Klarinet Archive - Posting 000023.txt from 1997/03

From: "David B. Niethamer" <niethamer@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: practicing
Date: Sat, 1 Mar 1997 23:28:45 -0500

On 2/28/97 7:07 PM, Deborah Shaw wrote:

>Just out of curiosity, I have often wondered how much practice time
>professional players put in daily and what do you practice? If anyone
>who plays for a living be willing to share?

It depends on the day, and what rehearsals/concerts I need to do. I try
to get a few (2 or 2 1/2 each day. Today I had a rehearsal and a concert,
so I stuck to about an hour of what I jokingly call "the scientific
warmup" -long tones, and a trip through a few keys of Hamelin scales. I
also did some reed work, but not for tonight. That reed I chose in
rehearsal last night.

As Fred alluded to in his post, family stuff can overtake your practice,
especially with very small children. Last year I returned to my preferred
routine (2 hours or so in the a.m.) after my daughter started the longer
first grade day. For the previous five years it was a bit more random,
and more scuffling to keep up than planning ahead. Many years of a stable
practice routine carried me through some of the rougher weeks.

My day *always* starts with 15-20 minutes of long tones. It usually
includes 30 minutes of scales, most often at the end of the practice
session, and most often Hamelin. The rest is the music on my stand.
Unlike the major orchestras, we do a *lot* of different programs,
sometimes two or three in a week. And just because Pops programs don't
have three or four rehearsals doesn't make them easy! I enjoy the summer,
when I have time for chamber music, and can pull out some etudes to
study. Right now (we had two light weeks) I'm reviewing some lessons from
the Russianoff Method.

Happy practicing!

David

David Niethamer
Principal Clarinet, Richmond Symphony
niethamer@-----.edu
dbnclar1@-----.com
http://members.aol.com/dbnclar1/

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