Klarinet Archive - Posting 000206.txt from 1998/03

From: Lee Hickling <hickling@-----.Net>
Subj: Re: Memorization (was Re: marching band)
Date: Wed, 4 Mar 1998 07:31:36 -0500

I think Andy Grenci has it right:
>I think that memorization is the norm for pianists because playing while
>reading the music almost invariably requires a page-turner on stage to
assist.
>This is not the case for clarinetists. Of course many clarinetists do perform
>solos by memory. But this leads to the next reason for a lack of
memorization:
>most clarinetists are not trained to be soloists.

I know better, but seeing a page-turner always makes me feel that a pianist
is playing material he hasn't fully mastered. Organists sometimes have two
helpers, one to change the registration, but they're usually out of sight
of the audience or congregation. Concert and jazz pianists typically use no
music, which allows them look at their hands, a no-no for students, and
that helps minimize mistakes. (Yes, even the virtuosi hit an occasional clam.)

For student horn players, there is something about the professionalism that
is conveyed when a soloist does not use music that impresses not only an
audience but the adjudicators in regionals. I can't prove it, but I believe
that memorizing a solo can increase a player's score by a full grade.