Notre Dame College Marching Band Woodwind Technique Book. Clarinet

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Amos Ward
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1 Ntre Dame Cllege Marching Band Wdind Technique Bk Clarinet

2 Table f Cntents Infrmatin and Explanatins pg. 1-2 Singing pg. 1 Tuning pg. 1 Attack, Sustain & Release pg. 1 Articulatin Terms pg. 1 Physical Fitness pg. 2 Timing pg. 2 Rehearsal Etiquette pg. 2 Bdy Psture pg. 2 Finger Psture pg. 2 Breathing pg. 3 Articulatin pg. 4 Tne Develpment pg. 5 Tne Develpment Stamp Exercise pg. 6 Flexibility and Technique pg. 7 Technique pg. 8 Green Scales pg. 9 Tech Scales pg. 9 Hal Flex pg. 10 Circle f Fifths pg. 10 Intnatin pg. 11 Clarinet Only Exercise pg. 12 Majr Scales Key Signatures Mving by 4th pg. 13/14 Majr Scales Accidental/Full Ranges by Semitne pg. 15/16 Clarinet Fingering Chart pg. 17 Clarinet Key Diagram & Trill Exercise pg. 18 Clarinet Trill Fingering Chart pg 19/20

3 Singing We ill sing everything e play. Singing helps t hear the crrect pitches and greatly imprves intnatin and style. We ill sing the same ay e play, beginning ith a gd breath, and starting each ne articulated nte ith (tah). We may ccasinally change the vel sund depending n range f nte but the imprtant thing is that e are all signing the same ay. The vel sund and artiulatin e sing shuld match hat e uld d n the Clarinet. The mre fingers yu have dn the mre Ah the vel the less the mre Ee the vel sund. The beginning cnsnants shuld match the style f attack required fr each nte see ASR Bel. We ill frequently sing during visual riented rehearsals. Crrect pitches are very imprtant! Tuning LISTEN, yur ears are yur greatest ally! Hear the pitch befre yu play it. We ill sing a lt t slidify ur tnal center. When in dubt use a tuner. Get t kn the pitch tendencies f yur instrument. We ill discuss this further as the seasn prgresses but certain intervals ill have different tunings, certain ntes n yur instrument may need adjusting. This is all in additin t the general tuning f yur instrument. T tune yur Clarinet, Check pen G. Mve the barrel ut t make it flat and in t make it sharp. Next check Middle C and mve the mid-jint in t make it sharper and ut t make it flatter. All ther ntes shuld be tuned by muth. Ja pressure makes ntes sharper. Air speed makes ntes flatter. If pitch is cnsistently flat in all registers make sure yu are putting adequette right hand pressure ith the right thumb. Attack, Sustain and Release Attack is the beginning f the nte. It is cntrlled by the air and cleaned by the cnsnant sund. A T sund is best fr a crisp frnt and is used fr Secc, Staccat, Accent and Marcat. A D sund is sfter and is better fr Legat and Tenut in Marching Band. An L sund is best fr the sftest f articulatins and is best fr Legat and Tunt in Cncert and indr venues. Sustain is the main bdy f the nte and, since it is the lngest part f the nte, it shuld be thught f as the mst imprtant part f the nte. This is the part f the nte that cntrls ludness. Als, this is the part f the nte that gives the nte its tne. Prper air speed is critial t acheiving gd tne n the clarinet. Althugh clarinet can be quiet, It is nt a quiet instrument. Take care t alays play ill a big perful, but nt nasal sund. Yu shuld strive fr the mst characteristic tne pssible at all times. Release is h yu end the nte. Fr shrter ntes, the release is usually part f the attack f the next nte, and yu shuld nly think abut the attack f the next nte t acheive gd release. Fr lnger ntes ith n nte directly after the release f the nte shuld be acheived by breathing in. There are sft releases and hard releases and the nly difference beteen the t is h quicly the breath in is taken. Articulatin Terms Secc - Dry ith as little sustain as pssible Accent - Slightly spaced ith eight Legat - Smth, Sustain t the next nte Staccat - Space ith a Shrt Sustain Marcat - Marked ith emphasis Tenut - Weighted ith sustain t the next nte 1 lift - Bucy ith release decrescending t the next nte s attack

4 Physical Fitness This is an extremely imprtant part t marching and playing! Yu ill reach the same physical stress level as an athlete during parts f the sh and it is imprtant t think f yurself as an athlete. Yu must prepare as such, dn t ait until August! We ill help guide yu in the cnditining prcess and ill discuss this in mre detail in the Visual Technique Bk. Timing FEET! We ill ccasinally have yu stand still t fcus n playing but 90% f the time yu ill mark time. The feet must be in time ith the Dr. Beat r Drum Majr, and yur playing shuld line up ith yur feet. We ill als take step-uts at the beginning f each exercise. Everything ill have an 8 cunt start; mark time begins n cunt 5. We ill define the mark time and step uts in the Visual Technique Bk. Rehearsal Etiquette Rehearsals ill start exactly n time s that e can release yu exactly n time. If rehearsal begins at 6:00pm, yu are expected t be setting up in blck at 5:55pm. Yu are expected t have everything yu need in every rehearsal. The basics are Instrument, Music, Dt Bk, pencil, ater bttle, and prper ftear (tennis shes r marching shes). Yu are expected t fll the schl dress cde in every rehearsal, hether n schl prperty r nt. We ask that yu stand at standby unless yu are tld t relax. Standby is a psitin f readiness here e can give instructin ithut yu needing t be set. This ill be discussed further in the Visual Technique Bk Bdy Psture Everything abut playing the cncert in cncert shuld be relaxed and shld cause n bdily discmfrt The bdy needs t be in line frming as many and as strict f parallel and perpendicular lines as pssible. When facing the sideline, the shulders shuld be exactly parallel t the sidelines and exactly perpendicular t the yardlines. Keeping these lines is f the utmst f imprtance hen setting culd playing psitin. When the clarinet is dn, it shuld be in frnt f yur bdy straight up and dn ith the tp f yur muthpiece at eye level. When the clarinet is up it shuld be at a 45 degree angle t yur muth. Take care nt t bring yur clarinet t far in tards yur bdy. It shuld be aay r yur muthpiece ill nt enter yur muth at the right angle. Finger Psture This is an extremely imprtant part fr technique. If yur fingers are nt in gd playing psitin yu ill nt be able t play fluidly and fast as yu ill need t. Als, bad finger psitining can cause pain and lead t early tendnitis and eventially carpal-tunnel syndrme. The frnt part f the pad f the finger shuld fit in the metal circles n the clarinet. Take care t cver the hles at all times. The fingers shuld then be rund and relaxed t frm C s. If held crrectly, yu can rtate the muthpiece tards yur head, lk dn yur clarinet and see yur hands as t jining circles ith yur clarinet in the center. yu shuld have ample pen space beteen yur palms and the side f the clarinet. 2

