I have been playing clarinet for 4years now and i was playing around with the very high G which is quite easy for me now and i thought of going higher. I started messing around and went chromatically up to G#,A,and then A#. I skipped B and went to an even higher B#. I am searching to find the fingering for B. And this is on a Bb clarinet.

hey how do you geta high d on a clarinet

i can get up to a high G and possibly a G#. i play on mitchell lurie size 4 and im in 10th grade in our schools top band...

high C# is 2,3 1,2, (optional) Eb/G# top pinky key

a high D is played, 2, 3, 1, "Eb/G#" pinky key

high Eb is 2,3, 2 with top pinky key

high E is 2,3 pinky key

high F is 2,3, and the side "C#" key

high F# is 2, pinky key

high G is 2, 1,2, pinky key

i really don`t know why i typed all that out and not just given a link... ah well!

-Shanna

should i get a better strength reed? i`m using a 2. now the highest note i can start on w/ my strength 2 (HAH, it`s a 2 yr old reed =D) is the A (first 2 fingers w/ register key n thumb key) ugh... and i can only work my way up to 2 or 3 notes more until it starts cracking and making weird screeching noises. =/

so, long story short, if i get a stronger reed, will it be easier to get the high notes? or is it the *lower* the strength is the easier it is to hit high notes?

another question... will switching from the upper to higher register ever come more naturally? i`ve been playing for almost a yr and a half and when i switch registers i end up making awkward motions n stuff...

a two year old reed?!?!?!?!?! eew! one should rotate their reeds.. how does it even work after being used for two years!!

anyway, yes it will be easier to get higher notes to come out on a thinner reed. but thats not the point. the point is sounding your best, and that means working your way up to a 3-3.5 while still sounding excellent in all registers. i, personally think 4`s are the best but its taken me 5 years to be able to sound good on a 4

as for jumping registers... try doing some octave (well, octave and a fourth) slurs. like sluring from a low C (1,2,3) to a high G. this only involves adding the register key. and try it on all different notes. until you can get a clean change without any fuzzy notes to come out, and you can hit the higher note centered and in tune, it will be akward skipping registers. and try some runs that involve the octave key. do them slowly ar first until you have them then add speed and control

i hope this helped a little. e-mail me with any other questions or IM me at CropCircleRadr07

LOL yea, 2 yrs, but that was one of the last ones i used before i: stopped playing ANY instrument for a year, and then picked up a bassoon. so it`s been barely played... i`m just back to clarinet again b/c my bassoon is in the repair shop... *poor thing* i`ve always thought the clarient was a really boring instrument, but now i like it and i want to improve...

today i chipped my 2 in band practice... omg... haha the corner of my reed now folds down... =/ time for a new reed. =D

hmm, yea, i`m trying to upgrade to a 3 b/c i`ve played on 2 1/2s and i get a pretty good sound on them, i just broke all the ones i`ve had. i just need to finish my box of 2`s then i`ll go to 3`s... is that recommended? b/c i`ve been playing 2 1/2s for a while but my last one broke so i`m using 2s bought a long time ago. is jumping from a 2 to a 3 ok?

oh yea, and i`ll try those exercises... will they work though? because i`m talking about when playing a bit faster than usual and having to go up from an A or a Bb at the top of the lower register to a B or a C in the start of the upper register...

As far as making high notes come out clean, most of that will come with practice and time. You want to make sure your mouthpiece and reed set up is comfortable and responsive. If that means you use a 2 1/2, so be it. If it means you use a 5 (!!!) go for it. Check around for other people using the same mouthpiece and see what strength they`re using. A 3 on one mouthpiece may be too soft, and much to hard on another.

Also, there`s an article at http://clarinet.cc that discusses high notes in general. (The altissima, Copland, and an approach for consideration). It talks about improving range for the highest notes, but the techniques are good for all notes.

First of all concerning high notes:

the only way to be able to play high notes with good tone and good intonation is to practice these nifty little exercises called long tones.

for example, start on a piano low E and crescendo for eight counts to a good fortissimo and decrescendo for eight counts to air. then continue on to an F and do the same. Continue the same exercise on each note all the way up to the C above the staff, or if you are ready up to the G above the staff. Concentrate on the attacks in the upper register so that they are smooth.


As for the embachure, your embachure should stay the same for every note you play whether it be a low E or an F above the staff.
Your embachure should look like you are sucking on a milk shake straw except the top lip should be tucked in slightly, so it doesnt look like you are sucking on your clarinet. also the corners of the mouth should be forward. the chin should also be flat and pulled down, not scrunched up like a peach pit.

