Breathing Techniques for Clarinet

[@joenremmer]

This lesson shifted my understanding dramatically. I would like to make this particular lesson mandatory to every aspiring clarinet player. What they have tried to explain to me about "breath support" and "body cavity resonance" finally came together. Thank you a lot. Starting today, I'll intentionally fill my lungs with air before I produce any tone on my black horn.

[@clarinetninja]

Thanks Joen! Your kind words made my day!

[@georgebaker3948]

Dr Downing book taught me to breathe and not to blow, it works. you have so much more control over the clarinet

[@SuperDuperTuberTube]

Jay, another very helpful video. Thanks. Over the years, I have heard a lot of wind players say a lot of things about breathing and support, but for the most part, I considered it a lot of hot air. (Haha.) Your video has somehow given context to all that advice. A few good take aways from the video: "hot air" (fogging your glasses for cleaning) vs. "cold air" (a focused stream); lungs vibrating with the instrument; creating sound rather than blowing air through a tube. It's strange, isn't it, the way that some comments and teachings resonate (no pun intended) with us and some don't? Your lesson also reminded me of an early 1960s TV commercial in which Harry James demonstrated the strength of Kleenex by stretching a tissue across the bell of his trumpet and trying (but failing) to break through it with his screaming notes. (My junior high school band teacher debunked the commercial by saying that the force of Harry's air was converted into sound (vibrations) long before it ever reached the tissue.) (A KZbin search for "Harry James Kleenex ad" will likely find it.)

[@clarinetninja]

Thank you so much! For all of this! I will check out the Harry James video. Along those lines, at the outset of covid, a bunch of trumpet players did a similar debunking of how much air goes through the instrument by putting tissue on the other end of the trumpet. Much like what I anticipate in the Harry James video, the notes were absurdly loud and high in order to make the point. For covid, it was more about the moisture rather than the airt itself so the results had a different implication. Seriously - thank you for the support and the thoughtful responses to my videos. It means the world to me.

[@retiausertwo179]

Air - it's a matter of degree. Of course air is moving - just feel the venting when you open C#/G# when you are playing C# loudly. There's a fair amount of air coming out there. If you play FF you will run out of air faster than if you play PP. But you're right that it's not about massive flow, it's about supporting a standing wave. It's funny how some people talk about throtttling air over the "rollover" on a mouthpiece - there is not enough flow for that kind of air resistance to come into effect. The way the baffle affects things is by providing resistance to the vibration of the reed. Not letting more or less air through.

[@tomeaston1844]

Would you do a video on the tonalenergy app and how to use it. You may have one out there already. Love these videos... Great information and entertainingly delivered.

[@clarinetninja]

Here is the one I made. If I left anything out that you want….let me know:)kzbin.info/www/bejne/pGbOoHWAbLeVpa8

[@txsphere]

Reminds me of Larry Teal in the Art of Saxophone playing. He has an experiment where someone plays the bell tone of an alto and someone else releases a piece of tissue paper over the bell. If we are blowing through the horn the tissue will blow up, it doesn't. For me it makes all the difference to blow for the purpose of vibrating the reed to vibrate the air in the horn. Great lesson.

[@clarinetninja]

I remember reading the Larry Teal book a long time ago. I haven’t thought about it specifically in a long time. It does cause me to ruminate on the way ideas get in my head and how the things I have consumed influence my current understanding. Thanks for watching and commenting:)

[@mikesaxclar]

This is incredibly fascinating, believe it or not I never had the thought that my instrument was already filled with air, but it is!

[@clarinetninja]

Thanks! It blew my mind when somebody pointed that out to me as well!

[@jimis3167]

I have trouble in circular breathing because breathing from the nose usually is slow for me and because of that, I have trouble keeping pitch stable during that. Do you have any exercise to recommend? That would a great video.

[@clarinetninja]

I agree that would be a great video! Unfortunately, I am not good at circular breathing. That is possibly because I have never put a good effort towards learning how to do it. There has not been a real need for it in my professional career although I know a lot of people use it in new music.

[@lillianhusbymelien5471]

Yawn with your lips closed. This is the best explanation of “take a deep relaxed breath” I have heard. Thank you for the good information.

