Klarinet Archive - Posting 001386.txt from 1997/10

From: Nicholas Yuk Sing Yip <nyip@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: can I catch up?
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 1997 05:37:41 -0500

Hello,
I live in the Bay Area, and I know exactly what you are going through.
I have only been studying clarinet for about 10 years, half of those years
with instruction,(the last five years). Basically, the first five years, I
learned the instrument by myself. Throughout my high school career I
played in the concert band, which was pretty much last rated, with a last
rated conductor. I played in first chair and practiced 4 - 5 times a week.
I thought this was easy, but after high school I went to college(CAl State
Northridge) and was overwhelmed with many difficulties with the clarinet,
lack of support, poor emboucher, fingers, etc... I was the lowest clarinet
player and at one point was out of the program. There, I studied with
Debbie Kanter, for those of you well known clarinetists know is, Jim
Kanter's wife. Anyway, I studied with her for a year and got back into
the program. To get back in I "practiced, until I died". However, I ran
into some problems with afew people and left the school, to return here.
The next summer I did not practice, or practiced scarcely, and I
studied with an instructor, I did not like. By the fall my performance was
poor. During the next year I studied with another instructor, named Bob
Calonico. I got a sense of confusion in my instruction and the progress
was slow. He had to stop, leaving me with poor performance and to pick
another instructor. My final year before coming to Santa Cruz, I studied
with Dick Mathias. Again with there was that sense of confusion in
instruction and lack of practicing. In the Winter of that academic year, I
got accpeted to UC Riverside and UC Santa Cruz. Even though the fact I
want to become a music teacher, I decided to go to UC Santa Cruz. I had
less General Ed to fullfill and I enjoyed Mark Brandenburg's, and the
faculties teaching and loved the campus, who says Santa Cruz is not
beautiful. Plus the class sizes are smaller, unlike Berkeley. Knowing
this I kicked my ass over the summer to get to the UC level. I am playing
in the orchestra (2nd chair) but what the heck I am in. I will also be
playing in a few productions later this year along with recitals and more...
I guess my point is after this long speech is two things.

1. Always look around for the instructor and school that will fit your
needs. Considering you are already in a school the school part maybe too
late. However, I believe, Alan Pollack and Jim Russell teach clarinet at
Berkeley. Try to take lessons from both of them and see which one you
like. Stay with them for at least a year! Having learned from different
instructors is good, but not for consecutive years.

2. "PRACTICE TO YOU DIE" This is a very demanding major and everyone else
will agree. 4 -5 times a week is not enough. Every day even feels like
not enough. Not just only practice every day, and many hours a day, but
also have good practice habits. 1) Long tones 2) scales, arpeggios 3)
etudes 4) Repertoire. Practice what your instructor tells you.

3) One more thing... Listen to recordings of other clarinetists, Soames,
Stoltzman, Meyer, Drucker,...You can learn alot from them and there playing.

Good luck, BTW My name is Nick Yip, I am sure you know Bob calonico, tell
him I said hi...

Ask him anything, he will help you with your playing.(^_^)
You can give me a buzz at my email nyip@-----.edu, we are not that
far away.(1 hour)