Klarinet Archive - Posting 000039.txt from 1998/12

From: avrahm galper <agalper@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] Teaching methods
Date: Wed, 2 Dec 1998 17:18:08 -0500

Teaching methods

Some years ago I visited Paris to see my late friend Yona Ettlinger.
During a trip to the Buffet factory we had a talk about teaching.
Here are his thoughts:
In his opinion a teacher should take into consideration the fact that a
pupil might want to be an accomplished player and so the teacher's aim
should be to give the student the necessary equipment to cope with the
demands of a difficult profession.
This means above all: a good sound and tone control, good intonation,
technique and expression.
These are the basics upon which future virtuosity is built.

There should be enough confidence between teacher and the pupil to
renounce from the very outset the desire to impress each other with fast
progress or competition.
The correct habits have to settle themselves in the memory of the pupil
as it takes time for the embouchure muscles to get used to good tone
control

The pupil in attempting to play difficult and dissonant intervals, which
cannot yet be controlled by his ear, risks the development of a good
sound embouchure,
A well placed embouchure can be acquired only after a great deal of work
with the repetitions of simple intervals in various forms
This study has to be coupled with the initiative of the "inner ear",
which has to be trained systematically with material absorbed by the
pupils
Here the study of solfege, in addition to the clarinet lessons, could be
of great help.

It is the "inner ear" that has to judge the tone quality, intonation and
the right color of the note before and after it is played
It is not seeing the note, but hearing it before it is played that the
best results are obtained
It is the"inner ear" that has to take over from the teacher once the
pupils has achieved his independence and has entered professional life.
Musicians, during the course of their career have to play all kinds of
dissonant and difficult passages and do not have time to pay attention
to all the details.
However, a trained musician has his basic control while the pupil or the
untrained musician risks losing the bearing rapidly.
In the time of "cultural revolutions" and searching for new ways of
expression, it is small wonder that one is tempted to hope and find a
shorter way in the field of clarinet instruction.
As much as clarinet instructors would like to participate in this
movement, it is not likely that good results could be obtained by
abandoning the traditional way of teaching the clarinet.
There are simple rules of tone production most of them governed by the
nature of the instrument and by the nature of the human being with his
nervous system and limitations.

These were Yona Ettlinger's thoughts.

--
Avrahm Galper
THE UPBEAT BAERMANN MELODIC SCALES AND ARPEGGIOS
http://www.sneezy.org/avrahm_galper/index.html

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