Tips for Clarinet

by
Christopher Ayer, DMA
SFA Assistant Professor of Music, Clarinet

Elements of the Clarinet Embouchure

There are many points of view regarding the embouchure.  What follows below is probably generally accepted as being true for most everyone.  The student needs to work with their individual teacher closely on this subject.  Practicing in front of a mirror is very useful.  Look for some of the following things when watching your embouchure:

· The point where the reed breaks away from the mouthpiece should contact the lip on the line where the lip meets the chin.

· The upper lip comes down "flush" with the upper teeth on the mouthpiece. i.e., the upper lip is never between the upper teeth and the mouthpiece.

· To some extent, there should be a slight "overbite," perhaps better described as a firm, strong upper lip, securely out on the mouthpiece for high notes as well as low notes.

· Think about the embouchure as a drawstring purse; the embouchure is like the closing of this purse when the "strings" (below the chin) are pulled.

· Try not to smile when playing.  When the lips are stretched, the muscles and tissue around the lips are stretched and thin.  This results in a thin sound especially up high.

· The lip muscles are some of the weakest muscles in the body and must be directed firmly around the mouthpiece, NOT away from it as when you "smile."  If you smile, you are working against yourself.

· Never let the chin bunch up; keep the bottom lip flat against the bottom teeth.  Sometimes it can be useful to think of "pointing" the chin.

· Perhaps think of slightly increasing the distance between the teeth.

· Do not allow the clarinet to be held too far out from the body.

It is important to realize that all of the above factors lead to one basic point.  That is, the lower lip, jaw and teeth must not squeeze up against the reed in order that the reed (the source of musical sound) be allowed to vibrate freely and give a full resonant sound.

Guidelines for Good Clarinet Practicing

When discussing good practice habits, the most important item to remember is that there is no substitute for efficient, daily practice.  The practice time should be a time of intense concentration for the musician.  It should be done away from any distractions such as busy rooms, TV or computers, or the stereo.

It is ideal if the room is not too dead in sound, which is discouraging, or so live that the sound is too enhanced.  Larry Combs, Principal Clarinetist of the Chicago Symphony, has written a superb article titled, "How to Practice Effectively" which can be found in the March 1985 issue of the Instrumentalist.  Much of the information below was organized around this article.

There are two questions most commonly asked regarding practicing. The first is: "How much should I practice?"  The second is: "How should I practice?" Let's look at the first question.

"How should I practice?"

Any practice session should begin with several minutes of easy, sustained playing which avoids any extremes of range or dynamics.  On most instruments, this is best accomplished by the playing of long tones.  A good long tone warm-up (advocated by Larry Combs in his article in the Instrumentalist) can be practiced by starting on low C and holding this tone for four slow counts.  Then, without stopping the air, depress the register key to produce a G just above the staff.  Hold this G for four slow counts also, then descend in a major arpeggio (in this case a C major arpeggio since it started on C), and hold each pitch for two slow counts.  When the bottom C is reached, hold this tone for as long as the breath allows.  This process can be repeated for other lower notes in the clarinet's range.

After several minutes of long tones, scales and arpeggios should be the next area of practice.  The importance of scales cannot be overstated.  Most conventional music that is played today is constructed of scales and arpeggios in some form, and being able to play these building blocks fluently is of utmost importance.  By knowing scales well, the player can then recognize groups of notes that fit into the scale or arpeggio and play the group without having to read each individual note.  There are several books and scale methods.  Some of the best are the Jettel and Klose methods which have a comprehensive set of exercises for practicing the scales in thirds, fourths, fifths, sixths, and sevenths as well as the traditional way.  Be sure to practice your scales in different articulations.  These are:

· all tongued

· all slurred

· two tongued/two slurred

· two slurred/two tongued

· three slurred/one tongued

· one tongued/three slurred

· one tongued/two slurred/one tongued

Generally, it is a good idea to play the scale all slurred first.  Concentrate on the scale and the air stream.  The quality of the slurred sound will always be better than the tongued sound.  When practicing tongued articulations, make an effort to maintain good sound quality by constantly trying to make the tongued sound the same quality as the slurred sound.

Before moving on to etudes, a useful area of study can be fingering "noodles" or "mechanisms."  These are short fragments of technical exercises that present certain problems peculiar to the clarinet.  The Klose method has many of these.  They are useful as fingering warm-ups and for mastering smoothness between registers.  Another excellent source of material in this vein is the group of Velocity Studies by Kalmen Opperman.  Written by a clarinetist for a clarinetist, these studies drill some of the more difficult technical issues on the instrument.  There should be time reserved in every practice session for working on this kind of material.

After long tones, scales, and noodles, some etude work can be started.  Etudes are very useful on any instrument for practicing specific technical challenges.  There is almost no end to the variety of etudes which can be found.  Some of the most well known and most widely used are the Rose etudes.  The books most commonly used include the forty studies (in two books of twenty), and the thirty-two etudes.  Whatever studies or etudes are chosen, they must be approached carefully.  At first, it might be useful to play straight through without stopping to get an idea of the music and how everything fits together.  After this, however, the etude should be broken down and practiced slowly and carefully, taking the time to get good connections between tones and to make sure notes are accurate.  It is very important to try to play the etude as musically as possible.  Even though it is not a solo piece to be played on the concert stage, the same musical principles that apply to solo concertos and sonatas apply to the etude.  All of the above exercises should be practiced in some way every day.  This is in addition to any solo or ensemble material to be practiced.