Your throat should also be relaxed and open which will help in producing a darker sound as opposed to a bright sound. A dark sound will allow the sound of the clarinet to carry through the ensemble whereas a bright sound will blend in and this screeching noise in the upper register that you guys are talking about is the result of a bright sound. When you play you should think the long a sound, this will also help open up the sound.

you should practice using a good embachure while using the long tones. and the long tones should be practiced religiously. this is the only way to produce a large, fat ,dark sound, which is what a clarinet is supposed to sound like.

as for reeds,in the concert band setting, the stronger the reed the better. dont take this the wrong way and go buy a box of size 5 reeds. you need to work your way up to using this strong of reed by guess what... doing long tones

also for the strength of the reed and how well the notes respond in the upper register i have always found that a stronger reed allows the notes to come out better. Believe me i play on a size 5 and i can play the E that is above the sixth ledger line over the staff.

Now on what brand of reeds to buy
THE BEST clarinet reeds that you can buy in a box are the Vandoren V12 or the Hand Select Gonzalez reeds

If you want to hear some really high clarinet solos in the middle of peice go to ostimusic.com
and go under the works index and listen to redline tango or breakdown tango

My high school band is playing redline tango and i get to play that E that is six ledger lines above the staff... oh and by the way i get to play those solos in redline tango too
if you want to hear a really, really good clarinet sound try to find one of Sabine Meyer`s recordings

Experience:
Started in 5th grade now a sophmore
2004 California All-State Honor Band principle contrabass clarinetist
2005 California All-State Honor Band clarinet(hasnt happened yet this year its in February)

blow blow blow w/ all

All you have to do is start playing the chromatic scale till you are fluent on all the notes I`ve reached the 4th octive C doing so.

If i started playing June 2004. What notes should i be able to get to?

I use a 2 1/2 too and was having trouble getting high like you but after I saw that I was supposed to keep a tight embarture or whatever it worked. What I;m doing is putting the mouthpiece a bit further into my mouth and making it touch the further out part of the roof of my moth.

For those that want to know what fingerings work best in altissimo range I will type it out for you:

D (2 lines, one space above) - reg. key, LH Thumb, LH middle, LH ring, RH Pointer, RH pinky on Ab/Eb key.

D#/Eb - reg. key, LH Thumb, LH middle, LH ring, RH Middle on B/F# key, RH Pinky on Ab/Eb key

E - reg. Key, LH Thumb, LH Thumb, LH middle, LH ring, RH Pinky on Ab/Eb key

F - reg. Key, LH Thumb, LH middle, LH ring, LH Pinky on C#/G# key, RH Pinky on Ab/Eb key

F#/Gb - reg. key, LH Thumb, LH Middle, RH Pinky on Ab/Eb key (Note: if this fingering is flat, play an Eb (4th space) and add the C#/G# key)

G - reg. key, LH Thumb, LH Middle, RH Pointer, RH Middle, RH Pinky on Ab/Eb key

G#/Ab - reg. key, LH Thumb, LH Middle, LH Ring, RH Pointer, RH Ring on B/F# key, RH Pinky on Ab/Eb key

A - reg. key, LH Thumb, LH Middle, LH Ring, RH Pinky on Ab/Eb key (make sure your embochure is tight because you are basically over-blowing an E)

A#/Bb - reg. key, LH MIDDLE, RH Pinky on Ab/Eb key (Note: your LH Thumb is NOT used in this fingering!!!)

B - reg. key, LH Thumb, LH Pointer on Ab Side-key and on its hole, LH Middle, RH Pointer, RH Middle, RH Pinky on Ab/Eb key

C - reg. key, LH Thumb, LH Pointer on Ab Side-key and on its hole, RH Pointer, RH Pinky on Ab/Eb key

C#/Db - reg. key, LH Thumb, LH Pointer on Ab Side-key ONLY, LH Middle, LH Ring, RH middle, RH Ring, RH pinky on Ab/Eb key

D - reg. key, LH Thumb, LH Pointer on Ab Side-Key ONLY, LH Middle, LH Ring, RH Pinky on Ab/Eb key

D#/Eb - reg. key, LH Pointer on Ab Side-Key ONLY, LH Middle, RH Pinky on Ab/Eb key (Note: This fingering does not use the LH Thumb either!!!)

As far as hitting the C two lines above the staff, or Upper Clarion C, make sure that your thumb is hitting both the reg. key and the thumb hole in a comfortable position (i.e. not where your thumb is pointing straight up toward your face). Normally that position is between 45 degrees clockwise and 90 degrees clockwise. You should not play the clarinet by having your fingers moving everywhere. You will not advance that way. Try playing scales and long tones while seeing how close you can keep the fingers to the tone holes and still achieve good tone and proper tuning (use a tuner definitely).

And for those of you playing Concert Band pieces that have you playing high F#`s that are awesome and fun - I can`t wait to hear you working on college level pieces, or even pieces like the Weber Second Concerto for Clarinet that has high Ab`s and high B`s in it. Most are in arpeggiatic progression, but nonetheless, they are there!

-Dennis (sarasotahair@yahoo.com)

of course I made a mistake -

D#/Eb (2 lines, one space above) - reg. key, LH Thumb, LH middle, LH ring, RH Pointer, RH Ring on B/F# key, RH Pinky on Ab/Eb key

As for the doubling of the LH Thumbs, obviously you can have two of them, that was a typo - my bad