Secret 44 from Michdle Gingras's new book Clarinet Secrets,

32 Clarinet & Saxophone September 2004

Secret 44 from Michdle Gingras's new book Clarinet Secrets,

44Shape: Play a long tone on open g for a fewseconds. While imagining and articulating thesyllables "Wow-Wow-Wow," slowly and graduallylower your jaw (this will make the pitch go down).Slowly move the jaw back up toward the reed andrepeat both motions several times, making sure the.;aw moves continuously without interruptions inthe sound. Coming back up with the jaw at theend of each wave prevents saw tooth waveshapes. The jaw moves 50% down, 50% up,always coming back to the starting position. Trydifferent depths of undulations to vary the vibrato'scharacter. Do notexecute vibrato with thediaphragm or throat.

Control: Once you master the roundness of eachwave with the jaw, use the metronome at a veryslow speed, and play four beats "straight" (novibrato), followed by four beats with "vibratocrotchet notes" (one evenly-shaped wave per beat)

Speed: With the metronome at a low speed, playa semibreve, then vibrate at 2 minims, 4 crotchets,8 quavers, 4 quaver triplets (resulting in 1 2 notes),and 16 semiquaver notes. Keep the tempo steady,and gradually increase the speed at the start ofeach new set. (Think: "wow", "wow-wow","wow-wow-wow-wow" until you reach the tempo= B4):

Consistency: To stabilise the jaw, play a four-beatlong tone, followed by four beats of 4 semiquavernotes, and alternate back and forth. Make sure allwaves evenly match each other.

new music as well as in popular, jazz or folk music,ato is an important factor in one's interpretation. There

are opposing views regarding the use of vibrato in theclarinet world, and some performers prefer to dismiss the

technique altogether in the context of classical music.I believe that a very light, almost imperceptible vibrato can add

colour and character to a phrase from the traditional clarinetrepertoire, especially within the romantic and contemporary timeperiods. The Hungarian melody in Kod6lys Dances of Galantaloses its folkloric flavour without a noticeable vibrato. anoGershwin's Rhapsody in Blue sinply isn't the same without a jazzyvibrato.

Some schools of playing such as the British School tend to usevibrato more consistently than other schools. Clarinettists whogenerally prefer playing without vibrato can gain by adding thistechnique to their repertoire, if only to use it when absolutelynecessary 0r when avant-garde composers specifically call forvibrato in their music.

Although vibrato is usually played in an even and consrstentmanner, it can also be played at varying speeds. The most effectiveway to achieve a solid and steady vibrato is to practise rr veryslowly at first to develop good habits right from the start. Sinqle-reed instruments' vibrato is played with the 1'auv.

Avant-Garde Tech

September 2004 Clarinet & Saxophone 33

52 Performance Strategies for the Advanced Clarinettist

starting ^f 5o% above

position -UO*'w- o -w'

Shape: The actual contour, roundness, and shape of each wave.

B e a t s : 1 2 3 4 J J J J

Control: The direction and evenness of each wave.

3Speed: The number of waves during a specific amount of t ime.

B e a t s : 1 2 3 4 1 # x 4Consistency: The uniformity of each wave throughout notes.

| | f | [_[etc l[_[etcll![etcr r

Michdle Gingras, Professor ofClarinet at Miami University

since 1986 (Doctoral work,Indiana University 1 985-86, M.M. Northwestern

.1984, First Prize inPerformance andChamber Music,

Quebec Conservatory, 1981), is an activerecitallst, author, and recording artist. Sheperformed as a soloist and as a member of theMiami Wind Quintet in Canada, Australia,Venezuela, Taiwan, Singapore, and throughoutthe U.S. and Europe. She served as co-prlnclpalclarinettist wlth the Echternach Festival 0rchestrain Luxembourg for 10 years. Previously, she wasPrincipal Solo Clarinet with the SantiagoPhilharmonic Orchestra (Chlle). Her principalteachers were Rafaele Masella. Robert Marcellus.Bernard Portnoy and Earl Bates.She recorded four solo CDs and three CDs withthe Miami and Prague Wind Quintets(Mastersound and SNE labels) and numeroussolo recitals for Radio-Canada. Her publicationsinclude over 85 articles in The Clarinet and sixother music journals, a 550-page textbooktranslatlon published by Roncorp, and a musicalarrangement published by Theodore Presser.She is Secretary of the International ClarinetAssociation (lCA). She also performs as a klezmermusician throughout the U.5. and abroad. Shewas a Visit lng Artist at the LuxembourgConservatory, the Oslo Music Academy (Norway),the Elder Conservatorium (Australia), the Sim6nBolivar Conservatory (Venezuela), IndianaUniversity, and taught numerous masterclassesworldwide. She is sponsored by RicoInternational.www.fna.muohio.edu/faculty/glngram

This extract from MicheleGingras's new book ClarinetSecrets, 52 PerformanceStrategies for the AdvancedClarinettist ts published bykind permission of ScarecrowPress,2004 in Lanham,Marylandwww.scarecr0wpresS.c0mThe book is available fromall good book shops or visitwww. scarecr0wpress. c0mand type "gingras" in thequlck search box (onlinepurchases 1 5% discount)and ln Europe is

distributed by NBN International, EstoverRoad, Plymouth, PL6 7PY UK. Tel. 01 752 202301, Fax 01752202333orders@plymbridge.com

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