5 Ia. Breathing On the E s - Replace Exhale ith 3 This exercise is used t facilitate breath cntrl. Breathing is the key t any ind instrument. The breath shuld be taken in ith an pen thrat and shuld then be turned arund t the exhale ithut clsing the thrat. Essentially, yu shuld be saying the cnsnant sund H n the inhale and n the exhale.

6 Ib. Articulatin - Attack, Sustain and Release 1 Legat Tenut Lifted Lng Accent Accent Staccat Accent Marcat Staccat Secc 2 This exercise is used t facilitate breath cntrl thrugh the three main parts f each nte. This is knn as articulatin. Breathing is the key t articulatin. The attack shuld be less imprtant than the main bdy (the sustain) f each nte, and each release shuld be a breath in r the attack f the next adjacent nte. 4

7 II. Tne Develpment IIa. IIb. IIc. 5

8 II. Tne Develpment - Stamp Exercise This exercise is used t facilitate embuchure and air speed cntrl. The intervals shuld be slurred as much as pssible. When the fingering desn t change yu shuld strive fr as fluid f a transitin beteen ntes as pssible. This ill give yu the maximum benefit fr tne develpment. 6

9 III. Flexibility and Technique III. a III. b,d,c 7

10 Technique

11 Scales Shuld be played in all keys, at varying tempi at ith different articulatins. Playing scales is they key t gd technique. Green Scales shuld be played at sler tempi and then little by little the temp shuld be increased. After Green Scales are cmfrtable, Tech Scales Shuld be started at a faster temp and then increased until yu reach yur limit f being able t play it ith all ntes being even and steady. Push yurself further than yu think yu can g. Challenge yurself t the harder scales mre ften the easier nes. This is h yu ill gr. Green Scales Play ith varying patterns (slur all, slur 3 tngue 1, slur 2 tngue 2, tngue all (legat and staccat), etc.) Play in every key. Tech Scales Play ith varying patterns (slur all, slur 3 tngue 1, slur 2 tngue 2, tngue all (legat and staccat), etc.) Play in every key. 9

12 Hal Flex 10

13 III. Intnatin LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN! Sing then play. This exercise fcus n the intervals and yur psitin in the chrd. We ill play this at ppp and fff and learn t cntrl the pitch at every dynamic. Play ith yu abslute best tne pssible and make sure that yu are nt creating any aves. Even dissnances have a certain place here they ring. Listen fr an even grinding n dissnances that is still pleasant. 11

14 Telfths & & & b b Exercises fr Clarinet b b # b b b b b œ œ œ œ œ œ U Alternate Clarin Register Exercise & œ œ œbœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œbœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ U Break Preparatin Exercise &. # œ œ œ œ.. œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ bœ œ œ œ bœ œ œ œ bœ œ œ Telfths + Sixths r Lng Telfths; High nte fingerings +RK & # & # # b # CHRO # slide left first finger dn gradually venting the tne hle t reach this nte Alternate Altissim Register Exercises and Chrmatic Fingering Exercise ch ch œ œ # ch œ œ bœ œ b ch œ œ &.... œ # œ œ œ bœ œ œ bœ # œ œ ch ch # œ œ œ œ bœ œ # &.... œ # œ œ œ # œ œ bœ œ œ bœ s s b b b High Nte Fingerings & # # b # b R R Aß R Bch Aß R Aß R Aß R C# Aß R (C#) (Bch) Aß R Aß 12

15 Majr Scales Clarinet C F Bb Eb Ab Db - Enharmnic ith C# C# - Enharmnic ith Db 13

16 2 Gb - Enharmnic ith F# F# - Enharmnic ith Gb Cb - Enhamrnic ith B B E A D G 14

17 Majr Scales Clarinet C Db - Enharmnic t C# C# - Enharmnic t Db D Eb E F 15

18 2 F# - Enharmnic t Gb Db - Enharmnic t F# G Ab A Bb B - Enharmnic t Cb Cb - Enharmnic t B 16

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The Efficient Band Rehearsal Charles T. Menghini, D.M.A. President and Director of Bands VanderCook Collage of Music Chicago, Illinois

The Efficient Band Rehearsal Charles T. Menghini, D.M.A. President and Directr f Bands VanderCk Cllage f Music Chicag, Illinis General Strategies! Apprach yur wrk psitively! Have an agenda plan yur wrk