 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: BaconLord
Date: 2021-02-19 04:29
The whole concept of air has had my mind spinning and I cannot seem to get a definite answer from anyone, so I need some help.
I just cannot understand how much air I should be putting through the clarinet.
My teacher during high school (who is a very big name and reputable but I'm keeping everyone anonymous here) had me playing with A LOT of air. So much in fact that I might have as well been a human air compressor. I was not playing a very hard setup either: BD5 with sanded down 3.5 V12 reeds. I had to take breaths every 2 or so bars and was always playing loud. I wouldn't say I had a small sound before this, but it seriously felt like I would blow my brain out.
When I get to college, my professor (who is also another big name) told me that I am "blowing too hard and putting too much air through the instrument."
Naturally as a college student I had signed up for masterclasses and it was the same thing: one would tell me more air, the other would tell me too much air.
I have talked to a lot of clarinet friends and I also get mixed answers: some say their clarinet playing changed a lot when they blow their brains out; others swear by not blowing too hard.
So, what then? Should I be blowing as hard as I can (with control of course) or should I be more reserved with my air and play a lighter setup?
Something else that I think it's worth noting and would like advice: I am now wanting to switch to double lip. I have been experimenting with it and I just love the differences in all aspects it's making to my sound. Double lip players, how much air do you blow through the horn?
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2021-02-19 05:25
BaconLord wrote:
> I just cannot understand how much air I should be putting
> through the clarinet.
>
> So, what then? Should I be blowing as hard as I can (with
> control of course) or should I be more reserved with my air and
> play a lighter setup?
>
You've gotten first-hand experience with the range of opinion on this. The best advice, I think, is to use your ears to listen to the sound you're producing and less to the people who are telling you how you need to play.
You've been through a college program and should have a good background of experience, probably, in a variety of playing situations. You know enough to have some idea of what you want your playing to be. It isn't really a question of how much air you need to use, but one of how much air you need to use to produce the result you want.
My clarinet teacher in college, Anthony Gigliotti, invented (as far as I know) the term BTSOOI (Blow The **** Out Of It) to describe how he often felt he had to play to satisfy Eugene Ormandy as he played in the Philadelphia Orchestra with its huge string sound. But he was also capable of some exquisitely soft playing (mostly for other conductors) that he couldn't possibly have managed if he only blew hard (BTSOOI) all the time or if he always played on reeds that required that kind of force.
Context makes a difference, but absent any demands other than your own expectations and knowing how many differing, even opposing opinions there are, you need to make your own decision about this based on what comes out of your instrument.
> Something else that I think it's worth noting and would like
> advice: I am now wanting to switch to double lip. I have been
> experimenting with it and I just love the differences in all
> aspects it's making to my sound. Double lip players, how much
> air do you blow through the horn?
Enough to make the clarinet sound and respond the way I need it to.
Karl
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Author: Fuzzy
Date: 2021-02-19 06:03
It seems that there was a clarinet version of this video posted on the bboard earlier. I can't find that post, so I'll share the brass version. The gist is that no air needs to go through a wind instrument. So the question becomes more about how much wind/force needs to go through/against the mouthpiece/reed...or whatever is used to create the vibration.
I don't know if it helps you, but for me - it changed the picture I had of breath moving through the instrument, vs air/vibrations moving in the instrument.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZvDvuxjHvU
Fuzzy
;^)>>>
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2021-02-19 06:05
I find it helpful to know that the what is actually producing the sound we hear is the vibrating column of air ALREADY in the horn. We are only activating it with the reed......and we need air to activate the reed. That said, to get that initiating vibration to work best, we need the air we produce to be very very steady (at whatever amount that is; more for louder, less for softer).
Here's what I'd suggest to start off with the right "feel." Without clarinet, take a really big breath and hold it. Now push (while still holding that breath). You should feel your mid section tighten. When playing clarinet, it should feel like that all the time (the effort I mean). With the next step you should be able to hold your breath from down at your mid section (not in your mouth).......mouth open, no obstruction. Now, if you pars that air out S-L-O-W-L-Y, then that is what one does to get a good pianissimo. From there it merely more and more release of air for more and more sound.
There is also a some amount of tight rope walking between air and the amount of effort of your embouchure. But if you use a smaller tip opening and softer reed (say, for double lip), everything becomes that much more subtle.
