Improve Clarinet Tone By Playing With Overtones

[@dduggar7]

Love your videos, I’m 74 years young and trying again. Not much playing at all after high school 2nd chair.

[@TheMotherOfBambi]

I'm not a clarinetist but I'm a composition student and it's just fantastic to see these insights into the way instruments work and what players have to do to play this beautiful instrument! thank you :D

[@kennatco7916]

I tried the overtone exercise on my xaphoon and discovered another register! I'm getting my clarinet back into playing shape and can't wait to try it on the clarinet. Thanks for these wonderful tutorials Michelle!

[@1cleandude]

Been doing it accidentally and not understanding why note wouldn’t lower after releasing the register key. Always thought engaging the cage would not allow my abs to extend when blowing! Thanks again for your time and expertise!🙏🏻

[@alexandrebarbey6234]

After more than 12 years of clarinet playing and lessons as a kid, I more or less did not touch the instrument during my 50 years of professional life. Now that I am retired I have picked it up again and find your tutorial videos to be excellent. Many thanks. Alex

[@james.t.herman]

This is a great channel. I’ve just started learning the clarinet, having played trumpet my whole life. Overtones make perfect sense on the clarinet since they’ve got everything to do with brass playing. There would only be 7 notes on a brass instrument without overtones.

[@dennispilkington956]

My warm up is the complete chromatic scale w/out the register key. Then the bugle exercise starting on C2 and then the chalumeau WITH the register key. On soprano and bass clarinet. These are great exercises and I'm glad you are teaching them.

[@fredericwork8107]

Brilliant❗️I am thrilled to learn about this exercise which, when practiced regularly, leads to "magical" tone improvement. In my career as a Certified Squash Professional, I gave my students exercises which "magically" made them more effective in competition … SAME CONCEPT! Until seeing this video, I had never never had an instructor who taught this way. I've been missing out on a lot of progress. Thank you very much for this exercise and for your pedagogy.

[@ClarinetMentors]

I hope this helps you! There are many similar technics in sports and music. It is fun when the parallels are there.

[@MW-bk2nc]

This was a really great exercise thnx

[@kyotosal]

Thank you Michelle. An excellent lesson.

[@mudkiyp]

i’ve done this for warm up, and it helps with getting my high notes out easier!

[@ianclarkson4002]

Hi Michelle. Just tried to watch the "Activating Blowing​ Muscles" . My volume is up full and I can hardly hear it. This happened with the " Test Your Embouchure" video as well. I'm enjoying your club and find your help invaluable. I'm returning to clarinet playing after a 25 yr hiatus from full time playing and I had to go back to the very beginning but I'm getting there, frustratingly slowly!

[@anitatwigger7269]

Brilliant! It was really hard to begin with - but what a great feeling when you get it! Thanks for another great video Michelle

[@ClarinetMentors]

Hi Anita, If you are getting it after a day, you're doing great! I think you'll enjoy using this tool.

[@denniscantoni6331]

Hi Michelle, I've enjoyed the videos you've been sending out. I especially like this one on overtones and "blowing muscles". It's the first very specific demonstration I've seen on how the abdomen should be used in supporting the breath flow.

[@ClarinetMentors]

Hi Dennis, I think using the ab muscles in this way really helps produce good air support and better tone.

[@mndance165]

I thought that best breathing is when your stomach goes in when you breathe out (called diaphragm breathing), not the way you show...unless your method is only for clarinet playing? ...or do I have this wrong? Sort of confused about this....

[@peterb6259]

Really awesome, shared this on International Clarinet Board on Facebook.

[@07shrinath]

Nice information mam.

[@rodsalvage7121]

Hi Michelle. Found this really interesting and helpful. Am looking forward to trying it out. Rod.

[@Mollymch]

Just started practicing this and I've already improved SO much overall!!!

[@carljackson1395]

Great lesson I’m in 100%

[@yidel229]

when playing high g and letting the register key go for me it never gets back to c unless if I blow again

[@SKirkham1967A]

Michelle, What method books would you recommend for both Altissimo and Overtones for clarinet? Also do these method books include any melodic etudes in that range? Thank you.

[@alfredofrancocea8519]

Hello Michelle. Thank you very much for these videos. I've followed you for a while now and your suggestions and tricks are always very useful and have definitely made a difference in my playing -which is not to say I'm good, just less bad- but anyways. I seem to remember you saying at some point that using an alternate fingering for the clarion G# was a good test for embochure? Or something similar? What was it exactly? I've been looking for the video where you talked about it, but can't find it. See. I used to be able to play that G#, but I recently increased the hardness of my reed and now I can't get it any more... What does that mean? Thank you and sorry about bothering... And by the way, greetings from across the water in Victoria, BC!

[@brianlittleton4714]

I've been experiencing this, but it's nice to know that it's ok to do so

[@ClarinetMentors]

You hereby have full permission to squeak! (Although, in this case, we are actually doing it as a conscious exercise...)

[@alexuturgaidze5722]

Can you play it PPP?

[@tvtavares]

Hi Michelle, Thank you so much for this important contribution. Could you List some literature with this practical approach about overtones in our daily clarinet routine? Thank you,

[@ClarinetMentors]

***** I haven't actually seen an organized system in any method books for working on this. I'm sure someone has done it, but it is not in the common, standard books. I've usually seen this passed on orally as a good warm-up exercise. I'll see what I can find, and post more to you if I find a set exercise that expands upon this.

[@mtaur4113]

This happened to me for like the first five or ten minutes when I was trying to play C below the staff. It's uh, not taking as long to settle down, but it'll be a while before I start trying to do it on purpose.

