Klarinet Archive - Posting 000415.txt from 1996/12

From: Ken Bryson <kbryson@-----.COM>
Subj: Playing Well
Date: Sun, 15 Dec 1996 03:06:32 -0500

Laura,

My experience was very similar to yours--except it took me about 20
years to realize the mistake I had made in giving up clarinet completely
when I decided not to pursue it professionally. I know how painful it
is to begin playing again at a level so much below the level you can
remember so clearly, but stick with it. You're probably suffering most
from the deterioration in the facial muscles needed to produce a good
tone. Don't lose heart, the muscles will strengthen. And your fingers
will untangle themselves and remember their way around the instrument.
And your tongue will unglue itself from the roof of your mouth. What I
would recommend (and what worked for me) is the following: PLAY! Join a
group, any group, that you can get yourself to play with. A band at
your university or in your community--anything. Play 3rd clarinet if
that's where your ability level puts you in this group. (I saw the 3rd
and 2nd clarinet parts to a lot of music for the first time when I
started playing again four years ago.) Preferably join a group big
enough that you won't feel too self-conscious about your sound while
you're still getting back into practice. Play as much as you can (and
as much as you can stand). When you can begin to tolerate the way you
sound, start doing some chamber music with friendly people. And find a
good teacher, so that you don't develop any bad habits as you try to
recover your former ability--also so that you can continue to develop
beyond your previous level! You are still so young that I am confident
you can recover your abilities quickly and go on from there. Whether
you will ever want to switch from psychology to music as a major or a
profession is another question, but by all means bring the making of
music back into your life in some form. It's been a long road back for
me (but remember how long I'd been away!). This morning I took the
plunge in a chamber music class and played the first movement of Brahms
Sonata in F minor (a piece that I had last played about 24 years ago!).
Well, maybe it wasn't perfect and maybe it wasn't even as good as it was
when I was 17, but it was good enough that for a few minutes I
remembered why I used to love playing so much. Good luck, and let us
know how you come along.

Another recovering clarinetist,

Nancy