Klarinet Archive - Posting 000737.txt from 2001/10

From: Tom.Henson@-----.com
Subj: RE: [kl] 25 year hiatus (was Off Topic Chat)
Date: Tue, 23 Oct 2001 01:16:13 -0400

Sorry to just now be getting back to Nichelle and the list, but I have been
away from email over the weekend.

Nichelle said: << To Mr. Henson (and others who have returned from a
clarinet hiatus),

If you don't mind telling about your experiences, I would be interested in
hearing about what it was like for you to come back to the clarinet after
an extended break. Which things were more difficult to recover than
others? Did you feel that any elements of your playing developed while you
weren't practicing?

I ask because I have recently returned to the clarinet after a few years of
not playing and have been surprised by the process of recovery.

(Oh, and this is my first post to this list since about 1996. It's good to
be back.)

Nichelle Crocker>>

Nichelle,

I am delighted that my post about starting to play clarinet again after 25
years has stirred some interest in you and the others on the list.

I am still in the process of "recovery" (I like that word), but can share
some thoughts. I feel that there are three levels that one plays clarinet
on.

1). Physical (fingers, embouchure, breathing, etc.)
2). Emotional (how you feel the music on an emotional level, and how you
express it)
3). Mental (your mental knowledge of the art)

I feel that many players can be good at one or two of the above, but it is
when you can put all three into use at the same time that it becomes "art".
I have very strong recollections of how I used to play as far as technique.
Looking back on what I had accomplished in my previous playing and the
mental picture of "where I felt I was at". I am also aware that there were
some things that I always seemed to struggle with. So this mental picture,
if you will, becomes a guideline to how far you have strayed from this
level. Unfortunately, I did not have any recordings to listen to and really
evaluate from a more up to date and objective perspective. If I did, it
would help a lot. So I just have this mental picture of how I used to play.

The emotion part as you get older matures and develops and this probably
needs no catching up at all. I still feel the same way today playing
clarinet that I did 25 years ago, maybe stronger.

The physical part is for me the place to start. You pick up the clarinet for
the first time in say 25 years and you know it's probably not going to sound
quite the way you remember. For me, I feel that I sound better today than I
did 25 years ago, and part of that I attribute to a better clarinet,
mouthpiece and better reeds. I have to admit that it helps to have really
good equipment. I wonder how many beginning students desire to learn to
play, but do not have a good horn, and then get discouraged because they are
not happy with the results, or they struggle all the time.

Looking back now on my own experiences, I can't believe that I accomplished
what I did with what I now consider a piece of junk. Not until I was in the
Army Band, did I ever play a different instrument. I saved up and bought an
R-13 in Paris as soon as I could afford to. I had a couple of mentors in the
band that let me play their instruments and let me tell you, I could sound
just like them. The only downside is the fact that I had developed very bad
habits that I struggled with and never fully overcame. Some of this I
attribute to the equipment, some to lack of knowledge on my part, and some
to bad practice habits.

Two areas that I worked on all the time was tonguing, and trying not to pop
the notes when I was playing. I had a bad habit of using too much force in
my fingers which results in popping of the notes. I also used to struggle to
play very fast staccato passages. I just could not seem to get it crisp
enough.

25 years later, I have none of these habits to undo. The miracle of time has
resulted in the ability to re-learn these skills the right way the first
time around. I find that I do not struggle nearly as much. While the
fingering part will take a little time, I find that the tonguing is really
surpassing what I did before. My embouchure still gets tired easily, and I
try to be patient and not continue to play on a tired embouchure which I
feel is the best way to develop bad habits again.

At first I could only play a couple of minutes, and then would take about a
5 minute break. This worked out great, as I was also breaking in a new
wooden clarinet. I limited the total practice time to 30 minutes the first
couple of weeks, even if I felt I wanted to go on. Then I slowly tried to
expand the playing time from a couple of minutes to say 5 minutes at a time,
and so on. I am still around 10 minutes right now, but I feel practicing the
right way more important than how long I practice. My practice sessions
usually lasts one hour, and I take a 5 minute break to swab out the clarinet
while my embouchure rests.

I usually start out in the lower register and practice long notes and slow
scales. I am also practicing tonguing in the lower register. I try to focus
on everything carefully, so that I don't just play blindly. I pay attention
to how my embouchure feels and work on that if needed. I will also play slow
scales to practice without popping the notes. Usually at the end of the
session, I will reward myself by pulling out a solo work and trying to put
into practice what I had just worked on, albeit, at a slower tempo. I try
never to rush. If my fingers can't play a passage correctly, I either slow
it way down, or just don't play it. I'm paranoid that I will develop bad
habits again if I try to rush things.

I have been playing again now for about 4-5 weeks. I feel I still have a
very long way to go, but am very satisfied with the results that I am
getting. My wife, who was a vocal major and is an elementary school music
teacher says that I am sounding better than I ever have (we went to high
school together). She really likes the tone that I am getting. I am still
experimenting with various reeds, mouthpieces, and ligatures. Right now I am
using a Morgan RM-15 and my favorite reed I have found so far is either a
Gonzales, Mozart, or Stuerer. I stared out using a #3 and am now up to about
a # 3 1/2. So far, my favorite ligature I have played on is the "Floating
Rails" by Peter Spriggs. When all things are working like they should, I
have a tone that I would put up against any of the professionals that I have
heard to date.

This time around, I am playing purely for the enjoyment of it and my tone
and sound are very important to me. More so, than being able to play Weber's
2nd Concerto for clarinet as a senior in high school and not miss a note.

Tom Henson

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