To summarize, try to include the following elements in your practice session:

Slow, sustained playing
Register changes/flexibility exercises
Scales
Noodles/technical finger exercises
Etudes
Solo/ensemble music

When practicing anything, practice it slowly first.  Avoid practicing continued unsuccessful repetitions of a passage.  Start with a tempo at which the passage is easy, and then slowly speed up the tempo.  Even when the passage can be played at tempo, it is often very useful to go back over it at the slower tempo to reinforce the pattern to the fingers.

Clarinet Mouthpiece, Ligature, and Reed

Mouthpieces
There are several commercial mouthpieces on the market which produce decent sounds.  Vandoren mouthpieces are generally good.  For novice players, the B45 will work, but more advanced students may prefer something along the lines of a 5RV lyre or M13 lyre.  There are many other kinds of "custom" mouthpieces that can be bought through mail order.  Since any mouthpiece should be tried out before purchase (if possible), it is very important to consult the private teacher before buying one.  Generally the mouthpieces that come with clarinets from the instrument manufacturer are not very good.  Even the best quality clarinets do not have good quality mouthpieces with them at the time of purchase.  Whatever mouthpiece is used, it should be free of scratches, nicks, and gouges, especially at the tip.  The table (where the reed goes) should also be perfectly flat and free from scratches or gouges.  One excellent, low cost (under $50) beginner mouthpiece is the "Debut" model made by Clark Fobes in San Francisco.

Ligatures
Ligatures are a subject of much debate among clarinetists. Although there are many different kinds of ligatures on the market, many players swear by a certain brand or design and refuse to play with anything else.  The choice is almost overwhelming, and all claim to improve your sound in some way. The price range also differs considerably from a regular "Bonade" ligature around $11-$15, to ligatures that can cost $40 or more. Again, the best choice is to consult with the private teacher before buying a ligature. Ligatures do not affect the sound nearly as much as the mouthpiece does. There are, however, small changes in tone color and reed response with different ligatures. Generally, a regular Bonade ligature is very effective and serves most students well. 

Reeds
Reeds are another matter of contention. There are many brands available, with Rico and Vandoren two of the most popular. Zonda reeds from Argentina are also becoming popular, and they seem to be quite consistent in strength throughout the box.  With reeds, many players subscribe to the belief "use whatever works." One frequently asked question is "What strength reeds should I play on?" The strength of the reed used is another matter that should be decided on with the advice of the private teacher. Reed strength selection is dependent upon the tip opening and facing of the mouthpiece being used. A stronger reed is not necessarily better for everyone. If the tip opening of the mouthpiece is quite open, a more flexible (softer) reed should be used. If the tip opening is closed, a stronger (harder) reed is needed. There is no "hero badge" for playing a #5 reed and it will not necessarily improve the sound.

The reed must be treated very carefully.  Always watch for cracks or nicks in the reed that will affect its performance. The reed and mouthpiece combination is the sound producing part of the clarinet. If you start with a poor mouthpiece and cracked reed, you are already putting yourself at a disadvantage.  Therefore there are two essentials for reed storage:

1. Keeping the reed flat
2. Protecting the tip

There are several commercial reed cases available. One of the cheapest and what should be considered a "minimum requirement" for all students is something along the lines of the LaVoz ReedGard. This is a very simple and low-cost holder carried by most music stores. It keeps the reed flat and protects the tip. They generally hold two to four reeds.

A good habit to get into is the practice of "rotating" your reeds. Never play on the same reed all the time. Have at least four reeds that work, and rotate them regularly.  If one of them is particularly good, just play it every now and then and save it for public performances. Use other reeds during practice sessions and rehearsals. It is vital when using reeds that are broken in and working, however, to open up some new boxes and start the breaking-in process with new reeds.  Although there are many different methods and ideas for breaking in the reeds, don't play on new reeds for a long period of time. The reed has been sitting in a box for a while, and needs to be carefully handled at first.  Play on new reeds just a few minutes each day, slightly increasing the time daily for a week or two.  To an extent, more time spent breaking in the reeds will result in longer reed life. 

Some people like to polish their reeds on the top and bottom.  This can be done by simply rubbing the bottom of the reed on some high quality letterhead paper that has a rougher texture to it.  The top of the reed can be polished by placing the reed on a flat surface and using the same paper on the fingertip to rub the reed.  Any polishing should be done with the direction of the grain, not against it.  There are many ways to adjust reeds by means of sandpaper, reed rush, or a reed knife.  All of these things are difficult to describe, and there is no "formula" for adjusting all reeds. The private teacher can help with reed adjustment, and there are several books on the subject.

Here are some things to remember about the mouthpiece, ligature, and reed:

· Always put the ligature on first.

· Then slip the reed into the ligature.

· Make sure the reed is "squarely" on the table of the mouthpiece.

· Leave a thin crescent of "black" (the mouthpiece) showing behind the reed when putting it on the mouthpiece (i.e., the tip of the reed should be slightly lower than the tip of the mouthpiece).

· Always tighten the ligature on the "butt" part of the reed, never the "blade" part.

· Don't screw down the reed too tightly.  This keeps it from vibrating and keeps you from getting a bigger and better sound.

· The reed is the last thing to put on the clarinet when assembling and the first thing to take off when packing up.