[@clarinetninja]

Thank you Lillian! I am happy that my video was helpful :)

[@mozarte]

I always teach my students on how to use diaphragmatic breathing. Which will help to fully utilize the whole capacity of our lungs. Human tends to do shallow breathing, thus lungs are not trained to intake such a big volume of air unless for any specific purpose, like playing an instrument. It takes training to let our lungs to do so. Ultimately I think, with the a good support of air, correct oral cavity shaping and correct embrochures pressure, what I am always searching a good and stable good response of my reed thru the mouthpiece. Just like how we use our voice to talk. Easy, comfortable yet stable and confident. 🤗

[@ChrisStathis15]

There's some truth here and some weird stuff. You're right that the object is not to move the air column and we don't move very much air through the end of the bell. The object is to sustain a standing pressure wave that propagates through AND BACK UP the air column. But it stops at the reed. The resonating air that's responsible for sound production doesn't continue into your mouth and down into your lungs. "Support" keeps that reed vibrating freely as you change the impedance of the air column, and an open embouchure prevents your mouth from interfering in that process.

[@johngarroch]

You have great information to share with regards to playing a clarinet. I like your presentation style but I would prefer it if you got to the point a little faster. Is your channel specifically to teach or just to share your experience on the clarinet? I’ve subscribed.

[@clarinetninja]

Glad to have another subscriber! I am happy to acknowledge that this video is not succinct. It would be a ridiculous contention to say it is:) I am not sure that I have a "point" or a specific intent with this channel. It is hard to present to an unknown audience with an unknown starting place. In this video, my intent was to make something that would be useful/interesting to 1) somebody who has never thought of breath support 2) college-level players who have an interest and some entrance point existing to the conversation 3) hobbyists who love to play and get information from many outlets 4) other professional players who have established ideas of their own. The result is a video that has information that has extraneous information for each group. Also, I have to put "myself" in there too and I tend to talk too much. It's a difficult task to weave it all together! I hope you keep watching - I will try to get to the point faster :)

[@johngarroch]

@@clarinetninja I’ve watch a few now. I’ll be sticking around.

[@YongPVPHome]

Sir.. I really really need your help for my clarinet because while I play c - Bb note which is play with upper joint my clarinet sounds like flat tire but still sounds but with flat tire sound.. what I must do with it.. Is it because my clarinet is broken or leaking or does the reed have an air gap because actually my ligature is also torn?

[@YongPVPHome]

I really appreciate it if you want to help me sir to find a problem that has been bothering me while playing the clarinet

[@bonniem.pederson7105]

Thank you for the chuckle and the serious message😃

[@teokiatuan2]

Hello Ninja, I have been wondering about the Breath Exerciser tools available to enhance breath support, the ones with the floating balls (or not). Do you have a type you can recommend? Thanks!

[@clarinetninja]

Hi Keven! thanks for watching and commenting:) I know a lot of people use tools like that and swear by them. I hesitate to comment too specifically because I did not use those tools in my development on the clarinet or anything else. I know the thing with the balls in it and I know people use something called a breathing bag. People I know, love, and respect swear by these tools. Unfortunately, I can't lend much (if any) guidance here other than to say I think they are worth using. I am not the person to give that guidance. The breathing "guru's" that I am most familiar with are Arnold Jacobs (tuba) and Kieth Underwood (flute). There are many others in our field who speak elegantly and clearly about it Joe Allard and Tom Nyfenger also come to mind immediately. Looking to these giants, or people that have worked closely with them (as some of those names are no longer with us) is a great resource. I believe some of these people worked with the tools you are thinking of. I hope this helps give a starting place in addressing something that I am unable to! :)

[@davidleonardpir]

I want as much air as I can in my lungs with each breath. Play the notes I think it like a balloon with a pin prick in it. If you push it with one finger a little bit of air comes out. I think of 10 fingers all around my lungs but especially at the bottom. How loud the notes will be depend on the amount of fingers I use around my lungs to push

[@clarinetninja]

That is a clear and compelling visualization! Thanks for sharing it. I love how we all have different ideas that are most resonant (pun intended) for us

[@emjay2045]

Dude, that was a LOT of mindless rambling

[@sameash3153]

Step 1: quit smoking cigarettes