Klarinet Archive - Posting 000421.txt from 1998/11

From: Oliver Seely <oliver@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: [kl] Clarinet playing and fever
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 1998 04:38:04 -0500

At 05:22 PM 11/11/98 -0400, Claudia wrote:

> What I noticed was that I did OK if I had enough rests between the
> notes, but long passages (even articulated ones with room for swift
> breaths between notes) were extremely strenuous. Interestingly, by
> the third movement I was back in my head and managed to pull it off,
> though I had to leave out a lot of notes in the fourth movement,
> especially when the chills started.

Gene Kelly claimed that he was in your state when he did "Singing in
the Rain." I've always been doubtful about his story, but who knows!?
As for being "back in your head" by the third movement, I find that if things
have gone reasonably well up to the half-way point, when I'm in perfect
health, then it's pure joy all the way to the end and I do quite well, but
if I've flubbed here or there in the first half, the whole thing becomes the
performance from Hell, so I KNOW that there is a strong psychological factor
with me, fever or no fever. That sadly is part of the reason I opted for
the day job long ago and keep music for my amusement and enjoyment.
As a young man I did a few too many performances from Hell.

Oliver

-------------------------------------------------------------------------