 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: laughhearty
Date: 2004-04-21 05:31
Hello!
I'm reading a great book:
The Clarinet and Clarinet Playing by David Pino.
I've gotten some invaluable information out of it. Especially, about the importance of relaxation while playing. He stresses it so much that I realize it's not even worth the bother to play if I'm not relaxed first.
I think the book is somewhat of a classic. Anyone else been enlightened by it?
Alicia
"I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my
chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great
and noble."
- Helen Keller, Author and Inspiration
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2004-04-21 05:47
Haven't read it, but relaxation is indeed key. If any part of you is tense, especially in a performance, it often causes a chain reaction. For example, your fingers may be a bit tense, so you chirp ever so slightly, probably inaudibly to anyone but you, on a note. Since the note chirps, you are determined to "try harder" to get the next note. This "trying harder" makes you squeeze the clarinet, which gets you tense all over. Now your mouth has to push harder just to hold the clarinet still, which in turn constricts the airstream, and pretty soon the notes barely come out, your mouth is tired, and you make a "ffffffffff" sound. Hence my first couple auditions.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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Author: GBK
Date: 2004-04-21 05:48
The Pino book is often discussed on this site (do a search) and is considered one of the standard texts which every clarinetist should have in their personal library.
The new Dover edition is very inexpensive and an excellent value....GBK
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Author: BobD
Date: 2004-04-21 12:39
Yes, a "must read" for all clarinet players. Read his mentor's book too.
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Author: Brenda
Date: 2004-04-21 13:08
Both books are excellent resources - also great for passing the time on trans-Atlantic flights.
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Author: claclaws
Date: 2004-04-21 13:21
Just bought at Amazon.com. The paperback edition costs 8.75$, but I'll have to pay 11$ for shipping it... boo hoo hoo..But still, can't resist buying it as it's so strongly recommended here..
Lucy Lee Jang
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Author: bkmorton
Date: 2004-04-21 13:24
I have read a little bit of it and it seems like he is very self oriented in the book. He talks about how Keith Stein wrote a great book and how HE was told to write one himself. I was a little turned off of reading it after the preface and chapter 1 because I don't need to know how good he is but just how to play the clarinet.
I mean no disrespect to him but that was my initial reaction.
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Author: msroboto
Date: 2004-04-21 13:48
I like the book even if what bk says is somewhat true. He does explain what you are needing to know but he does color it up a bit with anectdotal stories that pertain to himself or a student.
He explains how to work up a piece for example and may explain how he approached working something up under a short deadline. He does cover many of the basics as well. Relax, tounging, fingers, etc.
I found it enjoyable.
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2004-04-21 15:52
Hi,
I guess I'll be another contra person here. Maybe I have already experienced most of the items that are covered in the book so I was less than whelmed by the whole thing. Perhaps I was expecting too much. I came away with not a lot of really new insights after a casual read.
IMHO, this book might be more appropraite for the emerging clarinetist. I have passed the book on to a student.
HRL
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Author: D Dow
Date: 2004-04-21 16:23
Being an avid Alexander technique endorsee I would certainly say Relaxation in general is a musician's greatest guide to playing and practicing meaningfully....
a simple anecdote...I know a flutist who is so tense that she can't trill the instrument...on top of this the pitch is a quarter tone high in the upper register and hideously flat in the lower register. Because she is tense she cannot recognize how bad she sounds....oh well.
David Dow
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