Top Tips for Saxophonists Learning Clarinet
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- Опубликовано: 14 окт 2024
- Switching from sax to clarinet or doubling on clarinet can be a tricky transition. Here are my best tips to make your clarinet journey easier!
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8:09 your absolutely right you need to open up for low notes and for high notes it’s a firmer more precise embochure
Thanks for your very interesting video. As a longtime (off and on) saxophone player, I am continually amazed at how the Albert and German system clarinets are usually treated as a footnote in musical history.
When I decided to learn the clarinet, I purchased both an intermediate Böhm system clarinet and a cheap German system clarinet. I quickly dropped the Böhm clarinet, because compared to German system clarinets, it was literally weighed down by a spongy, slow to respond key mechanism. In the clarinet discussions about which system is superior, the timbre of the German system clarinet is often emphasized as superior, which may be the case, but for me it is the responsiveness of the German system key mechanics that is why I stick with the German system.
The German system definitely makes more sense coming from the saxophone! And honestly it might be better overall. That would be something interesting to explore for a video since I have never tried German system clarinets before.
Your video is spot on addressing the issues when coming later from sax to clary. I don't have a problem with embouchure and find clarinet easier to get a good sound. Yes it's the notorious 'break'. Concentrating on chromatic scales has really helped. However, I wished there was a clary with sax fingering....I'd buy it straight away.....(is there such an instrument?)
..I've come to love the clarinet late in life, although sax & flute are my prime instruments as I'm a jazzer. Buddy de Franco and Eddie Daniels drew me to learn clary as I'm a bit adverse to 'trad' jazz....
Anyway, thanks once again...John UK
Yes, the saxophone fingering system really is so much better than the clarinet. One problem that is hard to overcome are the throat tone notes on the clarinet. Because of the cylindrical bore the clarinet overblows a 12th rather than an octave, so you have to have those extra keys to fill in the gap between G and B.
However, the German System clarinet is at least closer to saxophone, especially for the pinky keys!
"The clarinet is honestly a little bit of a hot mess..." Truer words have never been spoken. 😂 (I'm a clarinetist who picked up sax--a much easier transition in my opinion.)
The more I learn about the physics of the instrument, the more questions I have lol!
Hey! Just finished watching the video, I myself am not a saxophone player.
BUT I still found it helpful for playing my clarinet with that finger exercise.
Good luck for the saxophones though!
Awesome! Good fundamentals are good no matter where you are approaching the instrument from!
Just found your channel a few weeks ago and this is perfect! I played saxophone in middle school and decided now at mid-life that I missed music and wanted to try learning the clarinet. I have had a much more difficult time than I ever imagined! Playing the saxophone came easily and squeaking was not an issue. I’m squeaking so much on the clarinet! I did take in the used instrument I bought to get it checked out and it’s getting some repairs. I am hoping that will help but I think you’re right, the open holes are probably the issue most of the time. I do find the embouchure to be more laborious than I remembered as well. What about fingering differences for notes (like differences in fingering charts)? Is it worth starting from saxophone fingering and learning differences or better you just start from scratch?
Yes, squeaking from not covering the holes all the way is the number one issue for people starting out on clarinet. Try and be more relaxed with your fingers so they naturally land on the holes and so you aren't squeezing so tight that even if you miss it will kind of "fall" into the hole.
As for learning fingerings, clarinet is very similar to saxophone in the upper register. If you are good at theory, you can think of the lower register fingerings on clarinet being a fifth lower than what they would be on saxophone. What is a B on saxophone is an E on clarinet in the low register (and a B in the higher register).
Other than that you might have to just relearn the low register notes, and then it will be easy when you get to the higher register.
Thank you! Great tips! That pinkie exercise is good medicine! I'm also facing a challenge as a saxophone player that my brain doesn't accept the notes of the chalumeau register. When I play a chalumeau low "C", my brain says G. It's quite an odd experience. I can now play all of the major and minor scales very fluidly, but I often space out on what scale I'm playing as my ears and fingers take over.
Yes, that is really challenging! If you can recognize scale patterns in music and go on autopilot then I don't think that is a major issue. Just keep working at it to build that familiarity and eventually your brain will be convinced!
