Klarinet Archive - Posting 000274.txt from 2005/10

From: GrabnerWG@-----.com
Subj: Re: [kl] short-time maintenance practice (new thread)
Date: Fri, 28 Oct 2005 16:43:31 -0400

In a message dated 10/28/2005 1:43:20 PM Central Daylight Time,
clarinetstudio@-----.net writes:
Choose a mentor whose ears you can trust to help you catch the bad habits
you've let slip by, and accept his or her priorities. Sometimes, its the
small things that make all the difference--or vice versa, in your
perfectionism, sometimes, "you can't see the forest for the trees>>

For this very reason, I took a lesson (at age 56!) yesterday.

I booked an hour and a half on the schedule of John Bruce Yeh and treated
myself to a VERY INTENSE Eb clarinet lesson.

I really felt like I needed someone else to hear me play and critique me. I
needed to get outside my own head, "to hear myself through another set of
ears."

If you don't know John Bruce Yeh's playing, give yourself a treat. He has
plenty of recordings out under various labels. He combines tremendous accuracy
and musicality with both sensitivity and raw power.

We worked mostly on "Til Eulenspeigel". Since I know the piece well, it
became a lesson on how to get the most out of the Eb clarinet. It was totally a
TRIP - he would play a passage and I would repeat it, trying to match nuance,
shape of the line, and virtuosity. After an hour and a half, I was drained --
but GOOD drained.

The best part was that he gave me some ideas on how to better approach the
instrument. Imagine playing on the Eb clarinet with more delicacy! More shape
to the musical line. Softer! Better pitch!

Was time and money well spent.

Good advice, Margaret!

Walter Grabner
www.clarinetXpress.com
New world Class Bass, Alto, and Contra Alto Clarinet Mouthpieces

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