.................Paul Aviles
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Author: Tom H
Date: 2021-02-19 06:21
I have an analogy to SCUBA. You will often be taught and read about the idea of breathing slowly--large breaths, long breaths. This is to make sure you don't start breathing really fast due to anxiety.
What it really means is to simply breathe normally. You need the same amount of oxygen to your tissues all the time-- no more, no less.
I have never thought about how I breathe playing clarinet. Want louder, blow more.
There are other things to consider. You don't want to blow so softly that you are not heard, particularly when soloing. Or when taking a solo while playing orchestrally or in a band. There is regular pianissimo and the louder pianissimo.
There is a lot of more detailed advice here. I'm not a great analyzer.
The Most Advanced Clarinet Book--
tomheimer.ampbk.com/ Sheet Music Plus item A0.1001315, Musicnotes product no. MB0000649.
Boreal Ballad for unaccompanied clarinet-Sheet Music Plus item A0.1001314.
Musicnotes product no. MNO287475
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Author: eac
Date: 2021-02-20 21:55
Maybe a better way to think about this question is to think about "air support" not " ow much air" or a volume of air. Try a search on the bulletin board for "air support" and see if reading those posts gives you another take on what I consider a nebulous concept which is difficult to put into words
Liz Leckey
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Author: Tom H
Date: 2021-02-21 00:17
eac, Are you talking about breathing from the diaphragm?
The Most Advanced Clarinet Book--
tomheimer.ampbk.com/ Sheet Music Plus item A0.1001315, Musicnotes product no. MB0000649.
Boreal Ballad for unaccompanied clarinet-Sheet Music Plus item A0.1001314.
Musicnotes product no. MNO287475
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Author: Arnoldstang
Date: 2021-02-23 01:47
It is common to hear novices play with a weak clarinet
tone. This usually goes hand in hand with a soft reed but just increasing
the reed strength doesn’t fix the issue entirely.
Instructors use language to help students fix this. An example of this language might be “put more air through the instrument” or “use fast air”.
To the student this confuses the issue as “pp” is now “mp” , “mf” is now “f”. Support doesn’t equate to just playing louder.
Support involves an isometric approach involving two forces; blowing and abdominal engagement. Simply put to achieve a pp sound level we blow at a mp
level and the abdominal tension mollifies this to pp. It is counter intuitive as we would think support would make things louder. What it does is turn a weak pp tone into a more solid tone with more integrity. As in language we have a distinction between the words “soft” and “weak.
Support at ff level is less significant in my opinion but it does help contain the tone somewhat. ie. a less aggressive loud.
The benefit of support is control. Your batting average for clean high soft attacks should be higher. Additionally I think there is an intensity difference. ie soft vs weak.
Here is an exercise to demonstrate how air support effects air flow. Blow air to the palm of your hand about 3 inches away. As you blow tighten or push out with your abdominals. I experience the air slowing down with the increase of abdominal tension.
Freelance woodwind performer
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Author: Paul Globus
Date: 2021-02-23 05:36
Try playing while lying flat on the floor. That will tell you a lot about what you need to do to breath and blow properly.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2021-02-23 18:56
I wish to introduce more heresy.
In light of the older thread, it occurred to me that I have grappled unsuccessfully with the true mechanism for a good sound my whole career. Though I've found a solution for myself that works, I don't feel that I have the ANSWER that can be then put into words that will solve anyone else's problem.
But here is a new thought.
In some other thread on the topic it was brought up that the amount of air IS quite different from a pianissimo compared to a screaming fortississimo. So then, how do we explain the "pressure differential" as the key element when the "pressure" is so different amongst correctly resonant notes (of all dynamics) compared to poorly executed notes (of all dynamics)?
Further, we discussed in yet another thread about the size of the oral cavity being an important aspect of the full vibrating column ......not just what's in the clarinet.
So here comes the new heresy
I think now that it not just the oral cavity space but the full physical tube, from the bottom of the lungs through to the bottom of the clarinet bell that represents the complete and necessary picture. Further still, it is imperative to provide a FIRM internal, terminating "WALL" inside of us for the air column to resonate off of to complete the correct sound picture. We do this by "FIRMING UP" the mid-section (using diaphragm and abdominals in opposition of course).
I've spent several hours sitting on the couch without a clarinet watching TV making sounds like a death rattle realizing that I dole out air for clarinet playing at a rather slow rate most of the time (non-earth shattering dynamic levels) so air pressure and speed are not really what is going on for average to really soft dynamics (and yes, I realize we are talking about the pressure relationship to what is in the mouthpiece/clarinet). So the ONLY thing I do differently than what I did the very first few weeks I started playing clarinet all those years ago is the introduction of a stiffened mid-section (what you do when you say to your brother......"go ahead, punch me in the stomach").
