Klarinet Archive - Posting 000116.txt from 1999/09

From: "Franklin Kercher" <kranwli@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] 52 year old 'beginner' needs help - please!
Date: Mon, 6 Sep 1999 01:27:03 -0400

-----Original Message-----
From: Audrey Travis <vsofan@-----.com>
Date: Saturday, September 04, 1999 10:21 PM
Subject: [kl] 52 year old 'beginner' needs help - please!

>I began playing clarinet two years ago at age 50, and am studying with
>Wes Foster, principal clarinet of the Vancouver Symphony. Wes is great
>and has helped me tremendously, but now that I'm on the Net, I'd like
>more ideas. My two main problems at this stage are finger and tongue
>speed. First, the fingers - they don't want to move very fast,
>especially the RH pinkie and the finger next to it, and the LH pinkie.
>I suspect I may have a bit of arthritis to add to the problem. Does
>anyone have any suggestions to limber up all my fingers - perhaps
>exercises to develop the strength of my fingers ( a physiotherapist once
>told me my fingers are a bit weak). At this stage, I can do 16th note
>passages only very slowly and usually only if the notes are pretty much
>stepwise. My fingers also seem reluctant to do certain note (finger)
>combos quickly - like lifting off several fingers together especially if
>either pinkie is involved. Any help out there?
>
>Also, my fingering and tongueing speed are sometimes uncoordinated - I
>can often slur a passage accurately, but may not be able to tongue and
>move fingers at the same speed - for example the 3rd movement of the
>Mozart Clarinet Concerto - full bar 7 - I can play this if I slur the
>whole thing, but my finger and tongue speed don't match if I tongue it
>all at the same tempo. Ideas? Wes has taught me to move fingers before
>I tongue, but I guess I'd have to practice this very slowly at first and
>finally speed up.
>
>Any useful ideas that might make sense to a 52 year old whose limbs,
>fingers and brain don't move as fast as they used to? A youthful
>clarinet playing friend of mine says her teacher insisted on her
>learning all the scales, etc. before age 19 (?) because after that it
>would be too late. Hope that teacher was wrong!!
>
>Any ideas will help.
>
>Audrey Travis
>E-mail: vsofan@-----.com
>
>Well I'm almost in the same boat as you. While I did play in school, my
clarinet sat in the closet for over 20 years during my military career. I
started up relearning about 4years ago as did my wife with her flute. My
fingers/hands have been smashed, bashed, burned, crushed, sliced and lord
knows what else doing search & rescue in the Coast Guard. You just have to
keep doing excercises over and over and it will get better. Sometimes it may
seem as you have made no progress but if you go back and play some of your
earlier music or excercises you probably notice they are easier and that you
ARE getting better. Don't get discouraged, stay with it. I like to work out
of an old Klose book but when I get bored with that I'll grab my old Bb fake
book full of the old standards just for a change of pace. It helps in sight
reading to do this too.
>---------------------------------------------------------------------
>Unsubscribe from Klarinet, e-mail: klarinet-unsubscribe@-----.org
>Subscribe to the Digest: klarinet-digest-subscribe@-----.org
>Additional commands: klarinet-help@-----.org
>Other problems: klarinet-owner@-----.org
>

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Unsubscribe from Klarinet, e-mail: klarinet-unsubscribe@-----.org
Subscribe to the Digest: klarinet-digest-subscribe@-----.org
Additional commands: klarinet-help@-----.org
Other problems: klarinet-owner@-----.org