 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Mike_T_Snyder
Date: 2014-10-05 06:27
Recently, I've been researching the Altissimo and "Altississimo," as some call it, register. I can consistently play the altissimo B with regular embouchure but, curiously enough, I can play to the E higher than than by putting my teeth on the reed, however, I get extremely flat notes. Has anyone else had experience with putting their teeth on the reed? I've never heard anything about this even being a method to get notes out of the clarinet, and yet it consistantly works up to the D and generally has a 50/50 shot of reaching the D# or E (and rarely the F, but I've been trying for it for about 5 minutes now, so I haven't gathered much data on that). Should I restrain from using this, or is it a good alternative method of reaching these very high notes. I have a St. Louis Henri Selmer Clarinet, a Vandoren M30 Mouthpiece, Vandoren gray 3 reeds, and the Selmer Ligaphone Ligature.
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Author: donald
Date: 2014-10-05 08:47
Many years ago in my undergrad I learnt and performed Linoi by Harrison Birtwhistle- which has a High D flat in it, maybe a high D (too long ago to remember to be honest, I'm sure Mr Pay will know). I was at that stage quite good at the alitssimo up to high C but found those higher notes difficult to voice. My teacher (who had studied with Alan Hacker and Thea King) got to play these notes first using "teeth on the reed" to get started- his theory was that this would teach me to voice them, then I could duplicate this voicing with my regular embochure. I'm not sure this approach really helped much, but something worked and I performed that work successfully several times.
dn
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Author: DaphnisetChloe
Date: 2014-10-05 09:44
It is possible without teeth on the reed to get these notes. I have been experimenting for the last 6 months with playing up to a super high E without teeth on the reed and the best method of achieving these notes is to:
1. Experiment with fingerings - try to find ones that will consistently work for you.
2. Try playing on slightly harder reeds. They don't need to necessarily be a different labeled strength, they can just be the harder ones in a box of reeds. On the other hand, I personally prefer to clip all my reeds slightly. This also makes the reeds slightly harder, and improves the ease of playing these notes.
3. Practice them at least once a day. You'll need to develop the muscle endurance and muscle memory needed to be able to consistently hit these notes, and, just like any other register of the clarinet, if you don't play these notes regularly, the ability to do so will be jeopardized.
4. Work up to them by playing long tones and scales, preferably with close intervals (e.g. a slow chromatic scale starting at the beginning of the altissimo register). Don't expect to be able to hit these notes out of thin air. Its better to gradually extend your range be leading up to them with notes you are comfortable with.
5. Practice harmonics. On a low E fingering, playing harmonics, you can go up the harmonic series to a (super) high D and even a (super) high E. This will help enormously with learning how to voice these notes.
6. Experiment with less bottom lip over the teeth, a higher raised roof of the mouth and more air. Teeth on the reed is also a good idea, although I've never found this works for me.
7. Find examples of these notes in repertoire. One of the best ones is to play the original version of the Copland Clarinet Concerto, which goes up to high C#'s in the Cadenza and also the Coda. The Cadenza especially is good for 'leading up' to these notes.
8. Listen to recordings. Find a good recording of the Seven Brightnesses by Peter Maxwell-Davies, which goes all the way up to a super high G (!). This will give you something to aim for, because you will know what the limits (and sometimes lack of thereof), are for production of these notes.
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Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2014-10-05 16:16
There's a fingering chart somewhere around here (on woodwind.org) that goes up to A7. I believe that's the A above the notes discussed above. You don't "need" teeth on any of the notes in that chart.
Try to make higher notes sound sweet, not harsh. The techniques of embouchure and air support needed to play atississimo seem to work well for lower notes. You can verify this by practicing wide intervals between high and low. Work in the higher registers can inform you to improve your overall sound.
At what point in ascending do teeth on the reed become NECESSARY? My untutored scales and noodling go up to E7 fairly reliably now. F7 is coming in. I've been able to reach all the pitches up to A7. Sometimes even higher pitches play themselves:-) All without teeth on reed. Presumably anyone could in time do the same.
I need something higher, specifically, C#8 (for a self-inflicted cadenza.) I hit it occasionally, but only with teeth. Grr.
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Author: Barry Vincent
Date: 2014-10-05 21:12
Tom Ridenour's book Clarinet Fingerings (A Comprehensive Guide for the Performer and Educator) has finger diagrams up to E natural,an octave above normal top E natural. But really, does anyone else other than Clarinetists who don't want to get along with their neighbors want to hear those 'squeekies' ?
BJV
"The Clarinet is not a horn" (But it can be a squeeky pipe
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Author: donald
Date: 2014-10-05 23:44
Barry- your post reminds me of a conversation I had with a friend a while back. She was telling me about her new boyfriend who had invited her to live with her, but the problem was that they both disliked one of his current flatmates (a drug addict it turned out) however the boyfriend lacked the authority (or "clout") to get rid of this unpleasant fellow. My suggestion was that I'd give her boyfriend clarinet lessons, and/or make a CD of ME playing the clarinet (deliberately awful stuff, including lots and lots of altissimo) that her boyfriend could play loudly, pretending it was himself practising.
we never went through with the plan, though it was fun to consider...
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Author: Caroline Smale
Date: 2014-10-06 00:03
Teeth on reeds has been used by some oboists to achieve extreme high notes.
At my stage in life I neither desire to go that high or hear others trying to.
Even regular altissimo only sounds satisfactory in really skilled hands.
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