...............Paul Aviles
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2021-02-23 23:03
Paul Aviles wrote:
> So the ONLY thing I do differently than
> what I did the very first few weeks I started playing clarinet
> all those years ago
You can remember that far back? Not me! :-)
Karl
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2021-02-24 00:43
One thing for sure that I remember was that my "solution" to a better sound within the first year was a really really open mouthpiece and hard reeds. While that CAN make your sound less flaccid, you wind up with more problems down the road such as: no endurance, no decent pianissimo, lip pain, ultimately quitting (if you don't find a better solution).
One thing that made me recall this was the comment above about moving to harder reeds. I don't think the poster meant it in an extreme way but rather as a means to get to a true balance with a given mouthpiece........I'm sure. However, you can (at least I can now) use a VERY hair trigger, light set up (very small tip opening with really soft reed) and achieve the entire spectrum of dynamics and great projection. So you don't need actual resistance within the mouthpiece/reed system to achieve a sonorous sound. This is demonstrated quite nicely by the traditional German use of very long facings, very (less than 1mm) tip openings and 2 1/2 strength reeds. They just put the mouthpiece in their mouth and blow. But what a sound!
Therefore I'm left with "a firm terminus" as the solution.........and a search for a better way to teach that.
.............Paul Aviles
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Author: Arnoldstang
Date: 2021-02-24 09:38
Hi Paul, #1 Given that there is such a widespread variance in the world with clarinet equipment how is it possible you have found the magic bullet? I am not being sarcastic here. Every professional clarinetist chooses a mouthpiece. There are literally thousands of good clarinetists making a personal choice.
#2. Are you suggesting that air support is irrelevant on German mouthpieces? This is not rhetorical. I'm sure Joe Allard followers would agree that it is over ally emphasized.
#3. What is the answer to the original post?
Freelance woodwind performer
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2021-02-24 19:02
The answer to the original post is ZERO. The air is already there. See the referenced video regarding playing a trumpet with no air.
What I am saying is that the other things do play a part. Certainly a lot of the imagery that we use in lessons for students are valid as far as they are helpful. But if you (and I mean YOU) try sitting there without a clarinet and purse your lips, you can approximate the amount of air you put into a horn at a given dynamic. NOW, do that without pursing your lips.........open mouth. There should be VERY little air movement......and yet if you use that same amount of effort into a clarinet you get a really nice sound (if you normally get a really nice sound). More puzzling yet is that student blow into their horns with similar "force" (or lack thereof) and get a flaccid, paper thins sound.
So what's the difference?
I also refer back to what Karl said........"Do you remember that far back?" I would submit that the better we are the less we can relate to those nascent moments. That would explain all the gobbldygook that great teachers used to get at the crux of it: Fast air; Cold Air; Air Support; blow to the back of the hall etc.
All I ask is that anyone really interested in this discussion try for themselves what I described and see if that makes any sense.
I said some time ago that I like this forum because we get a lot of different suggestions, or ways of saying the same thing. But I think the other part of it is that we get some pretty good instantaneous peer review.
...................Paul Aviles
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Author: EricBlack
Date: 2021-02-25 01:55
Hey BaconLord,
I saw this post and the similar post you made on Reddit and have been thinking about it for a few days. I hear a lot of my own internal dialogue in your questions, as this is a subject I have pondered a lot as well. Like you, I have experienced both sides of the coin; some of my teachers demanded massive amounts of air to be put into the horn, another, very little and various others required various amounts in between. It can be very confusing to try and figure out which way is "right." I think one of the hardest things for me to come to terms with as I went through music school and conservatory, is that ultimately there is no "right" way to play. Maybe it's the way I am wired, or perhaps it's a result of the way our education system grades success. But for the majority of my training, I had a deep-seated desire to do things the "correct" way. The unfortunate truth is that there is no "correct" way to play. Oh sure, there are methods and ideas and "rules" regarding embouchure, tonguing, air, sound, etc. that are good guidelines and generally help the majority of players who try them. But for every hard and fast "rule," (play with a flat chin, articulate using the tip of your tongue, your air should be "fast and cold", keep your fingers close to the instrument for fast technique, etc.) I can think of many players who have won major positions or are otherwise phenomenal artists that completely disregard these rules. Music is not an exact science, pedagogy and technique are not either. There is no set path for success. Ultimately, you have to learn to trust yourself and your own ears. Trying to make other people happy with your playing at the expense of your own musical ideas and sound lead to continual dissatisfaction. If you don't like how you sound, even if they do, what is the point?