[@roxmellow545]

What is the name of the piece of the intro??

[@xavier2984]

Hi Michelle, I watched your video a first time and started practicing the overtone exercise. At first, I was able to maintain a high G after slipping my thumb off the register key, but not to get it directly (every time I tried, I was getting either the low note or the 2nd overtone), so I kinda let it aside for a while. Some time later, I realized I was able to get the 1st overtone on a medium E without using the register key. As I experimented trying lower notes, I had a revelation : the first overtones were coming by increased air support, and not by "biting down" on the reed. Then I watched your video again, which confirmed my thoughts. I am now able to get high D without the register key. And hopefully soon high C :-) It is indeed an excellent exercise to work on getting good air support and embouchure. So thanks a lot for this video ! Greetings Xavier

[@marselmusic]

from tenor sax I just got a Bb clar 2 days ago... I realised that the harmonics don't just work like an octave bc the shape is a cylinder, not a conical shape....

[@larry2125]

Yep. The main difference is that the clarinet only has odd harmonics (1,5,7,9, etc) while most others have 1,2,3,4, etc.

[@ethancampbell9096]

How does this exercise work on bass clarinet? Will practicing this help as it would on the clarinet or is there something similar that helps?

[@ClarinetMentors]

Hi Ethan, It can work on bass clarinet. What is useful to do is to play the alternate altissimo fingerings that come from overtones on common fingerings. I don't have a video on this, but you can likely Google a fingering chart for those fingerings.

[@hulaguaydin4606]

Beautiful human. Thanks.

[@dominicmalilay5804]

What's your setup?

[@Duncanmn]

Hey there! Cool video! Just to let you know there is a bit of an echo or something like that going on. I'm not sure what's causing it but I thought I'd let you know.

[@ClarinetMentors]

Hi Duncan. I use two microphones - one for the clarinet, and one for my voice. For some reason, I couldn't quite get them in sync, so there is an echo in places. We can pretend I recorded in a big cathedral! Hopefully it is not too distracting...

[@Duncanmn]

Clarinet Mentors (Michelle Anderson) Hey, no problem! It isn't very noticeable but I thought you might want to know if you didn't already. Have a good day! :)

[@drjazzca]

Hello Michelle. Good video.. Addressing the sync. challenges.... I had a good mentor for recording... and I observed him literally taking a measuring tape to record the distance between every microphone and a reference point(microphone) in a live setup, and asked why. He said sound travels at approx. 1 foot per millisecond. So 5 feet between microphones means approx. 5 Millisecond delay between arrival of the sound waves, so they are out of sync. ; quite a bit actually. Experiment with a delay plugin we can see what a 5 mil. delay sounds like.// Afterwards he would go into a DAW and sync the tracks to the reference point.... actually move the trax. There are some advanced plugins that do this. In live recording, failing to sync. can result in some interesting phasing/cancellation problems...... IN any case; interesting problem.. Its not the computer, software, or any such thing... the waves actually arrive at the two mics out of sync. It would need to be moved in the actual DAW a measured amount. One way is to record some claps... blow up the signal in the DAW to view it in thousandths of a second....move one track over to line up the waveforms. It puts the two clarinet signals into phase and further helps the recorded sound be the best it can be... Neverless, sounds just fine as is, and the lessons/content are fantastic. Keep up the good work. Cheers!!

[@flyaway6646]

As a composer I need more of these videos.

[@sabre86444]

Jim Roquemore When playing in the altissimo, sooner or later my lower lip gets quite sore and irritated. Suggestion?

[@ClarinetMentors]

Hi Jim, It sounds like you might be "biting" down a bit more than necessary, although a little bit of this is helpful. I would suggest trying to counter this by concentrating on actively bringing the corners of your mouth inward, so that you have a rounder embouchure. The 'biting" action should be down on the reed, but not in the direction of just closing your mouth. That can cause your bottom teeth to cut into your bottom lip too much. Try thinking OO with your lips and HEE with your tongue.

[@haileyrose2564]

I'm fourteen and I can not get d either. But I can tell its working. But will this help it be easier for the high high notes?

[@jennyoyster5054]

RubLox you’re disgusting....

[@xxforeverMac]

great video really helped me :D

[@karzanrashid4340]

Thank you so much it's very useful :)

[@ClarinetMentors]

I'm glad this helps. It is a useful technic.

[@peeledapple]

how are overtones notated? can you play any diadic interval?

[@ChrisVanMiddelkoop]

What a tough exercise! I will keep practicing though. Lol.

[@ypaut]

Why do all clarinet players say it's a C when it clearly sounds like a Bb?

[@RubLox_Live]

Because its a transposed instrument

[@ClarinetMentors]

As RubLox said, clarinet is in the key of Bb, which means its written C sounds like a Bb on piano. When an A clarinet plays a written C, it is an A on piano. An Eb clarinet plays a C, and it is a concert Eb. It allows us a clarinetists to only have one fingering for a "C", and the music gets transposed. That way we don't have a new set of fingerings for every clarinet.

[@ypaut]

@@ClarinetMentors I am very pleased with your answer. It finally makes sens, thank you very much Michelle (& RubLox).

[@yidel229]

I have a comment but I feel it's pointless since you don't read my comments anymore

[@ClarinetMentors]

I would feel sad if were actually reading your comment...

[@yidel229]

Clarinet Mentors (Michelle Anderson) why ??? I have never said anything wrong or negative and I don't see why anybody should write a bad comment on any of your videos, all you do is give great tips how to play the clarinet easily?!!!