Klarinet Archive - Posting 000285.txt from 2004/07

From: AnneLenoir@-----.net (Anne Lenoir)
Subj: Re: [kl] [clarinet] Re: music/reeds
Date: Fri, 9 Jul 2004 12:33:21 -0400

I have found that I have to spend most of the lesson time for all of my
students aged 9-13, learning their scales, always moving around the
circle of fifths counter-clockwise (C-F-Bb-Eb-Ab-Db-F#-B-E-A-D-G).
When they are little, (8 or 9 years old), we learn them as two
separate tetra-chords. "Do-re-me-fa" has the same intervals as
"Sol-la-ti-do". Sometimes I have them play "Lean on Me" if they are
familiar with the tune. Most of them are. At a certain point, I have
them play the tetra chord on a low F-G-A-Bb, then strike the register
key and play the same fingerings again for the 2nd tetrachord, to get
them to listen for tone quality in the two registers, while still
playing an F scale. When we come to fingerings, say in a low Bb scale,
we go over & over D to Eb, practicing using the index finger on the side
key.
I won't bore everybody to death with a blow by blow account of
everything that happens, but I do highly recommend the scales in
"Foundations of Musical Excellence", which is the book used along with
the "Standard of Excellence" series. It is a navy blue book, and has all
the one octave scales in the appendix, and then the full-length scales.
I number them in circle of fourths order, because that is the order that
the band directors have them learn their scales for their "stand-up"
scales. So far, all of my seventh graders have learned all 12 of their
scales for at least one octave before they get to Middle School. I spend
a lot of time asking them questions like: "How many fingers to you pick
up when you go from Eb to thumb F?". Then later "How many fingers to you
pick up going from low Ab to Bb?" And I whisper "It's the same answer".
When we "Pick up" and "Put down" fingers, I try to get them to imagine
that their knuckles around their fist are like a "hinge" that opens and
closes, and that we want the fingers to move "happily", staying as close
as possible to the tone holes. I tell them that if their fingers fly too
far up in the air, that it will be harder to bring them down with "a
safe landing" onto the tone holes. So we always practice "lifting" and
"adding" fingers as we learn new tetra chords and scales. Same with
chromatics and arpeggios. I start arpeggios with just the triad. Sorry
if this post was too long and boring. ANNIE

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