Ultimately you have to figure out what you want to sound like and trust your ears enough to follow the path required to get you there. You will make natural and almost subconscious changes to your embouchure, air, tongue position, etc. based on what your ears are telling you. My sophomore and junior years of undergrad were some of the most significant in my course of study. I bought a nice pair of headphones and listened to as many clarinet albums as I could find. I put 100's if not 1000's of hours into listening to recordings. It developed my ears in a way simply practicing and performing was never able to. I discovered who's playing I liked, who's playing I didn't like and who's playing I was ambivalent towards. I learned about sound and tone and phrasing and dynamics. The result of all this listening; I now have an extremely clear idea of what sound I want to come out of the instrument in any given moment. This should be the goal of any musician. Your time spent practicing should make it so that you can reliably make those musical and sound ideas a sonic reality. I very rarely consciously think about how much air I need, where my tongue needs to be, how tight my core is etc. or all the other physical aspects of playing the instrument. Because at this point I trust my mind and my ears to inform me as to what my body needs to do to get the sound that I am striving to achieve. Your playing is never going to make everyone happy, so it might as well make you happy.
And just so there is no confusion, I am not suggesting that you ignore your teacher. If you like how they sound and how they play, their guidance can save you a lot of time and internal strife. An outside set of ears that you trust is integral in creating and solidifying your own musical voice. I have learned a tremendous amount from the people I've studied with. We are always learning and should always be learning. Just recognize that what may work for them physically, may not always work for you depending on what you're trying to achieve and that is ok.
TL;DR: Focus on the sound and the music, trust and follow your ears. The rest should fall in place.
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Author: Arnoldstang
Date: 2021-02-25 21:02
Excellent response Eric. As a clarinetist/oboist I am reminded of some advice on reed making. If you are in a slump with reed making then practice. We sometimes get all caught up in theories, reeds, mouthpieces and don't get down to the business at hand.
On the matter of teaching I think it important that the student is clear about what is a metaphor and what is science/non metaphor. The science can be very complicated or even unknown. The metaphor is many times a better teaching tool but not to be taken literally. As stated earlier all this thinking material shouldn't stop you from getting down to the business of playing , practice and making music.
Freelance woodwind performer
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Author: TomS
Date: 2021-03-02 07:46
You should have the sensation of not "blowing into the horn" but "blowing through the horn" ...
Make sure you are not tightening, choking or stressing/tensing the air delivery system, other than shaping and positioning the tongue to concentrate the air stream and in a ready state to damp the tip of the (or just below the tip) reed for articulation.
I like the exercise of stuffing your swab into the bell and playing a "long B" ... the only sound will come out of the register vent. Relax your air delivery system and try to get the lowest pitch ...
Tom
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Author: herrylauu
Date: 2023-07-25 05:11
For brass instruments, you need to have a steady and controlled airstream. The air should be fast-moving and focused. Think of blowing the instrument rather than "into" it. Avoid puffing your cheeks, as this can disrupt your airflow and tone quality.
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2023-07-25 06:54
BaconLord wrote:
> Something else that I think it's worth noting and would like
> advice: I am now wanting to switch to double lip. I have been
> experimenting with it and I just love the differences in all
> aspects it's making to my sound. Double lip players, how much
> air do you blow through the horn?
Starting with your last question, I blow the same amount of air double lip as I do single lip.
> My teacher during high school (who is a very big name and
> reputable but I'm keeping everyone anonymous here) had me
> playing with A LOT of air. So much in fact that I might have as
> well been a human air compressor.
>
> When I get to college, my professor (who is also another big
> name) told me that I am "blowing too hard and putting too much
> air through the instrument."
It isn't surprising that different players have different approaches to playing. Sometimes the way you blow is context-dependent. You don't play as loud as possible (which, incidentally is fortissimo in Italian) in a woodwind quintet.
It's hard to imagine that your teacher in high school plays fortissimo all the time. either, although he may have emphasized it with you.
> I have talked to a lot of clarinet friends and I also get mixed
> answers: some say their clarinet playing changed a lot when
> they blow their brains out; others swear by not blowing too
> hard.
