Contemporary Clarinet (March 2012 Column)

In this column, we decided to explore sites relating to extended techniques and other pedagogical resources pertaining to contemporary performance practice. The list of sources below caters to players of all levels of experience with new music. Even readers unfamiliar with the various extended techniques are sure to find a site that will pique their interest -- or at least inspire them to experiment with new sonic possibilities on the clarinet.


The Clarinet of the Twenty-First Century
"The Clarinet of the Twenty-First Century" is a web site that accompanies and supplements E. Michael Richards’ 1992 book The Clarinet of the Twenty-First Century: New Sonic Resources Based on Principles of Acoustics.   A password is needed to access all features of the site, but an incredible amount of information excerpted from the book is available for free.  Other resources (such as books by Rehfeldt and Farmer) offer fingerings for multiphonics and quarter tones, but Richards’ book is unique in that he explores the acoustical theory behind fingering choices and multiphonics.  He even includes spectrogram analyses of fingerings to determine the presence or absence of harmonics.  

This web site offers soprano, bass, and E-flat clarinet fingering charts of alternate fingerings, quarter-tones and microtones, microtonal scale patterns, and multiphonics.  Exercises and etudes with MP3 musical examples further illustrate the extended techniques.  For the full text, including the complete multiphonic fingering chart, clarinetists will have to refer to the print version of the book, although we had difficulty obtaining the revised 2009 version.  


Advanced Contemporary Techniques for the Clarinet
For a “method book” approach to extended techniques, take a look at Adam Berkowitz’s e-book Advanced Contemporary Techniques for the Clarinet.  Unlike other books that attempt to be comprehensive, Berkowitz’s book focuses on four techniques: double tonguing, circular breathing, singing while playing, and multiphonics.  Each technique is defined clearly and simply with exercises provided so that the player can try things out along the way. Berkowitz also notes ways in which learning these techniques can positively affect a player’s traditional clarinet technique.  

A few typos are distracting, and the four etudes require some techniques not described in the book.  However, Advanced Contemporary Techniques for the Clarinet is a solid choice for those looking for a friendly, pedagogical approach to extended techniques. The book is $19.95, but individual chapters can be purchased for $5.95 - a great option if you are interested in learning a specific technique.  On a side note, Berkowitz’s 2011 ClarinetFest® presentation could serve as a free “preview” of the concepts used in his book.


Clarinet Multiphonics
For readers not familiar with the fundamental properties of how multiphonics work, Nicolas del Grazia’s web site “Clarinet Multiphonics” offers an interactive guide explaining the phenomenon. Complete with animated diagrams depicting the various patterns of oscillation created by the air column inside the bore, the site gives viewers insight to the scientific principles behind multiphonics and offers wonderfully constructed visual representations. His concise explanations for sound production of multiphonics are a great introduction for clarinetists experimenting with extended techniques.  Not only does the site provide a database of over 250 multiphonics, but the annotated entries include sound bites, assigned difficulty levels, and dynamic ranges.  Del Grazia has made the site easy to navigate, making this a great resource for both performers and composers researching extended techniques.  


Le Paradoxe de la Clarinette
Alain Séve’s e-book Le Paradoxe de la Clarinette is a great resource about multiphonics and quarter-tones for our French-speaking readers.  (Others can use a translation tool such as Google Translate to get a rough idea of the text.)  The book, which can be read online, downloaded in PDF form, or ordered in print, covers the theory of multiphonics and includes quarter-tone and multiphonic fingering charts for both clarinet and bass clarinet.


Woodwind Fingering Guide
For quick references for fingerings and trills on Boehm-, Albert-, and Oehler-system clarinets, and even the Three-Key Kinderklarinette, the Woodwind Fingering Guide at Woodwind.org offers a multitude of easy-to-read charts. Unfortunately, the section dedicated to multiphonics is limited and readers may find some of the sites mentioned above to be of more value.  However, the listings for quarter-tone fingerings for Albert- and Oehler-system clarinets are quite extensive and worth looking into.  Supplying reader with notes higher than the usual range of C7 given by most fingering charts, the possibilities listed for the very high altissimo notes (up to Bb7!) seem endless. The site also provides fingering charts for Boehm-system alto, bass, and contra bass clarinets--a wealth of information compiled by Timothy Reichard into one source.


Fingering Diagram Builder
Bret Pimentel’s Fingering Diagram Builder is a great tool for composer/clarinetist collaborations.  It allows the user to easily create a great graphic for any fingering and save it as a PNG or TIFF file.  You can even save directly to a Dropbox folder--very useful when working with multiphonics, where a composer typically includes fingerings in the score.  Teachers may even wish to utilize the Fingering Diagram Builder to create documents for students about resonance fingerings or altissimo fingerings.  Pimentel offers versions for standard and full-Boehm clarinet as well as student and professional bass clarinet.  


