I've been trying to do a glissando and it's been driving me crazy. I've read a lot of the adivce here, but it's still no good. The sliding of the fingers doesn't work for me at all, so I tried looking in to bending the pitch. This is where i'm stuck. I tried dropping my jaw while playing, but I can't get the note to go lower than a half-step. I also can't even get the note to go up any. Basically, I'm having trouble getting anything done. Is there something that I do with my tounge or throat that helps this? I would appreciate specific instructions, since all of the advice i've seen on other forums and such hasn't helped. I am just really clueless.

Any help at all would be appreciated.

Whoa.. seems like I clicked the send button 3 times by accident. Sorry about that.

actually, you do slide your fingers. That is how i do it, but you have to lower the pitch at the same time. Slide them off in order starting with you right ring finger and moving up the horn. Hope this helps!!

Thanks. Do you have any tips to help me bend the pitch? This is where I'm stuck. I'm just dropping my jaw more when I play, but it's not working.

its not just dropping your jaw, you also have to drop your tongue and the back of your mouth if that makes sense. It involves most of your mouth, not just your jaw

also, theres not a whole lot you can do to bend the pitch sharp, i guess u'd just hafta bite it, its just a lot easier to bend it down

Just start by trying to totally relax your jaw so you literally sound like a 5 year old! It sounds crazy but you'll soon get the feel of it, create lots of space in your mouth and open the back of your throat (sounds odd, but the way it feels when you yawn). Do it on an easy note like an open G or something to start with.

Hope that helps!

I still can't seem to bend the pitch down more than a half-step, and I've read that people can bend the pitch down an octave this way, even when starting to learn how to gliss. I think I'm still doing something wrong, but I don't know what it is. I've tried opening my throat and dropping my tounge back in combination to dropping my jaw, but I'm not getting a sound that is all that much lower than what I had gotten beforehand.

What else can I do to bend the pitch down? How far should I be able to bend it down initially?

where did u hear that you could bend down a full octave??

I've heard on other forums that people start out by practicing a single note until the pitch drops down an octave, and then they try to land the pitch on various notes in between. This might not be true.

Anyway, how far should I be able to drop the pitch when starting out? So far, I've only gotten it down a half-step or so...

Ok...you can't drop the pitch really more than a half step and still keep the integrity of your sound. You drop your jaw and EVERYTHING in your mouth. and PEEL the fingers away from the clarinet. It takes LOTS of practice. You will NOT get it on the first try. Please keep in mind that anything on this forum as far as tips and hints takes practice. I hope that no one on here is getting the assumption that if you follow someone's suggestion you will get somethingperfectly on the first try. You also need to make sure your clarinet is adjusted correctly. The rings need to come down right level with the top of the tonehole. If they are raised above the tonehole, then it's possible you will get a cracking in the pitch.

Starting with the RH ring finger. Start peeling that off in an arc toward your face (so that the back of your palm is moving toward your face). Once that's off repeat it with the next one. Do it one at a time so you can see and feel what you need to do. Once you do them all do two or three at a time. Then do them all really fast. Concentrate on the break (between F and G) because that's where most people squawk.

Hope this helps!

-Dennis

Thank you very much for the help! I'll begin practicing right away then...