Well, blowing your brains out would certainly affect your sound.
>
> So, what then? Should I be blowing as hard as I can (with
> control of course) or should I be more reserved with my air and
> play a lighter setup?
>
Ideally, you should blow in a way that's musically appropriate for what you're playing and where you're playing it. You need to apply some situational awareness and taste. I wouldn't ask friends what they think at all. You need to play in a way that makes you musically comfortable.
Karl
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Author: Julian ibiza
Date: 2023-07-25 10:48
I think that to consider how the sound is produced playing a brass wind instrument or didgeridoo offers a degree of insight into this question. That the buzzing lips feed the vibrating air column directly, offers a tactile feedback to the lips, so that there naturally tends to develop an awareness of air efficiency for a buzz that will support the vibrating air column.
I'm given to understand that some Australian Aboriginal people can play what would best be described as a hollow tree trunk, something which requires the most artful and air efficient skill to support such a vast vibrating air column.
I don't know if these comment are in any way helpful, but perhaps they shed a little light on key the physics of the matter.
Julian Griffiths
Tel. 34 696 798 853
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2023-07-26 00:04
I didn't notice this was a two-year-old thread. I pretty sure the post from "Herrylauu" is SPAM - I actually removed a link but it was on topic (barely) and brought the thread back to the top. Sorry.
Karl
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2023-07-26 01:23
Horns use more air than clarinets from what I gather.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Julian ibiza
Date: 2023-07-26 11:42
Hi Chris,
I'm sure you're right about that .
I was trying to point out that in instruments played by lip buzzing, the matter of air flow and air support to maintain the vibrating air column and its respective volume level are perhaps more naturally intuitive, because it's done without the " middle man" of a mechanical reed and can be felt in the vibrating air column's back pressure agains the lips ( which are very sensitive)
Ultimately it must be the same principle as with a reed however, inasmuch as the constancy of air support provides a stable frequency response from the reed or lip buzz against the vibrating air column and the amount of air flow supports that frequency response and also it's volume level as produced by compression levels within the vibrating air column.
So while air support and air flow are interrelated, it's air support that stabilizes frequency synchronicity with the vibrating air column on top of which air flow can then be metered out economically.
If this is a faulty analysis , I would be glad to stand corrected and improve my grasp on the matter.
Julian Griffiths
Tel. 34 696 798 853
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2023-07-26 17:25
I was responding to the original post where they annoyingly called clarinets 'horns' when clarinets aren't horns in the sense that horns are brass instruments (and the woodwind instruments named basset horn and cor anglais are just horns in name only and not an accurate description of what they actually are).
Likewise with people calling saxes 'horns' as the same applies and saxes if anything have far more in common with oboes than they do with clarinets (besides the single reed mouthpiece and belonging to the woodwind family as a whole) and have bugger all in common with horns besides the material they're often made from.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2023-07-26 20:50
The relevance of air is only important to the extent that it keeps the reed vibrating in good order. I’ve posted the video of the royal brassmaker to the King of England in which he plays the trumpet both by sucking air backwards through the horn as well as with no air at all. It is all 100% about the clarity of the vibrating element - we just use air for the convenience.
………..Paul Aviles
P.S. the proper pseudonym for saxophone is “the seventh level of hell.”
Post Edited (2023-07-27 02:19)
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Author: Julian ibiza
Date: 2023-07-26 22:22
I was wondering what level of hell had the Sax and drugs and Rock&Roll.
Is that above or below the level with the cheap cigars, methylated spirits and Piano Accordions ?
Julian Griffiths
Tel. 34 696 798 853
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Author: symphony1010
Date: 2023-07-27 12:32
The factor not referred to here is resistance and this is really where clarinettists should focus their thoughts. Too much perceived resistance and you will be struggling to sustain long phrases - too little and your intonation may well suffer and notes will not be centred.
In the last 3 days I have been working with technically more advanced students who had adopted Legere reeds and thereby had a resistance that would not change through natural sample variation in cane reeds. One young lad had serious tuning and tonal issues because the resistance was too low on an otherwise good setup.
Conversely if you look at a player like Steve Williams in CSO he plays strength 5 reeds and although he can make this work I would suggest it is a dangerous model for others to follow.
For some players the increasing resistance is seen almost as a rite of passage but other philosophies have previously sought quite the opposite. That is, how much less resistant can my setup be in order to promote greater flexibility of sound whilst retaining good intonation.