What a Mullerful World
An expert on the Bohlen-Pierce (BP) clarinet and also a contemporary blogger, Nora-Louise Müller is one of five professional musicians who play this obscure instrument. On her blog “What a Mullerful World” she writes about her endeavors performing on the instrument and presenting it to new audiences. Created by Stephen Fox in 2006, the BP clarinet utilizes an alternative harmonic system discovered by Heinz Bohlen and John R. Pierce during the 1970s and 1980s.  This new type of scale is derived from dividing a perfect twelfth into thirteen steps, in which the twelfth now functions like an octave and serves as a tonal reference point in the scale.  

The BP clarinet has less keys and simpler mechanisms than traditional models, but still employs the same fingerings as the Boehm-system clarinet. Despite its alternative harmonic chords and more consonant intervals, the BP clarinet has a limited scope of multiphonics possible. For more details and pictures of this instrument, including others in the BP clarinet family, visit her blog.  


Website List:

The Clarinet of the Twenty-First Century (E. Michael Richards)
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~emrich/clarinet21.html


Advanced Contemporary Techniques for the Clarinet (Adam Berkowitz)
http://adamjberkowitz.com/?page_id=402


Clarinet Multiphonics (Nicolas del Grazia)
http://www.clarinet-multiphonics.org/index.html


Le Paradoxe de la Clarinette (Alain Sève)
http://alain-seve.com/livre-intro.html


The Woodwind Fingering Guide
http://www.wfg.woodwind.org/clarinet/


Bret Pimentel’s Fingering Diagram Builder
http://fingering.bretpimentel.com/#!/clarinet/


What a Mullerful World (Nora-Louise Müller)
http://msmullerful.wordpress.com/

Clarinet.org Links List

We'd like to bring to your attention the new Clarinet.org links page.  We at Clarinet Cache worked together with Marco Mazzini and the I.C.A. to create this list of links as a resource for I.C.A. members and clarinetists around the world.  Categories of links include festivals, clarinet ensembles, retailers, and clarinet organizations. 

While plenty of other "clarinet links" pages exist on the internet, this collection is unique because it is curated according to guidelines created by the I.C.A. board, and reflects the goals and membership of our organization.  For example, the list attempts to be as international as possible, and includes only retailers that advertise or support the I.C.A.  Check out the list and let us know what we missed!

Clarinets for Conservation

This new video showcases the efforts of Michele Von Haugg and her organization Clarinets for Conservation. This group combines conservation and musical instruction in a unique way: they support efforts to protect and plant the mpingo tree from which clarinets are made, while also offering free clarinet instruction for the communities in which these trees grow.



Learn more at the Clarinets for Conservation Facebook page, and make a contribution to support their efforts.

François Houle on NPR

Wednesday's episode of Fresh Air on NPR featured clarinetist François Houle and his fascinating new album with pianist Benoît Delbecq.  Listen here.  We also found this short documentary on the recording of this album by Igor Juget.


Because She Hoped - Benoît Delbecq/François Houle duo - new album from Igor Juget on Vimeo.

Clarinet Videos: Best of 2011

It's that time of year again to take a look back at the past twelve months to pick our favorite YouTube videos from 2011.  A couple of the selections made it on our list with only a few days left to spare in the calendar year, but we've manage to sort through all YouTube videos and readers' submissions to select our top picks for the year, featuring clarinetists from Japan, Croatia, Armenia, Italy, the U.S., and the U.K.


1. Clarinet Tongue Position Videos: X-Ray and Ultrasound
This next two videos shows the scientific view of what happens inside our mouths when we play clarinet. 



The first video, featuring research by Ray Wheeler in the 1960's, shows X-ray images of a clarinetist's tongue.  These x-rays were taken while the player bends notes, plays glissandi, and also vocalizes the sounds as well.  Offering a unique look into how the tongue and throat positions affect pitch and tone quality, this video is great starting point for teachers and students alike.



More recently, Joshua Gardner presented his work on ultrasound imaging of clarinet tongue position at ClarinetFest 2011, with a test subject of none other than Robert Spring!  If you're one of the many that watched his warm-up video and wondered how does he do it?, now's your chance to find out!  This is the first of four videos, so visit YouTube to see the rest.

2. Brahms Quintet Reimagined by ZRI



It may sound like sacrilege: rearranging the Brahms Quintet for a "gypsy" ensemble including accordion and santouri (a type of hammer dulcimer).  But ZRI's version, injected with incredible passion and flair, is mesmerizing.  Named for the tavern at which Brahms was known to listen to gypsy bands, ZRI's live shows juxtapose their version of Brahms with the sort of raucous gypsy tunes which influenced Brahms' composition of the Quintet.  The video below uses the Music Animation Machine to provide a visual representation of the sound of the second movement of Brahms' Quintet as performed by ZRI.  Also check out this video to get a feel for ZRI's high-energy live performance!

