 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: faltpihl ★2017
Date: 2015-05-14 15:01
Hi all, hope you bare with me with all these posts lately!
I've recently gone through my ATG book/videos again, and realized that I never did the high note balancing of the very tip to get altissimo to speak easily.
I have noticed when practicing some music lately, that some reeds play easier in the higher ranges than others. And these reeds feel about equally good in the lower registers.
So i've been starting to try balancing the tip, by doing the side-to-side test but with altissimo notes instead. Then trying to sand down the very ear/tip on the less responsive side.
This is what I'd like to get some of your tips with. I am having a hard time deciding which side plays worse. Sometimes I won't even manage to get one side to speak at all when trying first altissimo D for instance.
Or should I just play high notes normally, and if I'm not satisfied "take a guess" at which ear to sand down?
I'm guessing most of you don't balance reeds in such detail, but I really want to learn and do everything I can to play as easily as possible due to upcoming concerts.
Regards
Peter
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Author: kdk
Date: 2015-05-14 17:38
The Youtube videos don't seem to demonstrate this, and my original instruction DVD is hiding at the moment, but Tom demonstrates a specific test on it. As I remember, tilting the mouthpiece toward one side (as in the general test for balance) you slur from C4 to G5 to E6, I think with normal fingerings, then touch the F#/C# lever and E6 should pop up to A6 with no other adjustment of embouchure or air. If the connections to E6 and A6, don't come out easily, then the ear (corner) on that side (the side that is vibrating freely, not the side you're damping against your embouchure) is too stiff.
When you work on the ears, you need to be very careful not to take too much off at once - one or two strokes at a time. Too soft corners will destroy a reed.
Of course, reed imbalance isn't the only problem that can cause altissimo notes to be hard to play. Many things that you can get away with in either your reeds or your technique will interfere much more noticeably with altissimo response.
Karl
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2015-05-14 18:34
kdk wrote:
> ... As I remember, tilting the
> mouthpiece toward one side (as in the general test for balance)
> you slur from C4 to G5 to E6, I think with normal fingerings,
> then touch the F#/C# lever and E6 should pop up to A6 with no
> other adjustment of embouchure or air. If the connections to E6
> and A6, don't come out easily, then the ear (corner) on that
> side (the side that is vibrating freely, not the side you're
> damping against your embouchure) is too stiff.
>
> When you work on the ears, you need to be very careful not to
> take too much off at once - one or two strokes at a time. Too
> soft corners will destroy a reed.
>
>
> Karl
This is good stuff here.
I have no idea what your embouchure is like, but I find lots of folks take in very little mouthpiece and reed. But this can make it difficult to solidly hit those altissimo notes without a well adjusted reed. I went the opposite direction and take in LOTS of mouthpiece and reed. If you take in so much mouthpiece that you're just shy of overblowing into altissimo anyway, it takes very little to hit it when you need it. Basically, take in more mouthpiece on a forte open G until you squeak, then back off a hair. And there you go. A position for your lower lip on the reed that allows you to play the entire range with minimal (if any) changes in embouchure. Takes a little bit to get used to, your tongue will feel scrunched up in the back of your mouth if you're intending on tip-to-tip tonguing, but it makes playing between octaves and partials very easy.
Worth trying at least. And this has led to me not needing to adjust reeds as much.
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: faltpihl ★2017
Date: 2015-05-14 20:30
I find it almost impossible to play the high A with the mouthpiece tilted in my mouth.
I always thought that the slur from C4 to G5 to E6 to A6 was to be done with normal embouchure, to diagnose if there is a need to adjust or not.
If I find that the A6 does not speak well, I can't seem to go on diagnosing.
I can't say for sure, but I feel as though I use about the amount of mouthpiece that you talk about.
Not sure if this is somehow related to figuring out the placement on the mouthpiece:
I sometimes play with overtones, but have only managed to get two partials over the fundamental that I finger in the low register. Haven't experimented more to find the place of the 4th and 5th.
(I remember Charles Neidich talking about going up instead of further down the reed to get the next partials after the 3rd)
Regards
Peter
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Author: kdk
Date: 2015-05-14 21:31
faltpihl wrote:
> I find it almost impossible to play the high A with the
> mouthpiece tilted in my mouth.
>
Can you play it easily with the mouthpiece straight (not tilted)?
> I always thought that the slur from C4 to G5 to E6 to A6 was to
> be done with normal embouchure, to diagnose if there is a need
> to adjust or not.
You may be right. Maybe tilting the mouthpiece is an extension I added on my own. I can get A6 to speak with the mouthpiece tilted. I haven't watched the DVD in a long time.
>
> If I find that the A6 does not speak well, I can't seem to go
> on diagnosing.
>
You might assume both corners are too stiff and take a little (1 or 2 strokes) off each side, then re-test. Or try one side at a time between re-tests, starting with the last side you thinned with the 2 techniques (#2, #3) for the sides.
If A6 speaks easily with the mouthpiece straight, of course, no more diagnosis is needed.
Karl
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Author: nellsonic
Date: 2015-05-14 21:43
I don't recall anything in the directions for ATG about testing side to side on altissimo notes. Tom says to do it on an open G with a sfz attack and long diminuendo. A balanced reed is a reed that will sound and respond well in all registers, so I use the easy note as directed and that works well for me. Having taught this to middle and high school students I've noticed that it does take a little practice to get good at this for some people, especially if the bottom teeth are uneven.
The ability to easily produce the leap from altissimo E to A is a part of a separate test he recommends, as you describe. Not knowing your playing, it is possible that what's needed is development of greater skill in this tricky range of the clarinet. The good news is that improving altissimo facility has a positive effect on fluency over the entire instrument.
Working with overtones can be really helpful, again as you mentioned. That high A is the third note above the base chalumeau C, so if you are only able to get two notes up, it is likely the case that further work here will alleviate a significant amount of the difficulty you are having.
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Author: Mirko996
Date: 2015-05-21 10:18
I tuono that we shouldn't help ne quale you are you and we cannot be you.
In my opinion there's no specify position for bilancing reeds: you should Find the best confortable reeds and try and try with different spessor.
Not at all mounthpiece could HELP you: i had time ago a bucchi mounthpiece and was deformed... I could play better altissimo
Notes... When i changed mounthpiece and i used e.g. Coutry or cristal pomarico i play better... That depend what do you play usualy clarinet:
If you are Classic you are used to play softly and you use close mounthpiece and strong reeds and you control the notes: i used time ago a pomarico -1 and i do fatique, is very hard to use. If you are jazzist you use open mountpiece and soft reeds: altissimo notes are bit easy: are so easy that you can do, in my case, altissimo armonic. But, sometime, when i play I'm not right: i play clarinet I'm crocked and is hard to do altissimo notes...
That's why we can't HELP at all but i can say what to do prevent...
Exist a position that facility some altissimo notes for example c6 it's easy to do If you do a6 or g6 but is not easy do c6; there's more position that semplify the execution and intonation [...]
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