Klarinet Archive - Posting 000232.txt from 1996/03

From: David Blumberg <reedman@-----.COM>
Subj: Re: PLEASE HELP - WEBER 2ND CONCERTO
Date: Fri, 8 Mar 1996 09:40:35 -0500

Olivia,
It sounds like a tension problem in your fingers ,and nerves for the impending
concert. You indicated that you know how to practice with rhythmic variations
(a la M. Moyse) to learn the notes. The next thing to do is to RELAX when you
play those difficult passages.
Too much tension in your hands will slow you down, and make even simple runs
difficult. The book "The inner game of music " by Barry Green with T. Gallwey
(Anchor Press,Doubleday Publisher) is really helpful on the Psychology of
Playing (thats one of the things that Leon Russianoff was so successful in
teaching to his pupils).
Also you could place a mark (I use an upside down V) over the 2 or 3 notes
that you find especially uneven or difficult so that your mind focuses on
those notes when you are playing that section. I can't stress too much on the
importance of relaxation when you play. Major competitions have been lost due
to the players being too stressed out to play accurately. I taught the 1992
2nd prize winner of the ICA Young Artists Competition in Cincinnatti. My
student was the only High School student accepted into the Competition. His
success was due to the fact that he could relax and play accurately what he
had worked really hard on learning. There were other monster players in the
competition, but many skidded out by being too tense and playing errors that
they probably made when they were first learning the pieces.
I'll end with an analogy- A centipede would probably trip if asked which one
of his 100 legs goes first when moving. Don't overanalyze yourself while
performing.
David C. Blumberg- Phila. Pa.

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From: Klarinet - Clarinettist's Network on behalf of OLIVIA HOUNSLEY
Sent: Tuesday, March 05, 1996 8:33 PM
To: Multiple recipients of list KLARINET
Subject: PLEASE HELP - WEBER 2ND CONCERTO

Hi! I've been a very passive listener on this list now for about a
month and a half. I have read most all of the interesting topics on
this list and now I have found that I have a question to ask of anyone
with knowledge on Weber's 2nd Concerto - 3rd movement.

I've been working on this movement for a while now and realizing that my
recital is in a week, I am panic stricken. When I first picked up the
piece I was able to play the more difficult spots with somewhat ease
(areas like the 64th note downward rips in the beginning and the
sextuplets in the end - just after the last theme statement). About 2
weeks ago something happened and now I am having so much difficulty
playing these areas evenly up to speed. I've tried swinging the phrases
in both directions and then trying to play it even and I've tried taking
it real slow and speeding up but nothing seems to be helping. What else
can I do that might help? I've found that even after all that
experimenting, I can only play the phrases evenly and cleanly when I
play them real slow. How am I ever going to get it up to speed within
the next week at this rate? Please help!!!!!!!

Extremely frustrated,

Olivia