Thanks for that feedback! Ok then I will trust the autopilot and be patient for my brain to catch up with the note names. Indeed when practicing this way I became open to the idea that I can rely on relative pitch and "relative fingering"... for example, I was playing a descending C Major arpeggio, (starting from familiar clarion territory), and noticed that when I get down to C in the chalumeau register, my ears and fingers "know" that the motion of putting three fingers down in the right hand is going to bring me down a perfect fourth, and it doesn't even matter what my brain says the note name is. I was telling my guitarist friend about this method, and he said, aha, so now you're thinking like a guitar player! @@QuickStartClarinet
Excellent tuition. Thank you
Glad it was helpful!
this was so helpful! i played sax in my younger years and similar to a lot of folks in the comments i didn't ever have trouble with squeaking etc. but this clarinet is giving me a run for my money. the voicing tips were so helpful, i'm going to try to practice that...any tips or inklings you can provide as to why my middle G (no fingers) is so squeaky?? i assume it just comes down to more practice/maybe a voicing issue but i'd love to blame the instrument (i'm renting a used clarinet).
Normally you should always assume squeaking is a finger issue where you aren't covering the holes all the way. Open G, obviously doesn't have the problem of not covering the holes all the way. However, it could still potentially be a finger coordination issue. Especially if you are coming from the upper register and you are little slow to get the thumb off of the register key it can sort of get stuck in the upper register and overblow to a high D.
If it is usually squeaking when coming from the upper register, it is totally fine (and really helpful) to lightly tongue the lower note to reset the reed vibrations and convince it to come down to the lower register.
If you are getting a squeak just starting on the open G then it is probably a voicing issue, and you are aiming the air too high and probably a little too tight with the embouchure.
Unfortunately, it is unlikely that it is an instrument issue especially if the notes below G don't have any problems, but it never hurts to get things looked at by a good repair person.
Good luck, and I hope that helps!
I'm a saxophonist and looking to learn the bass clarinet, this was intersting
I hope it was helpful. Bass clarinet is so much fun!
watching this as a clarinet player learning saxophone
Nice, I hope it helps!
I'm a Saxophonist looking to advance my Clarinet abilities. My LH Pinky is a challenge. I cannot move my LH pinky without my ring finger moving as well. I cannot do the hand exercise you demonstrated unless I hold my LH fingers with my RH to keep them from moving while I try to move my LH pinky independently. My question is, if I work this hand exercise will I eventually gain independent LH pinky finger movement? Or will this always be a road block? Right now I tend to cheat by leaning the side of my LH pinky onto the keys as needed.
You can definitely improve the independence of the pinkies with practice. You can definitely start the exercise by holding the other fingers! Also remember that it has nothing to do with building strength and is all about building coordination. You don't have to work on the muscles, rather it is all about building new brain connections. The best way to do that is lots of small practice sessions.
The way you are cheating with leaning the fingers on the key isn't the end of the world, but it will definitely slow you down and could cause squeaking problems as it requires your whole hand to move.
I hope that helps, let me know if you have any questions!
@@QuickStartClarinet Thanks so much for this finger exercise tip. I've already started working it.
1.5 year ago, this video would be very helpful.
When i start, i understand that better will be just alternate pinky fingers to move L-R-L or vice versa.
Yes, we definitely never want to slide the pinkies on the clarinet! Alternating is always better except for a few quite rare exceptions.
I use a plateau clarinet which makes finger position less critical.
Nice, that definitely makes it a lot more similar to saxophone as far as the fingers are concerned too!
I was thinking that this video would be perfect for me since I'm a big saxophone guy trying to learn clainet, but most of this doesnt apply because I learned bassoon first 😅
Well, you definitely have more than enough thumb coordination to play the clarinet! 😆
What barrell have you got on?
It’s the EVO adjustable barrel by Brad Behn. I like it quite a lot!
Bought a cheap clarinet on Amazon interested in learning what I missed out on in 6th grade
I'm so excited for you to start your clarinet journey! Definitely check this video out if you haven't seen it already: ruclips.net/video/8aRC6wHDfUE/видео.htmlsi=RELg5SxLpzFqctYt
@@QuickStartClarinet thank you! Definitely will check that out once it arrives
As a saxophone player you should also not change your emboucher always ah or oh unless it’s altissimo
I definitely agree that the embouchure shouldn't change. I could have been more clear in the video that stability and steady voicing is also good to aim for on the saxophone, but the clarinet is even more strict in demanding high voicing that is really stable all the time.