What is throat tension, why is it bad, and how do you get rid of it?

[@JohnSmith-iu3jg]

This really helped my harp playing thanks

[@annhall50]

"Tension is the enemy of EVERYTHING good about clarinet playing! " absolute truth.

[@jerrywilkie3671]

Okay, WOW. I'm currently a freshman at The Crane school of music at SUNY Potsdam and when I heard JKD's name (Julianne Kirk Doyle) I literally gasped. She's amazing

[@softreedsonly]

Michael for president!

[@petterihietamaki782]

I’ll vote!

[@stormiethedark6355]

I can’t wait to try this out in a practice room. I know I’m extremely tense when I play. I’m also a chronic biter.

[@kevinngo9138]

StormieTheDark I used to be a chronic biter but I invested in a close mouthpiece and oh God did it help me, let's say the opening of yur mouthpiece is 1.45 mm but when u play you bite the Reed so the opening between the Reed and the tip of your mouthpiece is 1.25 mm (just for sake of numbers) why don't you get a mouthpiece with the 1.25mm opening? Trust me it will help tremendously. Here's my setup which u can try if u desire which uses one of vandoren most closed mouthpiece the vandoren m13 and a v12 3.5+ Reed. Hope this helps and good luck my friend.

[@julianruiz1643]

Kevin Ngo is right, try it out!

[@loganmazer3716]

Kevin Ngo I’m so happy I just read this bc I’m also a chronic biter and I happen to use those reeds and I also just so happened to of bought that mouthpiece today! What are the odds!!

[@nerdyninja49]

This technique is great for figuring out how to properly voice high notes, as well. I've used this to help get rid of that grunt you sometimes get when you first play a note in the altissimo register.

[@gh79dfq]

Michael, WOW! The difference is amazing. I have had a problem with throat tension (and shoulder tension) for as long as I have been playing; this really helps with the throat. I have been using your shoulder shrug (from another video) for the shoulder tension and it also works well. THANKS!!!! BTW, one of my teachers has that "Palatal Leak" and I always wondered why his sound was so thin, now I know. This will help with subtle voicing movements also.

[@marselmusic]

I remember when I just started out on T sax I started watching your videos. even before that, I saw the circular breathing video and quickly learnt it. recently I actually bought a clarinet

[@TylerMazone]

JKD is my clarinet teacher at Potsdam! She has so much knowledge on clarinet and it always makes me eager to improve and I can apply a lot of that information to other musical situations as well!

[@wiliarsosalopez1746]

And here we have the drill sergeant of all clarinets.

[@kellypurdue1990]

Love the eyebrow on the high note in Reveille. Thanks Michael!

[@isaiahcollins6643]

I've used this technique for quite a while. It's a really great exercise to do at least once a week, or before auditions.

[@benlong1500]

Love getting this video two months after using that exerpt to eventually fail my audition for midstate. Great video though

[@madraven07]

Will add to morning warm ups. Thanks a bunch.

[@zebra3stripes]

I tried playing with a washcloth stuffed in my bell. Now I am Professor of Kazoo at SUNY Potsdam.

[@TheSilvermarmot]

Thanks!

[@Chrstne81]

Ahhhh... SUNY Potsdam! When I was in high school, we had quite a few student band teachers come from there. (I grew up in Upstate NY.) Anyhow, I just stumbled upon your channel. I haven’t touched my clarinet in many years, but watching your videos and seeing your enthusiasm might convince me to dust it off.

[@stephenforde3858]

This is a great exercise I had learnt it many years ago and my teacher ironically was from NY. I encountered it again while studying at college. I had a lot of tension and this really help. Bugle calls was how we referred to them. You can also practice your voicing for 3rd register and altissimo using this technique.

[@darrellholovach7752]

Crane Clarinet Studio at Potsdam represent! Dr. Kirk Doyle is the best!!!!!

[@MrJeffhardy556]

I'm planning to attend that school for clarinet! Good thing i know who to go to now lol.

[@DanielHeasley]

Wish I had learned this exercise 25 years ago!

[@caseykittel]

this is really cool. as soon as I started playing clarinet, my singing voice got better. I think my throat is more open. good for breathing problems too.

[@emmanuelfernandes5610]

Thank you, Mr. Michael! Your lessons are amazing!

[@brendareed8412]

Oh, my gosh, how fun - improving my squeaks!

[@leximie1579]

You can also do that exercise with your leg, for clarinet. Just put the bell on your calf and play that tune by going to different throat partials.

