 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Garth Libre
Date: 2012-03-09 23:18
Yesterday I was very discouraged with my playing. I don't really have the right to be, because as I remember I naturally caught on to a fairly fluid technique about forty years ago when I quit to pursue a career in classical dance. (My other love). Yesterday I was suffering with repetitive annoying squeaks, grunts and tonguing that sounded like a small horse braying. Today while I was at work I kept thinking about the things I have been fortunate enough to read on this board, (Pino's clarinet book has yet to arrive). I kept thinking about the rubber band embouchure, not biting, lifting the instrument into the embouchure, light tonguing and steady breath. When I picked up the instrument this evening I found that the C just above the staff sounded good and in tune. Then I tried the C above the break and the open G and these long tones all sounded miles better than the previous day.
I found that I could play the first few bars of any exercise without a wavering pitch and a single squeak or grunt. I was focusing on surrounding the mouthpiece more from the side than the top or bottom. When I took a breath, I found I needed a small rest to re-set my embrasure and re-focus my intention and if I did the rest of the bars followed nicely, with high notes sounding rather warm and unwavering and speaking easily. It was amazing. The more I relaxed the bite and thought of rubber banding the lips the cleaner it sounded, the more open the throat tones seemed and the grunts were all but completely gone from the day before.
Then I started to think about changing my tonguing which the prior day sounded like a trombone was playing a grace note before each of my clarinet tones. I must have tried a dozen different versions of fast and slow tonguing some making the instrument sound a bit like an oboe and some not sounding like music at all. I kept thinking to try not to feel the tongue against the reed and then suddenly a series a sweet fast stacatto notes came from ME! I stumbled upon something that felt that the tongue never was touching the reed at all but instead bouncing against the roof of mouth just in front of the reed tip. It was clean and the pitch never varied and I could reproduce it over and over. I only hope that tomorrow I can pick up the horn and do it again.
I have to thank the people on this board for the help they have given me. My brother is no longer on this planet to help me, and yet the memory of his refined alto and clarinet tone is somehow with me now too. I now wish I had attended more of his performances in NYC. I only remember the effortlessness that decades of hard work had provided him with.
Thanks to all
Garth, 305-981-4705. garthlibre@yahoo.com
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Author: Campana
Date: 2012-03-10 09:21
Thanks for sharing that. I too am going through a depressing period of total mediocracy. It's one thing to plateau out at a half respectable level but in my case the plateau is more of a valley. Still, your post has given me a glimmer of hope that I'll also find that minor adjustment to technique that will let me make progress again.
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