Klarinet Archive - Posting 000637.txt from 2001/01

From: webler <webler@-----.net>
Subj: RE: [kl] Re-facing & metaphors
Date: Fri, 19 Jan 2001 10:45:12 -0500

I agree that this may be useful to the student who may be well advanced and
is truly interested in the nuances of a piece of music. But, frankly, with
most of the students I deal with it is difficult enough to get them to
understand the importance of Air Support in producing a fundamentally good
sound. (Focused and Vibrant as opposed to spread and lifeless). Once I
get a student to be willing to put forth the effort required to develop a
"good" sound, than I might find some of this to be useful. It is because
of the context that I am presently teaching in, (mostly beginners to
advanced High School players) that I interjected the quality of "good" into
the discussion.

One of the things I find that I have to deal with, in the well thought of
High School Clarinetist, is trying to get them to understand that, even
though they may have the First Chair, and are going to All State, there is
still much to learn. I'm finding that this is very delicate surgical
procedure; trying to give them a more realistic view, without crushing the
confidence that they have already gained. Especially when you end up with
Stage Parents, who think that there child has to be the most talented Child
who has ever walked the face of the earth.

I would like to specifically comment on the following example.

"Did you hear
that your odd-to-even ratio was <whatever> when you were playing just
now?" or perhaps "Try raising your tongue in order to shift the ratio a
bit more towards <whatever> and tell me if it doesn't sound more
appropriate in measure 27?"

Even without the quantified data to define what you are trying to teach in
this example, you would probably still suggest to the student that they may
want to raise their tongue a bit to change the tonal color. After doing so
you would then ask if it makes more musical sense. Once the student agreed
to it, and performed it like that in a recital, there would be some
Clarinetist in the audience that would come up and say, "I'm not sure I
liked the way you shaped the noted in measure 27", I'm not sure that It
sounded "good"". (That last sentence was intended to be humorous).

Jay Webler

-----Original Message-----
From: William Wright [SMTP:Bilwright@-----.net]
Subject: RE: [kl] Re-facing & metaphors

.

cc
It's the ability to communicate and to define that I'm talking
about, not the value judgments about "good" or "proper".

---------------------------------------------------------------------
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