Klarinet Archive - Posting 000721.txt from 2002/04

From: Tony@-----.uk (Tony Pay)
Subj: Re: [kl] memorizing: suggestions?
Date: Thu, 25 Apr 2002 06:53:18 -0400

On Thu, 25 Apr 2002 11:41:39 +0200, paolo.leva@-----.se said:

> Among the interesting ideas I see the one of learning the keys. I
> usually did that when learning Jazz music, I always played the chords
> on the clarinet few times till I knew the harmony of the piece by
> memory, this probably helped remembering the melody as well (which was
> never a problem for Jazz tunes). I never thought about doing it for
> classical music.
>
> But how do you do that?

[snip]

Although I'm not an expert memoriser, my notion is that the practice
scheme you outline would be a good way of establishing the harmonic
'fix' you have on the movement. But its main use for me would be as an
adjunct to other ways of looking at the music, particularly if the key
centre is quite fluid. For example, I have a sort of dramatic scenario
for the piece too, which gets linked to the key sequence.

That dramatic scenario is a lot less arbitrary, I think, than the one I
worked out for one passage in the Berio. That involved the various
members of my family in turn trying to get into a house with the alarm
system set....the fortissimo high Bb was the alarm going off, you
see.....how embarrassing! But that was only one part of it, because
there are lots of note-series in the Berio that get continually
transformed -- the analogue of a key structure in Berio's language --
and that was also in my mind at the time.

The Weber concerto though is highly operatic, and it's easy to imagine a
great leader rallying the troops (first (written) Bb major section);
explaining to, and comforting the children (second, gentle Bb major
section)....and so on, and so forth.

Of course, it doesn't have to be military, though the idea of striving,
partially succeeding and ultimately failing is implicit, I'd say.

Tony
--
_________ Tony Pay
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