 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Garth Libre
Date: 2012-11-01 21:49
Once in a while I take a day off ... for whatever reason - I'm busy or tired or distracted. I never think it will make a difference when I come back the next day, but it always does. The next day, My tone is sloppier and my embousure is noticeably weaker. Do other people find a real difference for just taking off one day? It seems odd.
Garth, 305-981-4705. garthlibre@yahoo.com
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2012-11-02 00:06
You should survive a week sans clarinet without a noticeable degradation in tone and embouchure.
Maybe you need to take two days off, or even three? Maybe you just haven't relaxed enough. (sounds somewhat stupid, but your mind needs a rest as much as your mouth). One day may not be enough.
--
Ben
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Author: Jim22
Date: 2012-11-02 01:40
One day off messes me up, but I haven't been playing long. Flute comes back within a few minutes.
Jim C.
CT, USA
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Author: JJAlbrecht
Date: 2012-11-02 17:03
Artie Shaw put it this way:
If I take a day off without practicing, I notice it.
If I take two days off, other musicians in the band notice it.
If I take three days off, the audience notices it.
Not a direct quote, but that was his idea on daily practice.
Jeff
“Everyone discovers their own way of destroying themselves, and some people choose the clarinet.” Kalman Opperman, 1919-2010
"A drummer is a musician's best friend."
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Author: sonicbang
Date: 2012-11-02 19:52
To be honest I have been playing the clarinet for 17 years, but I still suffer from taking a day off. I play usually 3-4 hours a day on Bb clarinet and almost every day I play the Bass Clarinet and sometimes Bari Sax a few hours. I always think with such a routine this shouldn't be a problem, but it is. Of course I know some people who take a week off or more without any problem.
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Author: Paula S
Date: 2012-11-02 20:44
Hey Garth, I had nearly 30 years off give or take a few months. I walked away because of the pressure other people put on me and more so the pressure I put on myself. I am having a ball now.......... just playing anything and everything that floats my boat! If you have a down day, just get your ass on You Tube and you can listen to pure clarinet heaven at the drop of a hat.
I feel truly inspired and blessed. You and I don't have to do it for a living but do it just for the joy of playing! :-). We really are the lucky ones!!!!
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Author: Eric V
Date: 2012-11-02 21:42
Hi Garth, that's interesting because I find that I play better after a day off. I feel like my emboucher and wind are stronger and there are noticeable and occasionally really big improvements in those passages I've been practicing slowly with a metronome. I'm just an amateur practicing maybe 1.5 to 2 hours a day so maybe it's different for those who are more advanced and practice more.
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Author: Garth Libre
Date: 2012-11-03 17:10
I must admit to only 45 minutes practice a day. That's an amount of time I find very hard not to be able to fit in my schedule. Also, because the time is short, I'm able to put maximum focus in my practice and I almost always look forward to my special time and feel I learned something which leads to a more musical experience. I tried an hour and a half, but that length of time always results in feeling worn out. After an hour, I play worse not better than five minutes in. On 45 minutes, I've been able to make steady progress on my yoga practice, my German language study, and my bicycle riding. My son is home schooled and I've noticed that after an hour of math, as a nine year old, his focus wears thin and he get worse not better.
Garth, 305-981-4705. garthlibre@yahoo.com
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2012-11-03 18:43
>> Artie Shaw put it this way:
If I take a day off without practicing, I notice it.
If I take two days off, other musicians in the band notice it.
If I take three days off, the audience notices it.
>>
I think Shaw must have paraphrased his quotation from an older, nearly identical one from violinist Jascha Heifetz.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2012-11-03 18:52
Lelia Loban wrote:
> >> Artie Shaw put it this way:
> If I take a day off without practicing, I notice it.
> If I take two days off, other musicians in the band notice it.
> If I take three days off, the audience notices it.
> >>
>
> I think Shaw must have paraphrased his quotation from an older,
> nearly identical one from violinist Jascha Heifetz.
>
And Heifetz borrowed it from Paderewski.
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Author: Merlin_Williams
Date: 2012-11-05 11:56
I might spend an entire season not playing a specific instrument.
However...I almost always play at least one out of each family on any given gig.
The instruments I find I need to maintain regularly are flute, bassoon and oboe. Saxes and clarinets take care of themselves.
When I'm booked for a show on a horn that I haven't played in a while, working on the advance book will generally give me enough time to bring things up to performance standard
Jupiter Canada Artist/Clinician
Stratford Shakespeare Festival musician
Woodwind Doubling Channel Creator on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/c/WoodwindDoubling
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2012-11-05 13:36
I lose my lip pretty quickly for the higher-pitched clarinets. If I don't practice for more than a week, I notice. Bass sax and contra clarinet almost don't need an embouchure. What would be normal pressure on a Bb soprano clarinet would be biting on bass sax, and would make it honk up the octave, while the Eb contra clarinet will squeal the 12th or even the larigot with a soprano clarinet embouchure -- so I can get away with slacking off (literally) on those big old honkers.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
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