"TUNE AND SOUND"
Music is a world of
creativity. Welcome to the fundamentals of the clarinet! When properly played,
the clarinet produces a beautiful sound. But, if there is even one
mistake or slip-up, the clarinet will make a very annoying squeak!
Squeaking is essential to the clarinet, because squeaking is like your
notification that something is wrong.
I’m sure every successful
clarinetist has squeaked at least a
hundred times. Anyway, everything needs to be perfect, if you want your
clarinet to make a proper sound. You need to have perfect posture, good
embouchure, and a working clarinet. Let’s focus on posture, first. You should
always have a straight back and your feet should be on the floor. You should
always be attentive, and focused. Posture is essential to tune and sound.
A good tune happens, when
you blow an even stream of air that can be distributed among the instrument.
Good air flow can help your tune. A clarinetist; Paula Corley says that
clarinetists should voice their mouth in the vowel “E”. You should always have
a tight lock around your mouth piece, and good embouchure. Embouchure is how
you keep your face in band. If playing the clarinet, you should have a good
posture, and have tight lips around the mouthpiece. You make a “too” noise, as
you bump your tongue against the reed.
Having a working clarinet
is also very important. It can be very frustrating, to deal with a broken
instrument, thinking you’re the problem! If everything is perfect You are ready
to go! Now we need to talk about
heavy and strong air flow. Don’t puff out your cheeks or suck in air. Create a
long breeze of air, that you can feel from your lungs and out through the bell.
If you imagine a long string from your lungs through your clarinet, you can
achieve this. A strong sound is key. Sometimes you can make airy sounds, and it
doesn’t sound right. It shouldn’t sound like you’re hearing an actual clarinet;
it should sound like a recording. That is how pure it should sound! Keeping in
beat also helps with tune. If you feel confident, then your sound will be
beautiful.
Woodwindintation.weebly.com
says that high and low notes can help with tune. Playing challenging or high
notes can warm you up for practice time. It recommends using vowels while
adjusting pitch. Keeping your mouth in different ways changes pitch so you can
adjust. Now that I think about it; I’ve been playing the clarinet with my mouth
held in an “E” shape this entire time! In sixth grade I used to have a lot of
trouble with my instrument. I figured it was because of my posture! I was given
this book in sixth grade, called “Tradition of Excellence”.
The book states that you
should keep your chin parallel to the floor, and your elbows away from your
clarinet and knees. Keeping your clarinet at a 45-degree angle can also help.
You will always need necessary items to have a successful practice time. A
metronome will help you keep beat. If you can’t buy a metronome, just download
a metronome app on a phone. You should be able to keep beat that way. If
practicing pieces of music, you should always
use a music stand, to read your paper.
If you have music to practice, always have it
in front of you! Memorizing a piece is great, but I recommend you do that after you’ve learned the entire piece.
This way you can always learn more during practice! On a blog, I discovered
that you shouldn’t pinch the corners of your reed. It also says to voice “E’s”.
Voicing seems like a good technique for many clarinetists. Pitch is very
important, especially for beginners.
When my sister started
playing, the notes were so airy, and out of tune! I alerted her about this, and
I taught her how to apply pressure. If you really blow in a nice even stream of
air, you will make a nice sound. Do not puff out your cheeks! Puffing out your
cheeks will make it even more hard to play. Many people use a double fold lip to
play the clarinet.
I would recommend this:
fold your bottom lip and place your front teeth directly on the mouthpiece.
This way you can produce a good sound. There’s nothing more magical than
playing your very first note or sound on an instrument! After that milestone,
you successfully enter the world of music. Where struggles become high notes and
triumphs will be satisfied playing.
SOUND PRODUCTION
When I first started playing, I learned my very first note (Middle C). This note had a nice tang to it, as it was low and high! This year I started taking private lessons. My teacher introduced me to this cool new technique/teaching method. He said that if students learned the high notes, first they would breeze through the low ones. I have got to agree! Moving to the upper register or “crossing the break” is a bit of a pain in the back!
When I first started playing, I learned my very first note (Middle C). This note had a nice tang to it, as it was low and high! This year I started taking private lessons. My teacher introduced me to this cool new technique/teaching method. He said that if students learned the high notes, first they would breeze through the low ones. I have got to agree! Moving to the upper register or “crossing the break” is a bit of a pain in the back!
The picture below is the
literal definition of the one thing that BUGS me about this instrument! The
picture shows a b flat to natural transition! Just one little note change,
right? WRONG! A b flat is the “A” key and the register key together. A b
natural is when you press every single darn key on the clarinet! Maybe, that’s
why Squidward is bad at playing the clarinet!
Anyway, whatever you feel
about it, reaching the upper register is a big step for all clarinetists!
Clarinet sound is produced with good embouchure, posture, and 99% enthusiasm! I
became a clarinet
player by accident, because some person told me to play the
clarinet to train for saxophone! But I’m
kind of happy that I made that
mistake, or else I wouldn’t be here writing this! I love my instrument,
and I
really hope you enjoyed reading this! Until next time, clarinet companion!
