Common Clarinet Misconceptions Dr. Liz Aleksander • UT-Martin Honor Band 2019 [email protected] • www.utm.edu/clarinet Set Up Aside from the obvious issues, such as a chipped mouthpiece or lipstick-smeared reed, here are some things to watch out for: • Reed position. Many students put the reed too low, and their tone improves simply by moving the reed higher on the mouthpiece, with just a sliver of black above it. • Reed strength. This is a tricky one. Students need to have resistance to produce a centered tone, so early on, we stress moving to harder reeds. However, many students don’t realize that this is a finite process: the goal is not to play on the hardest reeds out there. Most professional players use 3.5s, and that’s a good goal for students, too. • Reed brand. The reason that Ricos are cheap is that their quality is so poor; students will be better off spending a little more upfront to get a reed that doesn’t fight them and lasts longer. Many players opt for Vandorens or V-12s, but I’ve found d’Addario to be a more consistent option (with the same price point and comparable reed strengths). Mitchell Luries are often a more affordable option, and some brands (like d’Addario Gonzalez) come in quarter-sizes. • Ligature tightness. I have found so many students who treat ligature screws like wall screws: they tighten until it’s physically impossible to tighten the screw any further! The purpose of the ligature is not to anchor the reed firmly in place in case of an earthquake; it is simply to gently hold the reed against the mouthpiece. Such excessive tightening severely restricts the vibration of the reed, causing a bright, pinched sound. I remind students to tighten only until they feel the least bit of resistance and then stop. • Ligature position. A lot of students are unaware of ligature position; it is frequently either too high or too low. The ligature should rest between the horizontal lines etched on the mouthpiece; if there are no lines, then the top of the ligature should be about one-quarter inch below the beak (the sloped part of the mouthpiece). • Stock mouthpieces. The mouthpiece that comes with most instruments is not of very good quality. Aside from tone problems, many students have difficulty articulating and voicing higher notes due to the mouthpiece, and that often leads to frustration and bad habits that persist for years to come. There are many inexpensive mouthpieces for beginning students, and I advise requiring one of these mouthpieces from the first day a student plays the instrument. These are some great yet inexpensive options: o Dave McClune’s Plato model ($39): http://www.mcclunemouthpiece.com/ o Brad Behn’s Overture series ($35): http://www.clarinetmouthpiece.com/ o Clark Fobes’s Debut model ($43.50): https://www.clarkwfobes.com/ • Amount of mouthpiece. Most students only place a very small amount of mouthpiece in their mouths, and because of this, only a small portion of the reed vibrates. Students need to be encouraged to take in more mouthpiece; I often cut a thick mouthpiece patch into 3 strips and place one of those strips on the top of the mouthpiece for students to put their teeth against. To avoid frustration and squeaking, students should gradually work up to the correct amount of mouthpiece. (The correct amount varies depending on set-up. To find it, carefully insert a sheet of paper between the reed and the mouthpiece until it meets resistance; the bottom edge of the paper is where the bottom lip should be.) • Instrument angle. I see many young clarinetists who hold the instrument way too far away from their body (sometimes this is a hold-over from marching band); this means that they have to bite, producing a thin tone. While there isn’t a set angle that works perfectly for everyone, students can find their own angle by playing a single note (I prefer a clarion G) and moving the instrument until they hone in on their own “sweet spot.” Note: This also applies to bass clarinet! The instrument should be pulled back under the chair so that the mouthpiece is at an angle, producing a more open tone. • Posture. A slouching or hunched posture restricts airflow, which results in a small sound. Students should sit in a relaxed yet tall posture, with their shoulders down, not rolled forward. Also pay attention to the neck: many students reach for the mouthpiece, which constricts the throat and inhibits airflow. • Right thumb. Many students contort their right hand and/or wrist so that the fingerprint of their right thumb is pressing into the body of the clarinet, with the thumbrest sitting on the side of the thumb. This is not how our bodies are designed, and in addition to being uncomfortable, it will slow down finger motion and can lead to injury. Instead, the side of the thumb should touch the body of the clarinet, and the thumbrest should sit between the thumbnail and the first joint (a little bit of angle is okay here, but very too much). Air Once the set up is settled, the next issue to address is air. On clarinet, blowing more air lowers the pitch, and blowing less raises the pitch. Because many young clarinetists don’t use enough air, they habitually play sharp. (Note: Tongue position also affects pitch, as noted below; young players tend to have low tongues, which causes them to be flat, offsetting the sharp tendency from lack of air. Both concerns need addressed in order to produce a full, centered tone that is in tune.) • Breathing in. I’ve found that students who are in choir often have a good grasp of breathing, even if they don’t know that they should apply it to the clarinet. Asking choir clarinetists to explain breathing to the rest of the section is one way to broach this topic. Another is to have students place one hand on their stomachs and the other on their lower backs (after carefully laying the instrument in their lap or on the floor, of course!). Then, they should try to push the hands apart with the inhalation. They can also imagine that their stomach is a balloon that’s inflating. 2 • Breathing out. Once students master the correct inhalation, they need to be reminded that in about four measures, the exhalation should use all the air they’ve taken in. This means that there is an intensity in the air when exhaling (or, later, playing the instrument). With their hands on the stomachs and lower backs, students can physically push the air out of their bodies. I remind students that they should always be using their abdominal muscles to actively push the air out (playing clarinet is a good workout!). A helpful visualization for this is to imagine that the air coming out of the bell is drilling a hole in the floor. • Experiment. Have students hold a hand in front of their mouth and blow as if they’re playing the clarinet. Is the air hot or cold? Fast or slow? Clarinet air should be cold and fast; hot air is slow, which does not produce a good tone—or good intonation. • Dynamics. Once students master air speed at a loud dynamic, they need to transfer this to quieter dynamics, and this tends to be problematic. Students typically use slower, warmer air when playing quiet, producing a diffuse, airy tone. To get them used to playing with intense air (just less of it), first have them establish the air flow at a loud dynamic; then, while sustaining a note with some resistance (I usually use D in the staff), slowly decrescendo while feeling the abdominal muscles push out the air. They should only go as far as they can while still pushing with the abs, so their quiet dynamics will initially be louder than they used to be. Embouchure Since we can’t see some aspects of the embouchure, there are frequently issues in this area: • Lips. Lips should be pushing in toward the mouthpiece; while the “smiling embouchure” may facilitate learning the altissimo notes, it also produces a thin, bright sound. The corners of the lips, as well as the lower and upper lips, should all be pushing in toward the mouthpiece. A good way to form an embouchure is to imagine drinking a very thick milkshake, or to whistle (both also strengthen the small muscles used in the embouchure). Once students add the clarinet to this new embouchure, the tendency is to collapse the chin upward and the bottom lip downward. A mirror is useful for students to self-identify issues with the chin; I remind them that the bottom lip needs to be stiff and muscular so that it doesn’t collapse on the bottom teeth. This embouchure, which can be referred to as a tall embouchure for a quick reminder, prevents biting so that students produce a dark, rich tone. • Tongue position. One of the most common issues I see is a low tongue, which produces an uncentered, uncontrolled tone and flat intonation. (If students don’t use enough air, which makes them sharp, they often compensate by maintaining a low tongue to play in tune.) The tongue should be high in the mouth, as in “tee” or “key.” Notice that the entire tongue is high, even the tip; this will aid in light, fast articulation. Since there aren’t visual cues for a low tongue, listening for an uncentered tone is the main way to diagnose this issue; it also becomes more pronounced when articulating or playing above the staff.