Klarinet Archive - Posting 000147.txt from 2006/02

From: "Rien Stein" <rstein@-----.nl>
Subj: RE: [kl] Practicing Scales
Date: Fri, 10 Feb 2006 18:49:03 -0500

"Palmer, Padraic" <padraic.palmer@-----.com> wrote:

<<
I've decided to go back to playing the clarinet after years of
neglect.I've decided this time round to start from scratch and learn all
the major,minor,arpeggio's and chromatics.I've been told to do and like
many woodwind players,really don't want to be practicing scales.Can
anyone tell me please,what is the big deal about learning scales,I know
this may be an obvious question to some but I just don't get why they
are so important!
>>

and "Rob Pratt" <rpratt@-----.

I quite agree with Rob's answer. Running through the scales helps you to
play evenly in any scale, helps you to sightread and notice in a single
glance where that run you have to play differs from the standard scale, and
so on. I still play every day parts of the famous Klosé method's second
part's first five pages, to loosen my fingers before attacking the really
important pieces I am going to study that day, or I play from Stiévenard's
book with scale studies.

I play claribass now some 15 years, but it was only recenty I realised I
coul not play the C-major scale from "low"-C on it. I worked on this scale
(and the scales of C-sharp, D, and D-sharp) since three weeks, but still do
not have the fluency, demanded in some pieces, but it explained to me why I
could not manage to play some pieces I have been studying. I will go back to
these soon, having good hope it will be easier to master them now.

One thing Rob said I think is very important, I'll refrase it:

When you study the scale of C, don't be content to play c-d-e-f-g-a-a-b-c-
... e-d-c, but go down to the lowest note of your instrument, and then back
to c. Do this also when you study other regular scales, and for instance
when you study the broken chords on C on clarinet go down to the lowest e on
your instrument!

Ciao

Rien

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