Texas Bandmasters Association
Bandmasters Review • June 2014
18
good at playing the tone that matched whatever music
was being performed. If he was playing
Rhapsody in
Blue
, he would use a different tone than if he was
playing the Mozart
Concerto
. If he was playing Bartok
Concerto for Orchestra
, it was a different tone than
if he was playing Brahms
Third Symphony
. He used
very subtly different tones. He was always playing the
music.
MEC:
So he wouldn’t alter his equipment?
JD:
Oh no, no, no. This is all an instantaneous
thing while playing music. I learned this by playing
with him, teaching with him, and watching him teach.
Your tone has to be even and in tune, but it’s a function
of the music you’re playing. Therefore, it’s a mistake to
always be playing your tone. You have to be playing
music with your clarinet. Tone is a part of that. I think
that’s a really important thing. People who play with a
single tone quality tend to all sound somewhat alike.
Another thing about the “shh” tongue position: you
can shape notes so easily; you can change the speed of
the air. Dynamics and note shaping become a function
of how fast or slowly you’re moving the air, not the
shape of the air. The air is always shaped the same.
If you want loud or if you want soft, it’s the speed of
the air that changes. You need to have your tongue in
a position that allows your airstream not to be too big
and bulky so that you can move it with variety.
MEC:
Let’s talk about articulation.
JD:
It’s much simpler than people think. If you use
the “shh”, your tongue is already in the right position
for articulation. Use what I call the tip of the top of
the tongue, not the edge and not the underside. It’s
the top, not the very end, just behind the tip. To find
the right motion, try first without the clarinet. Take
that part of your tongue, and put it on the roof of your
mouth just behind your top teeth. Now, just blow it
downward, like you’re saying tee or dee. Think of it as
a downward gesture, and don’t move it very far. Then
try it with the clarinet. Obviously when the clarinet
goes in the mouth you do not touch any part of the
roof of your mouth. The reed will now be in about
in that same place. Use the same gesture that you
practiced, but do it off the tip of the reed rather than
off the roof of your mouth, using air to make the tee
or dee, rather than your vocal chords. You’re simply
going to “blow the tongue off” the reed, using the tee
syllable, and then you’re going to put it back on. You
barely touch the tip of the reed.
MEC:
Do you ever hear students tongue back and
forth?
JD:
Oh yes; I think I’ve heard every possible
articulation. They’re just using their tongue incorrectly.
They are accustomed to moving their jaw, their mouth,
and their tongue all together, but when we articulate,
the embouchure must stay still and the tongue must
work independently. There are lots of influences and I
think some are cultural, simply because it’s language-
related.
MEC:
Is there a particular syllable you use for
articulation?
JD:
I prefer a very light “tee”.
MEC:
Do you use that syllable in every register?
JD:
Yes.
MEC:
So there is no change in the syllable in the
low register?
JD:
No, no, no, no. If you change the syllable, you
change the tone consistency, and this will destroy your
evenness. When you touch the reed, the sound will
stop, even when the air is right there waiting. When
you let go of it, it’s going to vibrate, and your sound
will start again. When you put your tongue back on
it, it stops. That’s what articulation is about: silence,
noise, silence, noise.
Clarinet Clari ty: An Interview wi th Jul ie DeRoche