A good setup should facilitate not only tonal and tuning benefits but also optimal articulation. All these factors may require fine tuning of reed choice in different acoustics and for different types of music setups - full orchestra versus chamber group for example.
Professional players are constantly focussed on their air support and their ability to produce a genuine legato without compromise, even across the most difficult passages. This support is quite separate from their articulation mechanism - a thing frequently misunderstood by lesser players.
As a result I perceive what is being asked here but the question comes from a fundamental misunderstanding of what is at play here - tempting as it is to think of quantities of air instead of resistance caused by the setup.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2023-07-27 19:21
First I want to address the latest rash of "ads" posting to the Board. I don't know about web protocols or algorithms but there HAS TO BE some sort of filter to keep this in check.
I won't post active links anymore to keep this nonsense down.
My first instance of "going back" to simpler times is this video regarding "No wind needed to play a wind instrument."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZvDvuxjHvU
For you impatient folks the crux of the matter starts at 5:05.
Quite interesting physics involved. The upshot to US is less definitive. I agree with Symphony1010 that there is need (on the practical level) for attention to support to the air as we play to achieve a good sound and connection from note to note. But it is also probably equally important to focus on what that means rather than the perpetuation of myths that create the inevitable fatigue of a Stephan Williamson approach.
..............Paul Aviles
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Author: Mark Charette ★2017
Date: 2023-07-27 20:05
Paul Aviles wrote:
> First I want to address the latest rash of "ads" posting to the
> Board. I don't know about web protocols or algorithms but
> there HAS TO BE some sort of filter to keep this in check.
Not really. It's easy to spam with alternating techniques. We just block Class C ip ranges as they pop up.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2023-07-27 22:20
Sorry to hear that is as annoying to all y'all as well.
................Paul Aviles
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Author: spikey1973
Date: 2023-07-28 01:40
I am not sure if I am the one to comment on this thread as newby but I will just put my 5 cents in just as well. (I basically repeat lot of whats already been said in my won words)
1) for tonal production there is no 'need' for an airflow. It is the column of air in the instrument (down to the the bottom of your lungs) that vibrates.
2) to get this vibration 'started/changing' you do need airflow 'through' the reed/MP opening. As I noticed this needs to be focused and a fast airflow, to get the reed to respond, more then the need for volume.
3) response of the reed is dependend on your 'setup' (MP, Reed, Ligature) as well your 'approach' and also your physic. The whole is important, each bit influences the whole.
4) once 'responding', a minimal of air flow is needed to keep the reed vibrating in the same frequency. similarly but also different, as when playing the didge (as mentioned before), the entire vibrating air column will sustain the vibrating of, in our case the reed. One only really needs to supply the energy that is lost in the system as well what is needed to facilitate alterations in the vibration when needed.
5) to me it feels that, when one needs to put in more energy then essentially necessairy for the required volume,that this points to a less efficient system. So your setup, as that is all you can really effectively change, at least in short term.
Personally I like to notice the vibration of the air column in the instrument under your fingers when you have closed a tonehole with just the lightests of touches. the feeling of this vibration seems to 'disappear', basically become less noticeble, with more 'pressure' and is more prominently noticeble with lower frequencies. But when you feel this, one can also notice the 'absences' of an airflow.
as connotation I must say, that the actual flow here would be that small anyway, that I would doubt that one would actually be able to sense it.
kind greats, Matt
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Author: Julian ibiza
Date: 2023-07-28 11:30
Hi Paul ,
That's a very good video demonstrating that air flow through the bore has nothing to do with the actual sound generation. Sound generation and its transmission don't require a linear air flow of the gas molecules.
I think we can reasonably say that the air flow right through a wind instrument is no different than the exhaust moving through the tailpipe of a vehicle. Both become wast products after having served the active mechanics .
In my admittedly limited experience with the phenomenon of the vibrating air column,I would say there's nothing like playing a Didgeridoo. No mouthpiece or constriction, just the mouth at the end of the vibrating air colum and you can really feel it buffeting your lips. It's like walking barefoot on the air's frequency compression response (so to speak).
Those that play this instrument well, use VERY little air, like a highly tuned carburetor.
I never got that good at it, and so I got lightheaded from excessive circular breathing from poor air economy . ( I guess there is such a thing as Didgeridoo...and Didgeridon't ...Hee-hee! )
Julian Griffiths
Tel. 34 696 798 853
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