I played in school and it`s been probably 15 years since I played regularly. The problem I`m having, and have probably always had and never really noticed, is that when I go from B-flat to B natural (above G all open...Is that called across the break? I don`t remember)it sounds HORRID! EW! Is there something I can do to remedy this? I have a pretty good mouthpiece, and recently had it tuned up, new pads and corks and such. Thanks!

Dawn

Don`t worry, it`s a common problem. Yes, this is one of the "breaks". Can you explain how exactly you sound "horrible"? It sounds like you should be fine hardware-wise. Maybe you just need to build up your embochure and get back in the groove of things.

don`t worry about it...its just lack of practice. the high notes are hard enough to begin with, but after a long time w/o playing you kinda lose the muscle meory for the embosure. the only remedy i can offer is to practice the higher register and be very patient in getting back to normal.

It`s awfully hard to describe a sound with words, but I`ll give it a try.

It seems to me that all of my lower notes sound just fine and all of my higher notes sound okay too. They just don`t sound good together. The biggest problem I hear is specifically if I play Bb to B (as in a chromatic scale). The tone is definately different if I cross from the lower notes to the higher notes. I rarely play higher than G or A above the staff. I really prefer the lower notes.

I don`t have a tuner but I suspect that some of this problem is probably tuning issues.

I guess I`m mostly trying to figure out if there is something specific *I* can do or practice (in addition to just playing regularly) to improve this or if there might be some hardware I can change to see a significant improvement.

Thanks Everyone!
Dawn

hello?

What clarinet do you have, and what size reeds are you using. How long have you been playing recently?

A big problem with the throat tones (G to B-flat) is simply how open they are. You may want to look into some resonating fingerings for these notes. This will make the intonation on them more consistent, and give the tone a more closed sound, so there`s less of a difference when you jump over the break. Here are a few to try out:

G - right hand first and second finger.
G# - see G
A - left hand second and third finger, right hand second, third, and low F key.
A#, Bb - left hand second and third finger -or- left hand third finger, right hand third finger and low F key.

I`ve been playing for about 14 years, and use these fingerings all the time. It really makes a big difference for me. They might take a little getting used to, but it`s worth it. Let me know if this helps.