time.
> Thank you all so very much.
Which, incidentally, is in the running for the most difficult clarinet piece....
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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