[@autumnmaxwell1018]

I recorded myself playing a piece before and after doing this and just WOW

[@ShadowChaosKrystal]

I needed this oh my gosh

[@smokingblues5067]

Thank you so much!!! I am very greatful I learned this !!!! I helped my sound a lot !!! I have a much louder bigger fueller sound

[@darylsol]

Wow!!! thanks so much. Very helpful

[@TheMusicalEvents]

„Tension is the enemy of everything good“. Also true for playing ANY instrument… but for doing anything else well, too…

[@altivoz]

Excelent video, thank you so much!

[@rayzhang5551]

This is amazing, thanks so much for this informative video. Who knew a washcloth could do so much?

[@__-bw5bp]

this video really hepled me

[@CaptainSunFlare]

Could you please make a video about proper embochure? I am learning saxophone, but I think they are similar enough that it would help a lot. Thank you

[@22cjk22]

The Real M&M try the Better Sax YT channel. He does really good videos on that.

[@brizzlex1919]

@@22cjk22 Amazing channel

[@lowreedman]

Awesome exercise. Totally stealing this... ;)

[@smokingblues5067]

The revelle is amazing I can't see myself doing it in that way

[@averyf2911]

I can't get the little squeaky sound to come out at all!? My instrument just makes airy noises and then the cloth gets blown out of the instrument. I've only made the sound a few times and used so much air I couldn't sustain it for very long. What am I doing wrong??? Thanks

[@bassclarineteffects-carlki9219]

i get leakage and i thought it was because im faulty :-P gonna try this technique tomorrow. x

[@ethancampbell9096]

Like soft palate leakage so air comes out your nose instead of through the instrument?

Thank you. 🙏🏻

[@xaviergarcia99]

Terrific video! It would be amazing an explanation about air direction and how to control it.

[@johncarey8485]

I think to some extent "air direction" as a concept is a misnomer. You really can't affect air direction all that much. The air goes in one direction from your lungs, through the reed and into the horn. What difference does its "direction" make? That being said, there are probably a lot of useful applications of the direction metaphor that actually work. But I don't think direction is what's actually happening.

[@stormiethedark6355]

So I tried this in a practice room and I couldn’t get any sound out at all with a swab in my bell. I kept blowing harder and harder until I blew the swab out of my bell and a loud girthy B came out. I thought maybe the swab was too airtight or too little airtight, but nothing I did helped.

[@averyf2911]

Me too! it made weird airy sounds and the little squeaky sound didn't come out unless I blew a ton of air to the point where I could only hold it for a second or two

[@yelloworangered]

Thank you so much!!!!!!

[@ssoyybean]

But if I don't tense my throat, I can't even get the sound out. T0T Before I play, my throat is open, so I don't know why I make a squeaky sound.. I really don't know how to get that lower note. ¡-¡

[@alenpoehlman5913]

Thank you.

[@PrimalArtemis]

Wow, cool! On the rare occasion I've just crossed a leg, pushed the bell against my leg, and done the Reveille trick, but I never once thought it did any good other than make those around me laugh. I always struggle with throat tension, especially in auditions, so I can't wait to try this as a practice technique! :-P

[@James.D.B.]

That's pretty cool not gonna lie

[@Musix4me-Clarinet]

Good lesson. More people should at least be aware that voicing is going on. I think a default "Play with a heee sound" is over-emphasized by many teachers.

[@HugoMak]

Giving it a shot on the bassoon, thanks!

[@lucashoffses9019]

iMakHugo which key will you vent? The A, C, D, or whisper key?

[@reevecoble1812]

Lucas Hoffses maybe low Bb because it covers every hole?

[@lucashoffses9019]

Reeve Coble yes, but you need a vent key.

[@HugoMak]

Doesn't work, I can only reach the C or D key while pressing low Bb, and all it makes is a multiphonic

[@Vanamutt]

Learning overtone glissanfos(like the ones from Lindberg's concerto) have the same effect. I've had a series of non-methodical teachers and the last one, the most auhorative of them, told me that a clarinetists mouth should not move at all while playing. He was once a student of Karl Leister. An incompetent teacher can really hold you back, in your youth.

[@torew01]

You can do more or less the same with Jazzlabs mouthpiece silencer. With that you can even practice while driving your car...

[@cesarpoggi6584]

Talking about throat tension and sound in general, do you think having enlarged tonsils affects the airflow to the clarinet? In terms of volume, projection, etc.

