WELCOME TO OUR SESSION!

Mevonnie BigginsPeachcrest Elementary

John WarrenKennesaw State

University

Tara Winds Clarinet Choir

GROUP ARTICULATION EXERCISE1.Make a small

rectangular opening at the base of the cup

2.Place the end of the cup in front of the lips. (Eeee-ewww)

3.Practice introducing the tongue to the surface of the cup.

GROUP ARTICULATION EXERCISE

ROLE OF THE CLARINET IN THE WIND BAND

“A leading role in the wind band…” -Mozart

IDENTIFY THE PROBLEMTone Clarity

Playing in the Chalumeau Register

T

RESULTWeak, worn down tone

Squawky tone lacking in focusMusical Excerpt: Ammerland by Jacob de

Haan

How do I teach this?Problem StrategiesWeak, worn down tone

Check the quality of the reed. Students of all level tend to use a reed well after its shelf life has expired.

Reeds will get dirty or split or chipped tip. Reed may be worn WITHOUT any external evidence.

Small, pinched or muffled tone

Too little mouthpiece in the mouth. Have the student push up from the right hand

Too much pressure on the reed from the lower jaw. Relax a little

Squawky tone(Lacking in body, flat, no

focus)

Check that lower lip is supporting the reed. Check that the upper lip is providing enough pressure around

the mouthpiece. Engage the corners inward

Tone Control issues

Caused by inability to keep a steady air column “Yawning” exercises” (Yawn while keeping your lips closed) Focus on the follow through Flow of breath always move forward, or to the front

Hard, cold tone(inflexible)

Check the reed strength. May be too hard. Mouthpiece has a lay that is too open or too long

IDENTIFY THE PROBLEMBlending Tones

Balancing ChordsIntonation

Melodic Direction

T

RESULTUnbalanced “Top Heavy” Sound

Lack of Expression

Musical Excerpt: Chester by William Schumann

How do I teach this?Problem Strategies

Influences in intonation

Embouchure formation Reed strength Mouthpiece Barrel Breath Support

Throat Tone Resonance

Sensitive to breath support and embouchure Place a “sour m” in front of a vowel to emphasize the support of

the lower lip (Ex. Ma Me Mi Mo Mohh) In general, opening the tone holes will raise the pitch, closing

the tone holes will lower the pitch

General Rules for “shading” throat tones

Add the 4th, 5th and/or 6th fingers to the basic fingering Experiment with adding the 3rd, 2nd, or 1st fingering Students must play in tone and in tune ( no one size) Additional vs. Alternate

Adjusting Notes in the upper clarion register

Notes tend to lean on the sharp side, depending on the embouchure

Reed alone is not the determining factor, but harder reeds tends to make the instrument sharp and soft reeds tend to make the instrument flat.

Air is almost always an issue.

IDENTIFY THE PROBLEMClarinet Articulation

Rapid Tonguing Passages

RESULTSluggish Tongue

Throating Mouth Movement (“Chewing”)

Musical Excerpt: The Italian Girl in Algiers (Rossini/Calliet)

How do I teach this?Problem Strategies

Diagnosing the correct problem

Have the student play only on the barrel and the mouthpiece (F# pitch) when diagnosing tonguing problems

When you reduce the variables, errors become more apparent. Repeat after me, “Tip of the tongue to the top of the reed.” Tongue uses minimal effort

Lack of Clarity

Sensitive to breath support and embouchure Use daily tonguing exercise with a breath attack initiating the

tone first While sustaining the whole note, use the tip of the tongue to the

top of the reed to interrupt the whole note Keep the tongue HIGH and FORWARD in the mouth (angry

kitty)

Sluggish Tongue

Use the tonguing cup to get the tongue to actually move Introduce tongue to the reed surface using articulation Ex. 2 Long tones will help strengthen the facial muscles to encourage

a strong embouchure foundation

“Throating” (Back of the Tongue)

Eliminate the tonguing completely from any and all playing Re-introduce the tongue to the reed surface Method takes time, but it is most effective

IDENTIFY THE PROBLEMPerforming Group Technical Passages

Tempo

RESULTTrading speed for “accuracy”

Sloppy execution

Musical Excerpt: Ignition (Todd Stalter)

How do I teach this?Problem Strategies

Crossing the Break

Student should use the psychology of having nonchalant approach to crossing the break

Check the thumb position (Should be at an oblique angle) Short thumbs should move up slightly. Long thumbs move down

Lips should remain stationary as the fingers move up and down

Hand Position

Left hand-Use the C-U-B method Right hand-Use the C-U method Basic hand position vs. Advanced Fruit test to measure hand size/application of pressure

Finger Position Left/Right Thumb position Left index finder Visible pinky fingers (No more keep away)

Technical Mastery

Extended Scale Patterns-Encourages students to recognize scale patterns in the music

Interrupted Pattern-Developing even fingers, air and tone quality through shifting registers of the clarinet

Thirds-Foundation for mastering patterns involving skips

Technique Mastery Strategies

IDENTIFY THE PROBLEMCreating a style character

Pitch Bending

RESULTImproper interpretationGrunting or Squeaking

Musical Excerpt: Blue Shades (Frank Ticheli)

How do I teach this?Problem Strategies

Embouchure Grip

Use the sour lemons approach Sour vowels Forget about “flattening the chin” “Ohhh” or “Ewww “

Corner Engagement

K.I.S.S. your corners (Keep the corners In, Sealed and Secure)

Can’t happen realistically, but students will start to identify parts of the mouth they may normally miss.

Lower Lip Support

The amount of lip over the lower teeth is dependent on the size and thickness of the lips of the individual students

Experiment with varying amounts of lower lip to get the proper sound.

Supporting Exercises Coffee Stirrer Reed Pencil

Get those clarinets playing!Clarinet QuartetClarinet Trio w/Bass Clarinet

Clarinet EnsembleFull Clarinet Choir