Klarinet Archive - Posting 000429.txt from 2000/02

From: "Rien Stein" <rstein@-----.nl>
Subj: [kl] dreaming
Date: Wed, 9 Feb 2000 19:42:01 -0500

At Wed, 9 Feb 2000 06:05:09 EST Georgette Calzati (Windsong Music) wrote:

>>
........
How many of us out there are so obsessed that we dream of playing
instruments, or performances?
<<

Dear Georgette

I do. It is dependent on circumstances, what I am dreaming about. Once I was
the proud owner of a Buffet Crampon BC-20 I bought in Paris at a bargain
price. As however the director of one of the two windbands I play with,
decided it did not mix well with the other clarinets, I had to change over
to an E-11. I play that one now since over three years, but still don' feel
comfortable with it. In this list some people have said it is not so much
the instrument play on, but rather what your musical intentions are, that
matter. I cannot agree with it: your material IS important. To me playing
the E-11 still feels like cutting meat with a wooden penknife.

Alas, as I am jobless and thus have no income, money is an important factor
of life, so when in dire need of money I thought "what should I have two
instruments for?" and sold the BC-20 to a student of mine, a man at that
time 49 years old, with much money - got nearly the same price I paid for it
13 years before - but with absolutely no gift for playing clarinet. (We are
now where the average nine years old student is after two months. I teach
him nearly three years, but he enjoys so much playing, and we have also such
good talks after, and sometimes during lessons, that I still continue with
him). Often after I have tried to teach him, I dream about the wonderful
sound, that even in these unskilled hands, with the original mpc and
Vandoren 2 reeds, is a lot better then what I can produce on my E-11, and I
have tried many mpc's and even ripped of a rib to buy a Vandoren Optimum
ligature. BTW the best combination for me is the Vandoren B-45 with a Luyben
(plastic) lig. A great improvement for me was the discovery of the Grand
Concert reed: I bought a box of five last week, and it really did help.

Another thing I often dream of, is rhythm. By sheer incidence I explained to
a saxophone student who couldn't manage the siciliano rhythm last Monday,
how to play it, and after several times of playing it together she began to
understand it. And then I met it in a g-minor etude by Jan van Beekum - and
had trouble to play it myself. So this night I woke up several times humming
the etude either to myself, or to this saxophone woman.

My most beautiful dream however has been about a bass clarinet concerto I
played with the Atlanta Symphony, but that is a very long story, I already
promised several people to publish it on this list, but I will do that
probably next week, as it is a rather long story.

good night (Here it is 1.07 a.m.

Rien (note the correct spelling)

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