Klarinet Archive - Posting 000430.txt from 1996/08

From: Neil Leupold <nleupold@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: Practice Habits
Date: Wed, 14 Aug 1996 13:13:49 -0400

> Is it better to stick to one scale and its various forms
> in one setting, or practice the whole regimin nightly, or what?

The type of practice regimen which will be effective for you is really an
individual matter. One of the things which sets somebody apart as a good
*teacher* is their ability to present a given concept in a variety of ways,
providing the student multiple perspectives of the same issue, until one
of them happens to work for him/her. Since you are acting as your own
teacher, you should try experimenting with your practice options, over a
reasonable period of time.

I'm so anal about the fundamentals of technique, the first thing I do in
my daily practice session (after long tones) is play Baermann book three,
in order, from cover to cover. This takes a little over an hour, but I'm
in a situation where the time is available and I'm able to practice more than
once a day. Most people have neither the free time, nor the patience,
and some might even argue that playing the whole Baermann every day is
not efficient or productive. I've determined otherwise for myself.

THE most important thing, no matter which area you're working on, is to be
_consistent_. In all likelihood, any reasonable practice routine
concerning scales and such will produce results as long as you dedicate
enough time on a regular basis to the regimen. How quickly you progress
depends on how much time you spend on those scales each day, and how
focused your practice session is. If you're looking for a specific
suggestion of what and how to practice your scales, here's a simple one:

Page 123 of the Klose' method (part II) is an ideal capsule of all major
and minor scales, two octaves a piece, the minor scales being of the
melodic variety (as opposed to natural or harmonic). Assuming time is of
the essence for you, practicing this page of scales from top to bottom
with a metronome, every day, is an excellent way to become comfortable
with them.

If you have Baermann book three, you can add a more focused dimension to
your practice routine by picking one scale per week and practicing it in
all of its various permutations as they are provided in the book (3rds,
arpeggios, broken chords, 6ths, octaves, etc). This would also be done to
a metronome, following a focused session on the aforementioned page of the
Klose'. After spending a week on a particular key, move to the next one
in sequence, or perhaps target a key that is particularly irksome for you
and concentrate on *that* for a week (again, playing all of its various
forms throughout the book).

Page 128 of the Klose' method (part II) is a capsule of all major and
minor scales in the form of broken chords. You might include this page
in your daily practice routine, always with a metronome. Simple one-page
summaries like this are invaluable if you don't have lots of time to
devote to the practice of fundamentals but desire to work on and improve
them gradually.

In my opinion, it's impossible to spend too much time on the basics,
short of burning out of course. The statement is made with the clear
proviso that a proportionate degree of time and energy are devoted as
well to the practice and performance of actual literature, in order to learn
and develop things which simply can not be acquired from a page of
arpeggios. Thus, in addition to being consistent, balance of approach is
also vital. To be consistent but lop-sided, or to be balanced in one's
approach but fail to practice consistenly will, in each case, result in
frustration to some degree. There are dozens of books and methods in
print which offer ways of achieving both, and achieving satisfaction and
fulfilment instead of frustration, regardless of your present level.
Hopefully my simple practice suggestions using Klose' and Baermann are
helpful.

Neil