 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: nesrala
Date: 2007-06-29 18:11
Hello -- I've enjoyed reading through the posts / questions and answers on this board and am hoping to get some ideas on the following . . .
At a recent performance for a community band that I'm involved with, the gig was recorded . . . band geek that I am, I've watched it several times and have been increasingly horrified at the splayed/dancing/waiving in mid-air fingers that I'm seeing when I watch myself play. Not to mention that I bounce around way more in my seat than I'd ever realized playing (German band, lots of polkas, waltzes, marches, etc. -- although schunkling/swaying to the waltzes can be encouraged in our group during performances). The bouncing I can mentally and phsically make an easy effort to contain -- our director, a fabulous clarinetest, looks at me with a rather bemused expression and mentioned that he's watched me play the piano the same way, i.e., not "still", so he figured it was just the way I play music . . . period. In the overall scheme of things, i.e., when the camera's drawn to full-band view, it's not terribly eye-catching/distracting, but I have to admit that I'm annoyed with the extra movement and honing in (anything to avoid reliving the honking squeak in a nice quiet section that I know was me and is now forever immortalized).
I've only played for about 4 years now (adult player), about 3 months of self teaching so as not to totally embarass myself on a "first lesson", then about 3 years of private lessons -- prior to the clarinet I had years of advanced piano (with a teacher that once made me balance silver dollars on the backs of my hands during a lesson on a Mozart sonata) and about 10 years of oboe (no recollection of finger movement on that one, other than the the horn is obviously smaller/more narrow and the occasional muscle-memory of a fingering battling with current muscle memory of clarinet fingering . . .)
I've noticed that during practice on exercises, I'm much closer to the keys and more mindful . . . maybe because they're no where near as fun to play! I'm not currently studying with anyone (work schedule and band/gig weekend schedule are creating conflicts).
I guess the questions are: (1) after 4 years, have my bad habits just sunk in, (2) how much movement is too much movement -- including the obvious of your fingers are too far away from the instrument to cleanly get back in time for another note, and (3) any methods / tricks to getting my fingers to "heel"??? I think a teacher once mentioned some kind of coat-hanger trick but I can't imagine the setup on that one . . .
Any thoughts/assistance would be greatfully accepted. Thank you!
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2007-06-29 18:37
Learn the economics of fingering. As little as necessary, eg leave the RH fingers on during throat notes, relax and let the keys' springs' force shove your fingers away. The less movement, the less key clatter. There are countless good players who prove above suggestions unnecessary...
And there are a lot of musicians who move like sailors in heavy swell. It just catches you, like foot tapping or headbanging (yeah, okay). No need to get rid of it (IMHO), just dampen it a bit.
--
Ben
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Author: claritoot26
Date: 2007-06-29 18:38
Slow and easy does it! Practice the major, minor, and chromatic scales slowly with correct (I suppose there's more than one "correct" way for some fingerings, but I mean not awkward and use the left and right pinky fingers so you're not sliding between notes) fingerings while looking in the mirror. Especially concentrate on where the left hand fingers are when going back and forth over the break. These are the ones that often fly away. Make sure the index finger doesn't lift much when going from the ring to the A and G# keys. It just needs to roll a bit. Also, the left thumb position is important. It should be on the ring so that you just have to rock it a little to open the register key when needed. There are good "mechanism" exercises in the Advanced Rubank and Klose' books that are also helpful for learning "good" fingerings. Practice slowly at first, concentrating on relaxed minimal movement of the fingers. Use a mirror and a metronome. When it looks and sounds smoothe slowly, you can start clicking the metronome up a notch or two at a time. You can do this with the hard parts of your band music, too. Patience, my friend. You'll get there. Good luck.
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