Author: ohsuzan
Date: 2005-08-30 18:45
Michael --
I just re-read your first post, and one thing that puzzles me is why you would be feeling so much pressure/tension in your cheeks.
It sounds as though you are letting the air back up and are holding your jaw very tight. In reality, your jaw should be loose and open (back teeth held comfortably far apart, mouth just a little rosebud). The air flows up your windpipe and goes "through" the reed, down it and focused into it, without constriction anywhere along the route.
You stop and start the air with your tongue on the tip of the reed. It is all very concentrated at the front of the mouth. Some people say to think about it emanating from the bridge of your nose. If you've ever had singing lessons where you were told to "sing from the mask," it's the same idea.
High notes definitely take a while. At first, I couldn't believe how difficult they were -- and I had been a clarinetist who had a strong altissimo. A year or so ago, I was very frustrated by anything above a G. Today, those notes are easy. And pretty.
Keep trying. In time, it will come.
Susan
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