3. Quintette 7 is Late for a Parade



We blogged back in February 2011 about the West Point Band ensemble Quintette 7, which specializes in the music of Raymond Scott.  This video is a humorous take on life as a military musician, set to excerpts of Quintette 7 playing several pieces by Scott.


4. Japanese Bass Clarinet Showdown


Set to the dramatic background music of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana, this video clip of game-show contestants attempting to play the bass clarinet demonstrates that not everyone has natural talent when it comes to playing an instrument.  Quizzical looks from the contestants as they awkwardly hold the bass clarinets give away their lack of familiarity with a woodwind instrument and the tension builds when the first girl fails to make a sound.  Watch this short clip to the end and you will quickly discover who is declared the winner.  Please, somebody give her a lesson!

5. Corrado Giuffredi & Saxofollia -- Guisganderie



We came across this video with the help of Morrie Backun posting it to his Facebook page.  Just barely making it in time for our list, this video was posted two days before the new year and has already garnered over 441 viewings.  Featuring clarinetist Corrado Giuffredi playing Faustin and Mauri Jeanjean's Guisganderie accompanied by the Saxofollia quartet, this video was recorded in the Guiseppe Verdi Theatre in Italy.  This fun, but technically challenge piece does require some alternate fingerings to facilitate the rapid passages, and a thread found at Woodwind.org goes into further details about recommended fingerings.


6. Yeghishe Gasparyan - "Yeghishi Par"


This video was taken at a live concert in Rostov City, Russia, featuring the famous Armenian clarinetist Yeghishe Gasparyan. We don't know that much about Yeghishe, but his technique is certainly incredible, and the sound quality of this live video is very good.



7. Duo Gurfinkel - Paganini/Levitas Caprice 24


This virtuosic duo performance is made all the more remarkable due to the fact that Alex and Daniel Gurfinkel are identical twins and only twenty years old.  They are sons of Israel Symphony principal clarinetist Michael Gurfinkel, and we look forward to hearing more about them in the future!


8. Preparing for Auditions with Ricardo Morales


One of the biggest clarinet stories of 2011 was the news that Ricardo Morales was hired as principal clarinetist of the New York Philharmonic, beginning in September of 2012. Who better to teach us about taking an audition than Morales himself?

9. Jazz for Cows


The most viral clarinet video of the year was definitely "Jazz for Cows," which has received over 4 million views since it was uploaded in September. Watch as the New Hot Five mesmerizes a group of cows in France with their Dixieland jazz.

10. Mihael Paar--Jingle Bells

And finally, before the holiday tunes have faded from our memory, check out Croatian clarinetist Mihael Paar's rendition of Jingle Bells.  This professionally-made video has great audio that highlights his smooth sound and polished technique. His unique arrangement of Jingle Bells seamlessly weaves several variations of the classic tune together and is complemented nicely by the video footage of the recording process. For more information about Paar and his current projects, visit his website at www.mihaelpaar.com 

That's all for now! Comment to let us know what we've missed, and visit our "Best of 2011" playlist to hear many more of our favorite videos from the past year!

Carolina Clarinet Quartet

Demonstrating how congenial and generous the clarinet community can be, the members of the Carolina Clarinet Quartet have posted an offer on their website inviting fellow musicians to share and trade original works and arrangements in exchange for access to the group's own arrangements of clarinet quartets.  On their site you will find an index of over 175 pieces containing information on the instrumentation of each piece, timings, brief comments, and audio samples of the group performing selected works. Although some of the linked content and biographies are outdated by a few years, an article covering an in-depth analysis of mouthpiece materials by quartet member Brent Smith is worth checking out.  For those who live in North Carolina, the site also lists over 60 links to musical ensembles across the state for playing opportunities.

Hornsmasher: Clarinet

Ever wonder what would happen if you pumped peanut butter into a clarinet with a pressure hose?  The guys at Hornsmasher.com did, and here is the result:

International Clarinet Association (Dec. 2011 column)

You may have noticed that the International Clarinet Association has recently been working to expand the offerings of the Clarinet.org website and to connect with members via Facebook.  We thought we would dedicate this column to exploring the new features at Clarinet.org and the ICA Facebook page.

Clarinet.org
The website of the International Clarinet Association, Clarinet.org was created in 1996 by Alan Stanek and Stan Geidel with important contributions from F. Gerard Errante, Mark Charette (of Woodwind.org) and Kevin Jocius.  The site has evolved over the years to offer more content and functionality, and has become a rich resource for members and non-members of the I.C.A. 

Starting with the new additions located under the “Archives” menu, the site now contains a link to the “Clarinet Anthology” and past ClarinetFest®  presentations.  Initiated and developed by past president F. Gerard Errante, these new categories are a great resource for articles from older issues (including several by Daniel Bonade) as well as up-to-date research and presentations courtesy of ICA members who have presented at past ClarinetFests.  

