Guy Yehuda Discusses Upcoming Project and How to Find the Core to Your Sound

Guy Yehuda at Chicago Vandoren Studio

Clarinet Playing

(0:16)

Hi there. My name is Guy Yehuda. I am the clarinet professor at Michigan State University and also the Principal Clarinet player at the Lansing Symphony. I am a soloist as well.

Clarinet Playing

(0:55)

I’ve played Vandoren throughout my career. When I was a kid I remember I used to play, my first reed, was the blue box, the traditional Vandoren reed. I remember when the V12 came out, that was a wonderful surprise and quite a nice change from the blue box which was a nice change of sound.

Lately, I am experimenting with the Rue Lepic 56 and I find them very nice and responsive with a nice core in the sound and here you see it’s a nice combination with the Optimum ligature.

Clarinet Playing

(1:49)

As I travel and perform concerts all over the world, I also record quite a lot and there is actually a new CD coming out in the next month of six commissioned pieces from composers around the world. The title of this CD is Rhapsodies Around the World. Of course, the most famous rhapsodies written for us is the Debussy Rhapsodie. So on that CD, it will be the Debussy Premiere Rhapsodie and six other rhapsodies from composers that are commissioned from Europe, from China, from Africa, etc. It’s a very interesting CD. It will come out in late May, beginning of June and you can find it on iTunes and in stores near you.

I will be at the ICA this summer in Orlando playing a solo recital. Some of the commissioned pieces I just mentioned I will play on that recital. I will be at the Vandoren booth to sign CD’s and posters and talk about clarinet and life in general.

Clarinet Playing

(3:17)

As a professor at Michigan State University, I work with many students on all aspects of playing the clarinet and music. Of course for us, clarinet players, sound is one of the most important things in playing music, if not maybe the most important thing. We always go back to the basics which, of course for us, is air (air support). I think if the air support is correct from the beginning, everything else will fall into place. It’s like a pyramid. If you take the big block that you build a pyramid with right from the bottom there, you take it away, the whole thing will crumble. That’s why I work diligently with my students about sound and tone production. What I am trying to instill in their playing is really searching for the beautiful sound, the core of the sound.

Just to demonstrate, if I play a low G like I started to play Rigoletto Fantasy which starts with low G, it’s not just a G. G is the fundamental note and, as you know, we have overtones, a stack of overtones, over the G. The clarinet, of course, is a unique instrument that has the 12th as the most prominent first partial that gives the clarinet its unique sound. If you start to train your ear to hear those partials, your sound will grow to be a beautiful, round sound. So, as you play this G, try to see if you can hear the D and move into the D. If you get really good at it you can start to hear that D, that upper partial, embedded in the G. The more you train yourself to hear those overtones, the more your sound will be beautiful and an added bonus, your projection with actually be a wonderful projection when you play in the orchestra. You will be able to reach all the way to the back seat.

Clarinet Playing