Skip to main content

What to Do if Your Clarinet Sounds Airy

An airy clarinet can be the product of improper playing technique. To remove the airy sound, you must learn to use your embouchure to prevent air from leaking through the sides of the instrument and corners of the mouth. Additionally, you should check to ensure that the reed is in good condition and not worn out. In most cases, proper breath support will improve your pitch and enable you to play effectively and without any air in the instrument's sound.

Breathing


Breathe properly by taking in a full breath into your diaphragm. Diaphragmatic breathing involves taking air into your lungs by expanding the diaphragm muscles to pull air into your lungs. This will provide the proper breath support to play the clarinet. When you breathe correctly, you should feel your sides, stomach and even back expand with air. Practice breathing in for four beats and out for six beats to learn to regulate and control your airflow.

Tongue Position


Form the tongue position for the letter "K." Notice how the tongue curls up in the back of the mouth with the tip resting on the floor. You may also try saying the word "key" if you have trouble forming this position with your tongue. This will help to increase the speed of the airflow by creating a bottleneck at the back of your throat, thereby strengthening your sound. Practice holding this position and playing long tones to increase your air speed.

Embouchure


Create a seal around the mouthpiece with your lips. Often, poor embouchure strength is the reason behind an airy sound. If air is leaking from the corners of your mouth, it will reduce the effectiveness of the sound. To form an embouchure, imagine you are sucking through a straw. The muscles that form this act are the muscles of the embouchure. Your teeth should rest lightly on top of the mouthpiece. Only the tip of the mouthpiece, approximately the length of the tip of your thumb, should be inserted into the mouth.

Exercises


Play long tones on major scales to improve the quality of your tone. Each note of the scale should be held out for four beats at a metronome marking of 60 beats per minute. Continue through the entire range of the scale, playing every note while increasing the air speed towards the top of the scale and decreasing towards the bottom of the scale. This will ensure that you develop a strong embouchure, capable of holding a strong and steady tone.

References


University of Mount Union; A Few Thoughts on Improving Clarinet Tone; James E. Perone [http://raider.mountunion.edu/~peroneje/tonenotes.htm]
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

List of Musical Techniques and Their Meanings

Musical techniques are the building blocks of any basic music training. These techniques allow performers to improve their coordination and develop accuracy through repetitive daily exercises. Musical techniques progressively build upon previously learned techniques. Scales Scales form the basis for other musical techniques. Student may study major and minor scales as well as modern scales, such as the whole-tone and octatonic scales. A scale consists of patterns of half steps and whole steps. These whole steps and half-step arrangements will be different for each scale. Scales are musical techniques that can help a performer to play faster and more accurately, and make learning new pieces easier. Chords Chords require knowledge of major and minor scales. Chords come in several different forms that affect the sound. Triads consist of three notes spaced a third apart and classified as major, minor, augmented and diminished chords. Seventh chords build on triads and have an additional no
Post a Comment
Read more

Why Claude Debussy Never Cared About Music Theory

  Claude Debussy was born on August 22, 1862. So, I felt writing a blog post to celebrate would be appropriate. Debussy was a revolutionary composer who challenged the conventions of Western music. He was influenced by the impressionist painters, the exotic sounds of gamelan music, and the symbolist poets. He created a musical language that was expressive, colorful, and atmospheric. One of the most remarkable aspects of Debussy's music is his use of harmony. He did not follow the rules of tonality and functional harmony that dominated the music of his time. Instead, he used modes, scales, chords, and parallel movements that created a sense of ambiguity and fluidity. He also experimented with timbre, texture, rhythm, and form to create musical images that evoked moods and emotions. Debussy's music can inspire us to think outside the box and explore new possibilities in our own compositions. We can learn from his innovative techniques and his artistic vision. We can also apprecia
Post a Comment
Read more

Similarities of Classical and Baroque Music

Music has evolved through the centuries and undergone drastic changes. One of the most significant transitions was from the Baroque to the Classical period of music. In this paragraph, I will compare and contrast some of the main features of these two styles, such as ensembles, instrumentation, and counterpoint study. The Baroque and Classical periods of music have many similarities. While the style of music changed drastically, certain key elements remained the same between the two styles. Composers in the Classical period sought to simplify music and create clearly audible musical lines. In contrast, composers from the Baroque period were interested in creating complex and highly ornamented musical lines. The Baroque period occurs from approximately 1600 to 1750, and the Classical period extends from 1750 to 1820. Ensembles Ensembles are groups of musicians that perform together. Both the Baroque and the Classical period had similar types of ensembles, such as operas, orchestras, str
Post a Comment
Read more