[@LowryYT]

i dont know if im doing this right because i just get a really high tone that sounds like a leak around the mouthpiece/barrel, i dont feel like air is escaping past my embrochure, it sounds more mechanical if anything, like a crack or a vent of some kind, i feel like the reed isnt vibrating at all

[@zqchz3227]

my clarinet is a beginner jupiter clarinet im in 8th grade so i would think i would be able to play it but when i play with everything down it doesnt make any sound can you help me

[@davideichler5105]

Tried blocking the bell on two clarinets and can't get any sound when fingering the middle B.

[@lamediamond4172]

How come nothing plays when i play b with a washcloth

[@brendareed8412]

The tip is presented at 2 minutes in (just in case you're desperate to get back to practicing). :)

[@R0bilicious]

Hi Michael, I play clarinet at Illinois Wesleyan University and I've been having this problem with tension for awhile. I've been trying this exercise, but I can't even get the partials to speak; instead I get air. I think this is because I have so much tension that it's causing an issue with playing the exercise (I could be wrong though). Are you doing anything special with your embouchure or air to get those partials to speak? Thank you!

[@flyguy9092]

I have a posture problem where I try to make the bass clarinet mouthpiece try to go in at the same angle a regular clarinet mouth piece does . Any tips to fix this.

[@jessicaspencer3480]

From a fellow bass clarinetist I would attempt to use the opposite type of support (peg for strap or strap for a peg) and/or try playing standing (flat back) against a wall for posture. Another thing that has helped me with similar problems is strengthening my arms so I can hold and play my bass clarinet without either peg or strap in the correct position (especially helps when you predominately use a strap of some sort). Hope this could help

[@reubenpompei3896]

another trick i learned is try to the lowest with the mouthpiece to open the throte

[@travisjohnson7202]

The specific pitches you are using for Reveille-are they intended to be arbitrary, or should we aim for them if we are playing a Bb clarinet? Don’t know if the amount of stoppage in the bell has a big effect here.

[@earspasm]

There will only be one set of overtones you will be able to get, so use what you are able to produce.

[@helenmhb]

I tried this and cannot get any sound at all to come out.

[@carpinchipedia7009]

Helen Butt make sure that you’re also playing the register key- I forgot and it didn’t make any sound hope this helps

[@helenmhb]

@@carpinchipedia7009 I tried again, and feel like my lungs are going to burst but still no sound.

[@heribertocastro6652]

Same problem here. Couldn't get a sound with the register key :(

[@jlee900]

i think you have to hold on the register that makes the b flat... the register above the octave register

[@MrRubenGandia]

Please allow subtitles and automatic traduction should be very usefull ❤

[@davidlanders6067]

I’m a trombone player. I often get compliments on my tone, but I feel like I carry a lot of tension in my throat when I play. Do you know of anybody who has modified this method for brass instruments?

[@selethiel1]

Was the clarinet not once called the ‘mock-trumpet’

[@weightlossdietitian9181]

lol amazing

[@tom_something]

I'm just starting out on the clarinet, and sometimes after I've been practicing for a while, air starts escaping out through my nose. Kind of like when someone wants to very rudely scoff and they sort of do an exhaling snort. Or like struggling to blow up a balloon (those little ones for balloon animals are killer if you're not using a hand pump). If it were happening at the beginning of practice, I'd be more concerned that it's a bad habit that I need to unlearn before it gets worse. But since it happens only after a while, I get the sense it's just fatigue of a muscle or group of muscles that I'm just not used to using to that extent. If it's that second thing, then it'll probably get better with practice, and when it starts to happen I should probably go a little longer to make sure I get a good workout. Anyway, what do you think? About this nose-squealing... whatever thing?

[@earspasm]

This is a fairly common problem. Read about it here: www.earspasm.com/blog/do-you-have-a-palatal-leak-aka-velopharyngeal-insufficiency

[@tom_something]

@@earspasm Thanks!

[@pitzu]

@@tom_something How did you work on it if you did? I have the same problem also my throat raises everytime I blow.

[@tom_something]

@@pitzu I haven't been practicing recently. Good luck to you.

[@romanchomenko2912]

Sounds like a bad fart or send a cat to the next room.

[@mike4musik]

Crane to the rescue.....As it should be ;-)

[@joerumler48]

HAIL HAIL TO MICHIGAN

[@luismonsalve9084]

Subtitles in English please !!!!!

[@JohanGJonker]

How can I click 1000 likes?

[@fizzypopfuzz692]

Is it just the recording device or is his tone a little on the bright side?

[@Cloud-wl8lp]

definitely is