Klarinet Archive - Posting 000477.txt from 1996/08

From: Dick Walters <waltersd@-----.NET>
Subj: Re: Practice Habits
Date: Sat, 17 Aug 1996 09:10:16 -0400

Neil,

I really appreciate these great suggestions. Folks on this network
are really generous with their experiences and advice. Wish I had
had access to it years ago (unfortunately, computers were monsters
in those days and snail mail was the only kind). I'm making slow
progress and my wife hasn't gone nuts (yet) from the scales, etc.
Your suggestions will probably keep me from going over the bend
during the process and hopefully, speed up my progress.

Best,

Dick

Richard P. Walters
waltersd@-----.net

From: nleupold@-----.EDU
Date: 8/14/96 11:33:53AM
To: Klarinet - Clarinettist's Network
Subject: Re: Practice Habits

> 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