Estimated reading time 4 minutes
Table of Contents
Introduction
Would you like to sound good when you play? Do you need help with your clarinet intonation? If you’ve ever had a hard time staying on pitch, or felt discouraged about bum notes, this post has you covered. Keep reading to learn how to play your clarinet in tune.
This article uses musical terms. For definitions, see the Glossary at the end of the post.
This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission from purchases made through the links. I’ll only recommend products I use, use in lessons, or ones my students or colleagues have recommended.
How to Play Your Clarinet in Tune: Intonation Definition
The Essential Dictionary of Music defines intonation as…
Playing and singing in tune with other performers. (69)
How much flexibility do you have when tuning notes?
- The intonation study Comparison of Solo and Ensemble Performances with Reference to Pythagorean, Just, and Equi-Tempered Intonations, by James A. Mason, investigated how wind ensembles tune.
- Mason found that clarinets varied their pitch from +15 to -5 cents for an intonation range of 21 cents.
- Be aware, though, that this was taken from a limited number of performances, so the potential range is likely to be bigger than the observed range.
How to Play Your Clarinet in Tune: Getting the Instrument Ready to Play
Warm up your instrument
- Before you play, make sure you warm up your instrument, because a cold clarinet will go flat.
- In fact, clarinets are made to play slightly sharp to help compensate for this tendency.
- Warm it up for four to five minutes before you play.
Tuning your instrument
- Make sure your reed is in good condition.
- Also, be sure that the calibration of your tuner is set to 440.
- When you play a low C, it’ll show up on the tuner (see the Korg CA-2 video below) as a Bb.
- So, this means that when you read a C in the sheet music, a concert pitch Bb (the note that the piano plays) will come out of your instrument.
- That’s because the clarinet is a Bb transposing instrument.
- Transposing instruments allow you to change the size, and therefore the pitch, of your instrument while still using the same fingering to read your sheet music notes.
When you start, tune to open G.
- First, adjust the space between the barrel and the joint below it.
- Lengthening the instrument here will lower the sound of the whole instrument but especially the left-hand notes.
- If the instrument is playing very sharp in a warm room, you can further lengthen the instrument by pulling out the middle joint. (As you do this, be sure that the bridge key is lined up correctly.)
- This also helps adjust the notes for the right hand.
- If you need to you can also pull the bell out a little further to lower the pitch. This helps with your pinky notes when you have most of your fingers down.
If, despite these adjustments, certain notes on your clarinet are still iffy, a good clarinet technician can adjust your instrument.
How to Play Your Clarinet in Tune: Tuning Harmonies by Ear
Ear training is the cornerstone of good intonation.
Melody and harmony tune differently, so you must train your ear in two different ways.
The following posts work on harmonic intonation.
The sing-along soundtracks were designed for singers, but they also work for improving clarinet intonation.
- Start by singing along with the musical exercise soundtracks.
- You can also play along with your clarinet. However, if you play along with the tracks using a Bb clarinet, you’ll have to transpose all your notes a whole step higher.
- This will make the sound of your instrument match the soundtracks.
Video: Clarinet Intonation Tips
How to Play Your Clarinet in Tune: Using a Tuner to Check Your Melodies
Be consistent
- Keep in mind that as you play you need consistent embouchure pressure, consistent tongue position (up vs down), and a consistent air stream.
- If you aren’t consistent, you’ll have note issues across the whole instrument regardless of how well set-up your clarinet is.
- However, you can use all three elements to make pitch adjustments on the fly.
Adjusting notes as you play
- For example, the upper notes are designed to be sharp, but inexperienced performers will often play them flat. This is a result of the tongue position.
- To fix this you form your lips into an “O” shape while saying the word “he” inside your mouth.
- In other words, “he” adjusts your tongue height, and “O” shapes your lips (embouchure).
- You can also use your embouchure pressure (jaw) and your air stream to make pitch adjustments.
- An extreme example of this would be pitch bends/glissandos, but you can also use it to make smaller, more subtle pitch adjustments.
Video: Pitch Bends and Glissandos
When you’re working on your melodic intonation, a tuner will be helpful.
- In the post, How to Play Your $@#% Trumpet in Tune, we discussed Ternstrom and Sundberg’s intonation study. They found that the acceptable pitch range was about +/-15 cents.
- “What tuner should I use?” I like the Korg CA-2 Chromatic Tuner.
- The Korg’s display has hollow triangles that mark where the +/-15 cent limit is.
- Keep an eye on the tuner as you play a steady tone.
- This gives you an idea of when you’re in the ballpark pitch-wise. However, this shouldn’t be used to replace your harmonic ear training – the two strategies complement each other.
The following video shows the Korg CA-2 being used by string players, but it works for any instrument.
Mobile users: for best results viewing the video, rotate your screen 90o to the right.
Video: The Korg CA-2 Tuner
Final Thoughts
Takeaway points:
- Keep in mind that as you play you need consistent embouchure pressure, consistent tongue position (up vs down), and a consistent air stream.
- However, you can use all three elements to make pitch adjustments on the fly.
- Ear training is the cornerstone of good intonation. Melody and harmony tune differently, so you must train your ear in two different ways.
Have fun playing!
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