Beginner moving from clarinet to sax

[TonyM]

thanks for all the great advice so far - much valued.


2. I play a few instruments but I've really missed being able to do vibrato on clarinet (which is apparently seldom done). Do people do vibrato on sax; I'm hoping that they do?

Why don't you play vibrato on the clarinet? From your posts, you indicate that you are more of a reader than an ear player and so I'm presuming that you don't use vibrato because that is not what is written. I'm not clear on the style of music that you play but there is no reason that you shouldn't use vibrato with clarinet. Listen to some New Orleans players, they make exceptional use of vibrato.

 

[adrianallan]

Why don't you play vibrato on the clarinet? From your posts, you indicate that you are more of a reader than an ear player and so I'm presuming that you don't use vibrato because that is not what is written. I'm not clear on the style of music that you play but there is no reason that you shouldn't use vibrato with clarinet. Listen to some New Orleans players, they make exceptional use of vibrato.

I don't use vibarto because A) everywhere I've read, it seems that vibrato on the clarinet is the exception rather than the norm - the opposite of strings.
and B) because I've not yet developed a vibrato technique

However, I miss using it (especially as I play violin a bit) which begs the question - is there anywhere (preferably on the net) that can tell me how to develop a clarinet vibrato?

I'm not sure why the classical clarinet is mainly non-vibrato, because I would have thought that vibrato would add to the expressive capabilities of any instrument.

 

[TonyM]

Like a lot of things, it can come down to style of music. You are right to think that vibrato is not universally accepted in classical circles but that doesn't mean that it doesn't have its proponents. There have been several discussions over time on the clarinet bulletin board and you'd learn much more by searching their archive than anything I might be able to say. http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/

Good luck with the clarinet.

 

[adrianallan]

Like a lot of things, it can come down to style of music. You are right to think that vibrato is not universally accepted in classical circles but that doesn't mean that it doesn't have its proponents. There have been several discussions over time on the clarinet bulletin board and you'd learn much more by searching their archive than anything I might be able to say. http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/

Good luck with the clarinet.

Yeah - I looked and it turns out there are a few different methods. Somebody said the tongue movement created by saying the word "you" repeatedly for long notes works nicely - and it does seem to have that sort of effect.

I notice on one of the other threads that Sidney Bechet had an awesome vibrato - quite a wide one, it seems. When I learn sax I hope to cross over some techniques between instruments, as there is no doubt that they have a lot in common.

 

[TonyM]

Bechet had a distinctive vibrato (and one I like a great deal) but there are two things to note about this. The first is that vibrato was common in the NO style of jazz through which Bechet grew up and, second, that when you hear Bechet he might be playing clarinet and he might be playing soprano sax. I can't always tell the difference.

 

[TonyM]

I had a feeling I'd seen something on this. Have a look at this video from Pete Thomas. He's not talking about clarinet but I can't see why you can't apply this to clarinet. It's on this site but here is the link:

http://tamingthesaxophone.com/saxophone-video-lessons.html

 

[johnboy]

There's nothing difficult about vibrato, it is not done with the tongue. Just copy Hannible Lecter's F,F,F,F,F jaw movement.

John ;}

 

[TonyM]

There's nothing difficult about vibrato, it is not done with the tongue. Just copy Hannible Lecter's F,F,F,F,F jaw movement.

John ;}

Shouldn't that be Mandible Lecter in this case?

 

[johnboy]

))))))

John ;}

 

[Two Voices]

There's nothing difficult about vibrato, it is not done with the tongue. Just copy Hannible Lecter's F,F,F,F,F jaw movement.

John ;}

)) )) )) )) Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! I can just picture it with a woodwindist up on stage now

 

[TomMapfumo]

1. Get Alto sax - new Hanson SA5 (£500) or Bauhaus Walstein Yellow Brass (£479) or John Packer 045 (£500).
2. Get a Yamaha 4/5C / Runyon 22 #5/6 / La Voz or Rico B3 mouthpiece, a ligature & some reeds (all come with the Hanson).
3. Get playing asap.
4. Sell the Clarinet.
5. Count yourself lucky.
6. Then ask questions................

 

[adrianallan]

1. Get Alto sax - new Hanson SA5 (£500) or Bauhaus Walstein Yellow Brass (£479) or John Packer 045 (£500).
2. Get a Yamaha 4/5C / Runyon 22 #5/6 / La Voz or Rico B3 mouthpiece, a ligature & some reeds (all come with the Hanson).
3. Get playing asap.
4. Sell the Clarinet.
5. Count yourself lucky.
6. Then ask questions................

I agree with all you are saying - apart from "sell the clarinet"!!!

 

[TomMapfumo]

We'll let you keep the Clarinet if you learn to play some funky tunes on the Alto Sax..........................;}

I can't say fairer than that.
Tom