Texas Bandmasters Association
Bandmasters Review • April 2014
14
balancing the clarinet between my upper teeth and
my left hand, not even using the right thumb at all.
In other words, students should not rely on the right
thumb alone. I also think that both hands should put
slight upward pressure toward the top teeth rather
than having the clarinet sit on the bottom lip, for a lot
of reasons I’ll talk about later. If you’ve got it hanging
on a neck strap, usually the strap has to be fairly low,
because otherwise the clarinet’s waving around in their
face when they’re not playing. They tend to have it set
too low, then reach for it with their neck, and let it
hang on the bottom of their embouchure.
MEC:
It sort of dampens the reed.
JD:
Yes, and again, usually someone begins using
a neck strap because they are diagnosed with a
tendonitis problem. With the strap, the problem may
improve a little because the clarinet is not quite so
heavy, but other problems filter in, and the original
problem doesn’t really get solved. If you find a way to
fix the original problem (incorrect hand, wrist or arm
position), they usually don’t need the strap. Maybe if
there’s a band director out there who says, “I put all
my fourth, fifth, sixth graders on it because it’s really
helpful,” then I’m not going to argue. But they still
need to be in the right body positions.
In fact, I believe we should be starting them on
a C clarinet, but we’re not. It would solve so many
problems in so many ways. C clarinets are getting
easier to find. Orchestral players use them because
they sound a little different in the orchestra. If you
transpose a C part on a B-flat, it blends into the
orchestra more. If you’re actually playing on a C,
it’s brighter and it sits above the orchestra, as does
a piccolo. It actually sounds different, so orchestral
players use C clarinets frequently when the composer
asks for them. That’s been going on for a while. The
C clarinets are much lighter and smaller for the young
player to hold and the tone quality would not be too
bright for their band.
MEC:
Are there any general rules for hand position
you use to teach students?
JD:
I prefer a U shape between the thumb and
index finger in the bottom hand and more like an
angled V in the top hand. The left hand index finger’s
middle knuckle should be hovering right around the
A-flat/G-sharp key, and the first knuckle right around
the A key. The fingers should not be pushed down and
away from those keys, which I see a lot. That often
comes from people in marching bands, who are told
to lift their elbows and make a C position with the
fingers. This causes a big gap between the first two
fingers in the left hand and a lot of tension.
MEC:
What part of the finger comes in contact with
the keys?
JD:
The pad, so you can close the tone holes. The
right hand thumb is on the wood in the back, where
the thumb rest is. In a full-sized thumb, the thumb
rest will be near the middle knuckle, slightly toward
the tip of the thumb. Then the fingers cover the tone
holes naturally at the pad of the finger, in the hand
position that I described. (Hard to describe without
demonstrating!)
MEC:
I’d also like to talk about embouchure.
JD:
Well, first let me talk about where the tongue
should be when you blow because I’ve had a lot of luck
with this, including with seventh- and eighth-graders.
When the tongue is relaxed, it’s already high in the
mouth. That’s important to know because people are
often told that they should get a high tongue position.
But if they overdo it, they choke off their air. Then
they’re told to open their throat, and that doesn’t work
either. So your tongue has to stay relaxed, which will
Clarinet Clari ty: An Interview wi th Jul ie DeRoche