Clarinet tone-help?

Question

i'm using a hand-me-down 10 yr old Buffet Bb clarinet.

my open G and B are the 2 most awful notes i've ever produced.

on a size 2 vandoren reed, both sounds reasonably okay, i've no problem with that.

however the problem starts when i use a size 3 reed. my open G vibrates. it sounds metallic, and something akin to a buzzing sound is produced.

on a size 3.5 reed, open G sounds like it is buzzing loads, and B sounds buzzing too. however, high notes are of nicer tone here.

i've tried

>varying lip pressure (dosn't help)

>moving point of contact of reed towards and away from the ligature (didn't help)

>vary air supply (also didn't help)

i've no idea how to open or close the throat, cos i can't really feel it. help please! someone give me a solution!

Answer 1

Hi there.  First of all,  if you have a Buffet clarinet in excellent playing condition... you have a good instrument... 10 years old or not.   Next,  I don't know how long you have been playing,  but if you are an intermediate player...  in jr high or high school,  you should not be playing on a reed any stronger than 3...3 1/2 tops and that is pushing it.  The Vandoren reeds are good... so the brand is not the problem.   What I might have you consider is your mouthpiece.   Is it a good quality mouthpiece?  Vandoren 5RV or 5RV Lyre?   Those are very good and at most affordable.   Mouthpieces are going to affect your tone.. and the better the mouthpiece,  the better the tone.   A couple of other mouthpieces that you might check into are the Giggolotti or the Charles Bay.   My daugher has both / likes both but plays on the Bay the most.   You are going to get other replys with different suggestions... I just thought I would attack it from the mouthpiece and reed position.  Hope it helps.   And if you have a music store in your area,  you can take in your clarinet to test out the mouthpieces....  Very Wise.   OR you can call and order a few mouthpieces from WoodWind and Brasswind.  They will send out a few for you to test.  You choose which one you want and send the rest back..  Happy Tooting.

Answer 2

Buffet clarinets are amazing! i have one and have learned to adore it over the years!

as for opening the throat, as long as you don't feel a horrible scrunchy feeling that stops you breathing for a second, i think you're doing the right thing.

you need to support the sound using your diaphram and back muscles, as you do with singing and other blow-y type instruments.

the 3.5 sounds as if it is too hard. i can play well on a 3. Vandorens are good, but the one's i love are the vandoren rue lepic reeds - they're fab, although they don't last as long as the standard vandorens.

have you tried using a 2.5 reed? make sure you wet the reed first!

As well as changing the reed you use, try different ligatures and mouthpieces. I have a ligature that has one metal s***w and it's made of a kind of seat-belt material - much better than the beginners' 2 metal piece things! Since i bought a good mouthpiece (about 5 years ago) my playing has been revolutionised!

As for making the G better, try putting the bottom 2 fingers down on the right-hand and using the low Gsharp key at the same time. It helps G's, and what helps B's can be the A key and the side B key (it's the one at the top of the block of four keys :) )

Hopefully, that helps! I'd definately advise asking a teacher how you can improve, but my sound has improved since using those techniques, and i haven't had a teacher since i did my grade 8 (December 2006) and got Honours :D

x x x

Answer 3

because you're playing it hard

G is nothing just blow

B is C and that middle note at the bottom

Answer 4

I could really pin point it more if I knew how long you have been playing. If you are a new player, i would suggest using a 2/5 reed. the brand reed you are playing is fine. Try working on some long tones with the 3 reed, it could be that its just not broken in properly. try this - soak the reed in water for about 5 minutes. take and put the tip of the reed on a hard surface...  thump the end with your finger a few times to get the water down in the fibers, and try to play, if its still a little stiff try to shave it down a bit at the heart or try a different size. if you'll e-mail me, i'll give you some really good tips on how to select the perfect reed and how to shape them.  about the throat... yawn.,.... do you feel those muscles??  those are the muscles that you want to expand. the bottom part of your jaw should drop just slightly, also make sure you have good ombrochure position by keeping you chin completely flat with your lip tight.