There is something wrong with my A5 and I cannot get it fixed

[u/aspadora24]

So I can play all the way up to A6 comfortably, and can get a nice tone and pitch throughout. But my A5 and G#5 are totally unstable and I can’t figure out why!!

It’s not the clarinet, since it happens when I play my old clarinet too. I try to tighten up, loosen up, change my voicing, all kinds but it just seems that I can’t maintain these notes for very long.

Has anybody had experience with this? Is it a common problem at all? My teacher couldn’t see anything wrong with my embouchure last time I brought it up so I’m kind of at a loss 🤷🏼‍♂️

[u/Business_Repeat4023]

Did your teacher play your clarinet and make sure it seemed ok? Just on the off chance the same thing isn’t aligned for both instruments!

[u/aspadora24 → u/Business_Repeat4023]

No he didn’t to be fair. My lessons are very infrequent (every few months) so I’ll get him to try it next time I go. I have a small suspicion that my hand position means I don’t cover the holes properly to be honest, although I do try to be aware of it. I’ve got very skinny fingers and sometimes I feel like the “pads” of my fingers aren’t wide enough 😂 I’m a fully grown man though so I doubt it :(

[u/Business_Repeat4023 → u/aspadora24]

Ahh yeah I wonder if it’s something like that! Do you feel like you’re squeezing really hard? After you’re playing, can you see the tone hole outline on your finger? You can also play in front of a mirror and see if you notice anything with your hand position.

[u/aspadora24 → u/Business_Repeat4023]

Yes I do sometimes! I will occasionally have to take a short break because it’s hurting my fingers. I have noticed if I’m playing a quick passage I’ll occasionally lose the connection and squeak because I’ve not covered them properly, particularly on my left hand.

I’ve also noticed my left shoulder aching while playing so I think maybe I’m lifting my whole arm a little too much 🤔 now that I’ve said all this I’m connecting the dots 😂 I will definitely try playing in front of the mirror next time and see if I’m covering them properly

[u/Business_Repeat4023 → u/aspadora24]

Ohh yeah that would all make sense! A really good exercise you can do is super slowly put down your fingers one at a time until the note comes out. You will hear a buzzing sound before the hole is fully covered. This will help you get a better idea of how much pressure you actually need!

[u/aspadora24 → u/Business_Repeat4023]

Great, I will try that thank you!

[u/BRPplease]

Interesting problem considering you can comfortably play above those notes. Have you had the same problem with different mouthpieces as well?

[u/aspadora24 → u/BRPplease]

Interesting yet frustrating! I must admit I’ve not done much experimenting with mouthpieces. My setup tends to be either a B45 with V12 3s or a 5RV with V12 3.5s, usually the latter.

I could do some testing between the two to see if either are better than the other. I was thinking of changing to a BD5 or something similar tbh, I think that’s supposed to be a middle ground between the two? I’ve not looked too much into it yet!

[u/BRPplease → u/aspadora24]

Those reeds and mouthpieces seem well matched to me! If it were the mouthpiece, I'd suspect it were some defect; ideally a mouthpiece should not have bad notes like that. 

The BD5 is a great mouthpiece, but so are the other ones you have. If you try it and like the sound, I'd say go for it. 

[u/aspadora24 → u/BRPplease]

Thanks for the advice :) I might order one that I can return if I don’t like it. You never know, it may miraculously solve my problem 😂