Though it’s been available for years, some of our readers may be unaware that the entire Master Index of The Clarinet is available online.  With over 1,800 articles indexed by Volume, Author, Title, and Category, this is the place to start when doing any clarinet-related research!  Another feature that is perhaps underutilized is the incredible ICA Research Center Library.  Set in motion during Robert Spring’s presidency, the ICA placed a listing of its Research Library Score Collection online making it easier and more convenient for members to peruse and borrow materials.  (You don’t have to be a member to search the Catalog.)  Housed at the University of Maryland, droves of scores supplied by several donors over the past two decades are available and can be checked out for up to two months with minimal cost to cover shipping. Just one of many perks to being a member!

Several other “Members Only” features have been added to the Clarinet.org site in recent years.  Members of the ICA now have access to PDF files of The Clarinet going back to December 2008 and “teaser” preview articles from upcoming issues.  They can also search the ICA Member Directory by name or state/country, making it easier to get in contact with clarinetists from around the world.  And for those who aren’t yet members, it is now very easy for everyone to join the ICA by registering through the web site!

I.C.A. Facebook Page
The ICA Facebook Page was conceived and created several years ago by Diane Barger, who continues to serve as an administrator of the page.  We recently asked Diane to elaborate about this initiative and how it serves the ICA, and we’ve included her remarks below:

“I have found that Facebook serves as a terrific resource for students, professionals, enthusiasts, etc. I remember the days when Facebook was strictly for students, and now people from all walks of life and of all ages are on this popular social media resource. I believe it is one of the best ways in which we can communicate with each other in a creative way.

“The ICA Facebook Group (simply named "International Clarinet Association") is a place where members can post information about things going on in their city/state*, ask questions pertaining to the clarinet, upload video or links, etc. And, it is regularly monitored by myself and a few ICA Board members who administer the site and ensure that all postings are appropriate for the purposes of the group. It is also a popular place for ICA ClarinetFest® Artistic Directors to post information about that year's conference.” -- Diane Barger

Due to changes in the way Facebook formats groups and pages, the page recently migrated to a new address (available here if you are logged in to Facebook).  Be sure to join the new group -- you will also be joining a conversation with clarinetists from around the world!

*Note that many ICA State Chairs have created individual Facebook pages, so it might be more appropriate to list local events there rather than the general ICA Facebook Group.  

***
We’re excited to be working together with Marco Mazzini (of ClariPeru) and the ICA to create a list of helpful links at Clarinet.org.  This list will feature local, regional, and national clarinet organizations; clarinet equipment retailers; and more. 

Send your favorite clarinet sites to clarinetcache@gmail.com for possible inclusion on our blog or in future columns!

Himie Voxman (1912-2011)

 Legendary educator, administrator, and clarinetist Himie Voxman passed away yesterday at the age of 99.  Voxman, who served as director of the University of Iowa School of Music from 1954-1980, is a familiar name to clarinetists around the world due to his publications of method books and chamber music for woodwinds.

photo by Tom Jorgensen; from uiowa.edu

 According to Hustedt's dissertation (see below), Voxman began traveling to Europe in 1954 in search of unpublished wind music from the 18th and 19th centuries.  As it was not under copyright, he was then able to arrange and adapt much of this music to eventually create hundreds of methods, collections, chamber arrangements, and solo editions for wind instruments. 

Voxman's well-known publications for clarinet include the following:

-Rubank Advanced Method for Clarinet Vol. 1 and 2
-Classical Studies for Clarinet
-Introducing the Alto or Bass Clarinet
-Concert and Contest Collection for Clarinet
-Selected Studies for Clarinet
-Selected Duets for Clarinet Vol. 1 and 2

Further reading:

• Iowa City Press-Citizen article about Voxman's life at UI
• Michele Ann Bowen Hustedt's 2010 DMA Dissertation "The Life and Career of Himie Voxman", including a full list of Voxman's publications
• Himie Voxman Wikipedia article
• Short interview with Voxman as part of NAMM oral history project
• Article about Voxman's 90th birthday celebration at University of Iowa

Blog Alert: The Curious Clarinetist

A new blog has popped up on our radar-The Curious Clarinetist. Active for just over a year, this blog features numerous posts on master classes, videos, reeds, and teaching, just to name a few topics. Geared towards clarinetists of all ages and levels, this wonderful site collects and presents material in a personal, yet informative manner. Check out the post on a master class by Yehuda Gliad; the seamless flow of the prose and content makes you feel as if you were witnessing it firsthand.  The author has also taken the time to create lists of some of the most commonly requested orchestral excerpts in auditions and offers links to IMSLP for the clarinet parts and scores. If you like what you see, don't forget to "like" the blog on Facebook to stay connected and keep tabs on new postings.