B-flat sounds bad on clarinet?

Question

I have been playing the clarient (b-flat soprano) for six years now, but whenver I play a middle b-flat (A key and regester key) it sounds really shaky and like I have bad tone. I'm pretty sure there are not any alternate fingerings... Any tips?

Answer 1

First off, you're not the only one with bad tone on this note! :)

The throat tones (F through Bb) are the hardest to get good resonance from, the hardest to tune, project, and just play well all around.

Here are a few things you can do:

1) Like the other poster said, check the pads.

2) Make sure your thumb hole isn't leaking spit.  I know it's gross, but it happens.  If you have a wood clarinet, you can bore oil it, let it sit for a day, then make a new "track" for the condensation to follow... put the top and bottom joints together, place a couple drops of oil at the top on the backside of the clarinet, then look through it like a telescope.  Angle it so you can see light reflecting off the oil, but so it runs down towards the bell... tip it back and forth so it runs left of the thumb hole, and then back to center.  If you have a plastic clarinet, the same can be done with water.

3) Check the play in the A key... put your finger over the PAD of the Ab key and hold it down.  Now push the A key... it should have the TINIEST bit of wiggle room before it hits the Ab key (like .5 a millimeter).  If not, loosen the s***w on the top of the Ab key (just a TINY bit), and if there's a lot of wiggle room, tighten the s***w.

4) When playing your throat tones, and especially Bb, throw down more fingers!  Try getting your right hand down, plus the right pinky F/C key... this adds more resistance, gives more resonance, and helps with tuning (the throat tones are a little on the sharp side).  Also, this is good for when you have to play Bb to Bnatural- half your fingers are already down!  It works when you are playing scales and runs, and it helps to smooth out the tone quality when going across the break.

5) There is an alternate Bb, but it is meant for trills (A-Bb)... play your "A" as normal, and use your right index finger to push the 3rd highest side key (or next to top, depending on how you want to look at it).  For this one to be in tune though, say "eeee" but drop your jaw slightly.  This one isn't recommended for anything but trills though.

6) The last thing to work on is your throat positioning... cross your legs as a man does (right ankle on left knee) and push your bell against your calf, making a seal.  Now finger a Bnatural and blow... you will get a weird sound that sounds almost like a MIDI system (if you squeek, just try again).  Now, without changing your embouchure or your tongue shape (start it in an "eee" position), open your throat like you're yawning and blow again... the note should change.  Tighten it up again... this will give you another note.  These are in 3rds, and once you start getting good at this, you can actually play Revelry (the bugle call from the Army) using just your throat.  It takes some practice, so be patient.

This exercise is infinitely helpful for tuning ALL of your notes and adding a deeper resonance, but especially so for throat tones and altissimo... it's also the technique used to do the opening clarinet riff from Rhapsody in Blue.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ip_gTdqNX...

Listen to the first 50 seconds or so... you'll hear the clarinet do a few slides... after the first one, he plays a couple more notes and then ALMOST squeeks... this is him adjusting his throat back to normal and getting ready for another slide... GREAT performance though!

Anyways, hope this helped, and have fun! :)

EDIT:  Here's a fingering chart that shows "alternate" fingerings for Bb, but they are pretty much just "throw down  some fingers" in different combinations.

http://www.wfg.woodwind.org/clarinet/cl_...

Answer 2

I've experienced a similar problem before.  Take a look at the pad covering the holes for either your A key or your register key.  A pad might be loose and, if it is, it's changing the air flow and making the note sound shaky because the pad is falling back over the hole that's supposed to open up when you press that particular key.  Unfortunately, if you're not having the same problem with your A or with your upper register notes, this is probably not the answer you need.