Fundamentals of Legato by Phillip O. Paglialonga
There are four primary components to seamless legato: fingers, embouchure, wind and equipment. Each of these categories contributes to the overall sound of your legato in different ways.
Among the fundamental skills we must all develop as clarinetists is a seamless legato. As one famous clarinetist said, when playing legato it must sound as if you are “oozing” between the notes. Because of the technical problems inherent to the clarinet, legato playing is not automatic. Furthermore, because the fundamentals of sound legato playing are dependent upon other fundamental skills, it is impossible to perfect your legato skills without having excellent clarinet fundamentals to begin with. It is my goal in this article to break down the different components that contribute to seamless legato playing so that you can identify which aspects of your legato need improvement. Furthermore, I hope to better your intellectual understanding of legato playing while also presenting a number of exercises to foster improvement.
Before starting a discussion on legato playing it is important to take a step back and look at fundamentals in general. I am often frustrated to see my own students cringe at the though of working on fundamentals. Often, students would rather “get to the music: and skip the fundamentals. Or worse yet, students feel that fundamentals are something that they have mastered and warrant little or no attention at all. This could not be further from the truth. Fundamentals by their very nature are fundamentals to making music on the clarinet. They are skills that allow music making to happen and solve issues that arise in the real world of music. Contrary to popular belief, fundamentals are something that the best players think about the most.
There are four primary components to seamless legato: fingers, embouchure, wind and equipment. Each of these categories contributes to the overall sound of your legato in different ways.
Fingers
The ways we use our fingers in a legato passage has a dramatic effect on the overall legato. We must eliminate any pops, key noise, bumps, and glissandi so that they do not interrupt the legato line. When lifting your fingers in a legato passage a certain amount of resistance is required. When lifting your finger away from the keys you should feel as though someone is pulling your fingers back towards the clarinet. In teaching it is helpful to actually hold a student's fingers down as they try to lift them so they might feel this sensation. When a finger closes a hole the same resistance must be felt, as though someone were pulling the finger away from the clarinet. Generally speaking, our fingers should move as slowly and deliberately as possible to complete a passage.
When lifting our fingers it is also important that we consider the motion of our fingers after the required action. In other words, when you swing a golf club you must make a follow-through after hitting the ball despite the fact that the ball has already been struck. In the same manner when we lift our fingers we must “follow-through” by continuing the motion upwards and not suddenly jolting to a stop. This sort of motion will give you the feeling of constant motion in your fingers as opposed to sharp angular motion.
Embouchure
The embouchure plays a vital role in the creation of a truly legato line. It is absolutely critical that the embouchure remain as stable as possible. There should be no visible movement in the embouchure be it internal (tongue position) or external (lips, teeth, and jaw). [To learn how to form a proper embouchure see Julie DeRoche’s article in the Leblanc Bell Magazine on Clarinet Basics.] The clarinet is different from other instruments in that it does not require any voicing (with the possible exception of the altissimo range of the instrument). If your embouchure is formed correctly every note should speak without any manipulation. Practice in front of a mirror and watch yourself. The sort of mirror used to put on make-up is perfect for this sort of practice.
Wind
It has always surprised me how little attention is given to the air stream when speaking about legato playing. Our air stream must be of constant quantity, to avoid “bumps” in the sound.
There are two primary factors we must consider when trying to maintain a constant air stream. The first is the supply of air. The rate of exhalation must be constant so that each note responds with equal presence. Second, the oral cavity must remain a constant shape so that the speed of the air does not fluctuate. To this end the throat must remain relaxed with the tongue in a high, arched position.
To understand the effect of tongue position air speed it is helpful to visualize a water hose. Imagine the flow of water coming from a garden hose. Now imagine the change to the water flow if you were to close off part of the end of the hose with your finger. By doing this you have increased the water pressure. The water is coming out at a faster rate, but at a decreased volume. Our air flow works the same way. Our best sound is achieved when we have a fast moving, focused stream of air pointed at the heart of the reed. Simply thinking about this image is a useful way of stabilizing your air flow.
Once the air flow is stable one needs only to move your fingers. It is when we try to manipulate our air stream (or ‘help’) that problems occur. Create a steady stream of air directed at the heart of the reed and move your fingers over top of the air stream.
Equipment
As much as I would like to say that legato is purely a function of our own playing abilities, this is not the case: our equipment can help or hinder our pursuit of a seamless legato. Important considerations when choosing a clarinet include: intonation, response, and evenness of sound.
Ideally, a clarinet should be in-tune with itself across the range of the clarinet. This is to say that without any manipulation, it is “in-tune.” If this is not the case an expert repairman should be consulted to try to get your instrument more in-tune with itself. Changes can be made rather easily by adding tape in tone holes and adjusting key heights.
The clarinet should also have an even response in all registers. If one note tends to speak more easily than another it will upset your legato line.
Although it is beneficial to have excellent equipment in good working order, equipment should not become an excuse for poor legato. Ultimately, nobody cares what your technical problems may be, they are only concerned with the sounds that you create.
Closing Thoughts
The study of legato is a lifelong, pursuit. Seek out recordings of master players such as Robert Marcellus, Larry Combs and Ricardo Morales. Listen to their legato and work to emulate it. Spend time thinking about what is necessary to create a seamless legato line. Then break down the different aspects of legato: isolate them and practice them. Practice the exercises discussed here regularly so that the fundamentally correct way of playing becomes a habit. Once these fundamental skills have become second nature, forget what you have learned and trust your instincts, always insisting on a seamless legato.
Phillip O. Paglialonga is based in Michigan and maintains an active career as a clarinetist and educator. He can be reached at ppaglialonga@hotmail.com.
