Klarinet Archive - Posting 000473.txt from 1996/08

From: niethamer@-----.EDU
Subj: Re: Practice Habits
Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 23:19:11 -0400

On Tue, 13 Aug 1996, Dick Walters wrote:

> Now that I'm doing the scale and etude studies in earnest, I'd
> appreciate suggestions about a good practice routine.
>
> As a fairly consistant player of rather simple church and community band
> music for a long time, I really need to develop my technique, which is
> sadly lacking. Is it better to stick to one scale and its various forms
> in one setting, or practice the whole regimin nightly, or what? Surely
> some of you guys have ideas on how to optimize this improvement process
> (short of a brain transplant from some good player) without boring one
> to death or wasting time.

Dick - I'll throw in my $.02 here. Neil has made some good points in his
response, starting with *balance* - some long tones, some scales, some
etudes, some "repertoire" each day. And consistency is important, too -
better to do 30 minutes each day than 3 hours only on the weekend, I
advise my students. I also think, with students who may have limited
time, that 10 minutes of long tones is better than skipping a day
altogether, just for the consistency.

This subject came up on the flute list, and below is one response, based
on the recommendations of Geoffrey Gilbert:

=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
The following table can be used as a guideline in determining how to
divide your practice time:

Category Time in Minutes/Day

1. Tone Studies 45 30 20

2. Technique: a} from memory 20 20 20
b} published technique 25 25 10

3. Etudes (Studies) 45 25 10

4. Pieces 45 20 00

Total Practice Time Per Day: 3hrs 2hrs 1hr

for serious progress = 3 hrs/day
for average progress = 2 hrs/day
for basic maintainance = 1 hr/day
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+

I was interested to notice that long tone practice was a major portion of
even a short practice session, which means that there's someone in the
world just as crazy as me!

But on to *finger* technique. In addition to Baermann, some of my
favorites wich are a bit less formidable are:

1.) J.B. Albert - 24 Scales and Exercises - found in Lazarus
Method part II as well as by itself, from Carl Fischer.

2.) Gaston Hamelin - Gammes et Exercises (Leduc)

Bob Schmidt published a whole routine for Albert Scales in his
"Clarinetists Notebook, V. 2", possibly still available from Hickey's
Music in Ithaca. He used it with his students, and I "stole" the ideas
for mine as well.

I have students buy Lazarus part II because it also contains 24 wonderful
opera/ballet duets for intermediate students, Kroepsch Book 1, which is a
great book for developing finger wiggling, and some Klose Etudes in each
major and minor key, easier than Rose 32, and maybe even easier than
Baermann 2. Lots of good stuff for the money.

Hamelin is my "Zen" scale book. Slow (triplets = mm 72) scales, A
chromatic exercise in rhythms (which I've expanded), and an exercise
played in three octaves in each key for eveness of fingers and sound. I
find this book works well for most students, because it discourages the
tension that can come from trying to play too fast too soon. It's "easy",
so you can focus on the proper amount of finger action - not too loose,
not too tight - juusst right.

Just one more point - the effects of this finger technique practice are
*cumulative* (if you've practiced carefully and effectively) - no need
to beat up on F# major until it's fast and perfect (3 months later, if
you're still sane!). As Neil also said, do a key a week, and keep going
back to the tough ones. But I do find it useful for students to do easy
ones in between - eliminates some tension from grasping at all those keys
in the difficult flat and sharp keys. I also think there's a phenomenon
where your ear takes the smoothness of, say, F major, and transfers it to
E Major or F# major if you do them back to back.

Patience, care, and consistency, and your technique will improve.

David
=====================================
David Niethamer, Internet Liaison
International Clarinet Association
Principal Clarinet, Richmond Symphony
niethamer@-----.edu
http://users.aol.com/dbnclar1/
=====================================