Klarinet Archive - Posting 000070.txt from 2009/04
From: Martin Brown <martin.brown@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] How to count 87 bars rest, chat with your associate, wonder what's
Date: Wed, 08 Apr 2009 06:50:04 -0400
I've been using this method of counting bars rest for many years now and
so put some words on our orchestra web site about it. Klarinet readers
may be interested. The address is:
http://www.kpo.org.au/resources/chisanbop.html
The text of the article is below:
How to count 87 bars rest, chat with your associate, wonder what's for
supper and not miss your next entry.
by Martin Brown - clarinet player with too many bars rest to count.
Playing clarinet in a symphony orchestra occasionally requires me to
count through large number of bars rest before playing again. This got
me thinking one evening, "What is the best way to count these bars
rest?" Most people would just count in their heads "One, two, three,...
fifty eight, fifty nine,..." but there is a better way.
I came up with this method many years ago and have been using it (more
or less) successfully ever since.
Counting Down
First of all, why count up from one when most people can count down just
as easily? Counting down has several advantages but one major drawback.
I'll leave the one drawback till last.
The obvious advantage to counting down is that you're not checking your
current count against the total number of bars rest all the time. When
you get to "one", you're IN on the next bar! The only time you check the
number of rest bars is when you start off. A question for all those
musicians who count up - how often do you find yourself counting up and
wondering "how many bars rest was that again?.... oops". So by counting
down, there's a lot less mental activity dedicated to just counting.
Also, when you're counting down to one, you automatically know how soon
it will be before you come in again. You don't have to do some quick
arithmetic to work out that it's only three bars away so you'd better
put down your knitting.
There is a disadvantage to this counting down method though - and it's
the same one stopping us all from driving hydrogen fueled cars: Everyone
else is driving with a tank full of hydrocarbons. In this case, everyone
else if counting up. So if a player beside you frantically swings round
in a panic asking "Where are we?" and you answer "twelve, that's twelve
to go", she's going to be even more confused.
Chisanbop
OK, so now we're all convinced that counting down is better. What is the
best way of actually keeping track of all those bars? Just in your head?
After seeing a documentary many years ago about the Korean method of
finger counting called Chisanbop I now use it consistently with (mostly)
excellent results.
Chisanbop allows very rapid arithmetic on your fingers and works in a
similar way to an abacus. But it's also ideally suited to counting
larger numbers on your fingers. It allows you to count to 99 just using
your eight fingers and two thumbs. Using Chisanbop, you don't dedicate
much thought to the actual counting - that's taken care of by your
fingers. And isn't that just how we play our musical instruments anyway?
So how do you does it work? With Chisenbop, the thumbs play a special
role. The right thumb represents five, the left thumb represents 50.
Each finger of the right hand represents one and each finger on the left
hand represents ten. So with just the right hand, you can count to nine
(thumb plus four fingers). Each finger's value is counted by placing it
on a table (or clarinet, finger board or the palm of your hand).
To count from one to five:
1. Right index finger down
2. First two right fingers down
3. First three right fingers down
4. All four right fingers down
5. Right thumb down, all fingers up
Continue with the right thumb down to count from five to ten:
5. Right thumb down, all fingers up
6. Right thumb down, right index finger down
7. Right thumb down, first two right fingers down
8. Right thumb down, first three right fingers down
9. Right thumb down, all four right fingers down
10. Left index finger down, all right fingers up
and so on till you get to 68 which is broken down to sixty: left thumb
with the left index finger, and eight: right thumb with the first three
right fingers. Counting down is just as easy but you lift fingers off
instead of placing them down.
With a little practice this becomes quite easy and your can instantly
hit your fingers for any number less than 100.
So counting down, if you have only your right index finger down, you're
in on the next bar!
Sounds great! Won't I get confused?
When I decided to make the switch, first to counting down and then using
Chisanbop, it really took only took a few rehearsals before the
occasional counting mistakes like "twenty one, twenty, nineteen, twenty,
twenty one, twenty two.... oops" stopped.
But really, the advantages are huge. With time, your fingers manage the
counting pretty much by themselves. You don't have to be consciously
counting all the time, just consider your finger positions and you know
how far you are from your next entry.
So, the next time you ask me "Where are we?" somewhere in forty nine
bars rest and I say "three", then it's nearly time to come in, not time
to start cleaning your instrument.
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