 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: JasonOlney
Date: 2016-07-29 01:03
Howdy all,
I've recently been contracted with a local charter school to work with their new beginning clarinet players. Ten of them. I'll give half hour lessons to each every week, plus a half hour group lessons. I'm compiling my own notebook to give to each of them with my favorite fingering chart, simple scales and exercises and whatever else I think that would be handy.
Any suggestions for material to include that would be helpful for a bunch of beginners? Any suggestions for exercises or approaches? I've started a handful of clarinet players but I'm by no means an expert. I'm pretty excited to learn what works and what doesn't.
Thanks!
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Author: kdk
Date: 2016-07-29 02:02
Your enthusiasm is admirable, but in a way you're trying to re-invent the wheel. There are at least half a dozen method book series by teacher/players who have already done this work.
If you really want to compile your own material, I'd recommend starting out with as many 3, 4 and 5 note tunes as you can think of or find, write them in C major (range C4 to G4) and then break them into a variety of articulated rhythms (similar to the "Twinkle Variations" in Suzuki Book 1. The two important things to establish at or very near the beginning are sound and articulation using the tongue. So don't complicate things with more notes until these are reasonably established.
Other than the tunes, a drawing naming the notes of the staff (with whatever mnemonics you like to help them remember the names), a very simple fingering chart and, if you like, a practice chart for them to report how much and when they practiced, I don't think there's much else you need in a beginner packet.
Other than a broken-up C major scale and, eventually, one-octave F major and G major scales, there won't be much use for a scale sheet for a fairly long while. But one of my pet peeves is that students rely far too long on "reading" their scales from printed scale sheets. I would strongly recommend teaching them that each major scale is made up of the letters from (tonic note) to (tonic note) with a (chromatic from the key signature). An F scale is all the letters from F to F, but B is a Bb. G to G but F is sharp. In other words, teach the key signatures from the outset of introducing scales and have them play by structure rather than direct reading.
Good luck.
Karl
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Author: JasonOlney
Date: 2016-07-29 02:24
Haha, you're entirely right. I'm not trying to create my own method book. I have a method book in mind. I want to provide supplementary material and additional exercises that your average book doesn't have.
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2016-07-29 04:22
There are numerous method books that teach the rudiments of music and introduce the student to the instrument. No doubt you have one in mind. What I don't see in many young players is an appreciation of how to care for the instrument. I often repair instruments that have suffered from rough handling, improper assembly and lack of basic cleaning. if you impress these values on your students then you're off to a good start.
Tony F.
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Author: ClarinettyBetty
Date: 2016-07-29 19:07
A good idea for group teaching is to put colored stickers on the pinky keys. It saves a ton of time: ("low red F") for kids is way easier than (the top set, right--no, other one, Sarah, wrong one--John, TOP set, yes, yes, no, Eric, this one...)
They memorize the colors quickly and when the stickers fall off, they still remember the colors and the names.
You can buy a 150-pack of foil stars at Walmart for .99 cents. They do not hurt the keys or finish.
Good luck! Beginners are my absolute favorite!
-----------------------
Eb: 1972 Buffet BC20
Bb: Selmer Paris Presence
A: Selmer Paris Presence
Bass: 1977 LeBlanc
https://gentrywoodwinds.com
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2016-07-29 23:17
A mirror for the stand so they can see where their embouchure is.
And little strips of either electrical tape or little snips of mouthpiece patch. You can place this on their mouthpiece on what is a good amount of mouthpiece to take in. If their top teeth are bumped up against te patch, then good. If the patch goes in further, they're sticking too much of the mouthpiece in.
Tons of cheap ligatures. Velcro for when they forget or break their ligature (you can cut the Velcro into strips and use that for ligature pretty easily).
Rico plasticover reeds. Yeah, they're not the ideal sound, but they're cheap and resistant to chips for absolute beginners.
Cigarette paper for spitty pads.
A small towel or bath may for under their bell so they don't spit all over your floors.
And have some recommendations of cheap (i.e. Free) metronome and tuning apps at the ready.
And reassurance that they're NOT squeaking, they're simply hitting an upper partial a few lessons to early ...
US Army Japan Band
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2016-07-29 23:18
Also, just curious, are you going to incorporate some easy sight-singing? Or otherwise have them hear their first note on the clarinet and sing the next rhythm before playing it on the clarinet? Just curious.
US Army Japan Band
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Author: nellsonic
Date: 2016-07-30 00:04
I would teach them tetrachords once they can play down to a low F. From there you can later easily build all the scales. A tetrachord in this case means the first four notes of a given major scale, played up and down.
Tetrachords have many advantages: 1) they are easy for students to retain and feel the pattern of since they are only four notes, 2) they can be repeated several times in a row in quarter notes at a moderate tempo without wearing students out while building muscle memory and endurance, 3) they are ideal for teaching proper hand position, especially if students can play them in front of a mirror. I've seen my beginners really take off with this approach since I started using it in the last few months.
This method also works well with older students who struggle to master and retain scales.
Here's the sequence I start beginners with. The numbers indicate the octave with F1 being the low F, F2 being throat F, etc.:
C1, G1, F1, D1, F scale (F1+C1) and arpeggio , G scale (G1+D1) and arpeggio.
From there it might diverge a bit depending on the student, but in a group situation I would probably follow with: F2, Bb1, E2, A1, Bb scale and arp., E scale and arp.
It's much simpler in practice than it looks here.
We also work on building the chromatic scale in small segments with lots of "saying and fingering" (note names) and have a "warm-up scale" (C Major) that we gradually add notes to until it is: low C up to throat A down to low E and back up to C that we play in half-notes, adding quarter notes, quarter notes tongued twice (paired 8th notes), and straight 8ths as they are ready.
Beginners are fun! It's very rewarding to get them set up for success so that they avoid many potential roadblocks later on, and to see and nurture their excitement at making music for the first time.
Tone production and articulation are also crucial of course - not just fingers!
I love the idea of colored stickers for the pinkie keys - especially for a class situation!
Anders
Post Edited (2016-07-30 01:47)
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Author: Matt74
Date: 2016-07-30 22:30
I like hearing all your ideas.
The thing I always see is kids with reeds that are completely unplayable - chipped, cracked, etc.
If I were a teacher I would have the parents sign a sworn affidavit to the effect that so many reeds of a particular type would be purchased every month! - Either that or I would supply them myself. People spend so much money on sports and other activities, but once they buy the horn (working or not) they figure they've already spent too much on music.
And kids who don't take the reed off the mouthpiece. - "Chunks" do not belong in mouthpieces.
You could play test their clarinets.
- I wish I was teaching...
- Matthew Simington
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