Klarinet Archive - Posting 000496.txt from 2000/04

From: "David B. Niethamer" <dnietham@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: [kl] Student motivation (or lack thereof)/ Lame Excuses
Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2000 21:44:03 -0400

on 4/11/00 8:59 AM, Tony Pay wrote:

>My story is less PC, but it did happen that I was prevented by illness
>from practising all of one week during the first couple of years of my
>learning the clarinet. (I must have been around eleven years old.)
>I turned up, got out the instrument I hadn't touched since the previous
>lesson, and played the piece we had been working on.
>
>"That's *much* better!" said my teacher. "You must have worked really
>hard. Well done!"

I know a violinist who quit teaching, because he swore his students
sounded better after their summer vacation than they did after two
semesters of lessons!

I think there can be a good effect from putting aside a piece and coming
back later - perhaps what you experienced here? I don't recommend it as
the main practice technique, but it can have a good effect for a piece
where you've practiced long and hard, and begun to obsess about the
details to the point that you can't see the forest for the veins in each
leaf, let alone the trees.

David

David Niethamer
Principal Clarinet, Richmond Symphony
dnietham@-----.edu
http://members.aol.com/dbnclar1/

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