Klarinet Archive - Posting 000037.txt from 2000/08

From: Neil Leupold <leupold_1@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] Body movement
Date: Fri, 4 Aug 2000 06:09:31 -0400

--- Roger Shilcock <roger.shilcock@-----.uk> wrote:

> But you also have to be absolutely sure it won't slip on the floor,
> which was the problem I had.

What type of physical movements are you making that would make you fear that
the peg will slip? We could start a whole new thread on this, but I'm not a
big proponent of bodily movement while playing, be it on bass, soprano, or any
instrument really. Achieving a state of consummate physical relaxation while
playing naturally involves reducing (if not eliminating) the type of swaying
and jolting motions that I often see in players. It is more often a sign of
misdirected nervous energy than an expression of emotive passion. Like any-
thing else, it takes time and practice to learn to hold oneself still if you
have the habit of rocking back & forth or moving the instrument up and around
while playing.

When I think of effortless expressive playing, an image appears in my mind's
eye of Ricardo Morales playing the opening recital at ClarinetFest '95 in Tempe,
AZ. He just sort of stood there, as if waiting for a bus to arrive, except he
was holding a clarinet and producing the most incredible performance of the en-
tire festival. It looked like he wasn't trying at all, and part of that impres-
sion was generated by the fact that he was so physically relaxed. All of his
energy was being directed into the type of effortless control to which we
should all aspire. Somebody used the expression, "...as if he were taking a
walk in the park" to characterize Carbonare's performance at this year's Fest
in Oklahoma. As I've said to fellow players over and over again, "You know
why it sounds so effortless? Because for these players it IS."

Neil

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