 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Clarinetgirl06
Date: 2005-12-11 21:14
OK, I'm done with All-State auditions and am now done with a high in my confidence. Now that it's over, I need to start other things. I'm starting a solo soon and everything, but I get too depressed after practicing. I feel that once I feel good about myself, a find something that I'm really bad at and then I must start over, down at the bottom of the learning cycle.
I have improved a lot in one year (my clarinet teacher and band director have both told me that they have been impressed by how much I have improved in 1 year-moving up 2 chairs in band, 2 in All-District Band, and 10 in All-State. My scales are a lot smoother, musicality is developing more, technique is improving, etc.). But now it seems like I'm at the bottom of the next level. I just was at the top of the last level and now I need to work my way up to the top of this level.
I think I've decided to work through the Klose Daily Method technique stuff (all of it) to improve my technique, speed, and smoothness. I will start slow and play it perfect and then speed up.
Why is it that when we finally feel good about ourselves, something else in our playing suddenly shows itself that needs to be improved? I don't mind improving myself, it just seems that once you hit the top, you have to start at the bottom. It's hard and frustrating sometimes.
Anyone else feel this way and any words of advice/encouragement? Did I explain myself clearly?
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Author: bass9396
Date: 2005-12-11 21:30
It will be a liberating experience when you realize that Professionals have the same feelings as you and mess up...alot. Only they don't mess up in public, so we (the public) never know that they do because we only hear perfection. It's not their fault for playing flawless performances, but it's something you kinda have to work through. It took me many years to discover that little gem of wisdom and it's helped a great deal. When you're working through things remember that a Pro is doing the exact same thing as you, only they've been playing longer than you have. Otherwise it's all the same.
It's pretty cool to realize you're doing the exact same work as someone who gets paid to play!
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Author: bass9396
Date: 2005-12-11 21:38
Forgot something. Try the Baermann as well, I enjoy that one and it is paced extremely well.
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2005-12-11 21:58
Quote:
But now it seems like I'm at the bottom of the next level. I just was at the top of the last level and now I need to work my way up to the top of this level. . . Why is it that when we finally feel good about ourselves, something else in our playing suddenly shows itself that needs to be improved? I don't mind improving myself, it just seems that once you hit the top, you have to start at the bottom. Just remember that you're NOT starting at the bottom. You finished one experience, and now are continuing to improve. I wouldn't think of it as "tops" and "bottoms" of various things. I would relate it more to a steady upward climb. Sometimes you ascend very steeply and go very far up in a short amount of time, and sometimes you will seem to steady out or ascend less rapidly. But it IS a constant upward climb. And if you doubt that, just look behind you at where you've been and how far you've gone already. In one year, you have improved your scales, moved up in chairs, improved your technique, etc. etc. So look forward to how much you can move up in the NEXT year.
Also, realize that while you're working to improve, so are others. So if you end up losing a chair in the next year, it doesn't necessarily mean that you have gotten WORSE. It could mean that the others simply improved at a quicker rate. For whatever reason. But don't let anything like that discourage you. Just keep 'on truckin'.
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: David Peacham
Date: 2005-12-11 22:47
"Why is it that when we finally feel good about ourselves, something else in our playing suddenly shows itself that needs to be improved?"
You should be worried if you can no longer find anything to improve. So long as you play, you should find things to improve. If you no longer hear imperfections, it means you've stopped listening.
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If there are so many people on this board unwilling or unable to have a civil and balanced discussion about important issues, then I shan't bother to post here any more.
To the great relief of many of you, no doubt.
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Author: Clarinetgirl06
Date: 2005-12-11 22:59
David- I agree. I just feel like this:
You're in 6th grade and at the top of the elementary school totem poll. Then you enter junior high and have to start at the bottom again and work up and then you reach the top of junior high and are in 8th grade. Next, you enter high school as a freshman and are at the bottom again and when you finally reach to be a senior you are suddenly a freshman in college.
You always get older and improve, but it seems like you have to start climbing from a new bottom each time.
Think of it as Tae Kwon Do belts too. You always reach a new belt, but then you have to learn new things, but you start at the bottom once again in your new belt only to arrive at the top of the belt, only to then have to start at the bottom of the next highest belt.
Thanks for all the advice sfalexi and bass9396! I'll try to work on evil Baermann III! It's also there too, I'm now on a scale that I'm unfamiliar with and have to start all over to get that scale as good as my others!
Maybe I just need to shut up and start truckin' away at it. I'm going to go practice my Klose now (slowly)! Thanks everyone! Anymore advice/comments are more than welcome!
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2005-12-12 00:13
> You always get older and improve, but it seems like you have to start
> climbing from a new bottom each time.
We grow with challenge. If there's no challenge left, we usually look for a new one or probably slowly die of boredom.
I guess it's normal. Nothing to really worry about, nothing to grieve over.
(Do start worrying when you see no more room for improvement...)
--
Ben
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2005-12-12 00:22
bass9396 wrote:
"Only they don't mess up in public, so we (the public) never know that they do because we only hear perfection. "
A high percentage of note, rhythmic, and dynamic "page-accuracy" perfection, perhaps.
The more aware a person is of things musical, though, the less "perfect" performances they hear. A group of us nearly cried in pain at a performance by a very fine professional orchestra this summer (we blame the guest conductor). Aside from a bit of botched horn, though, we imagine a good deal of the audience may well have considered it a perfect performance.
I'd say it's a matter of where one's concept of "perfection" lies, and at a certain point it becomes almost unattainably high.
Also, I find the attitude toward music of "three down, eight hundred twelve to go" that many people seem to have disgusting. If our goals are to move on from preselected piece to piece like thousands before until we do them all and start over, really, what's the point?
P.S. Burn the Baermann. I hate that thing. You'd think people would stop buying such a dull brute-force-bludgeoning book, but it seems to have become a matter of "I had to do it, so you do too!" lately. Yes, I own a copy :/
/finals week. Take my comments with a grain of salt.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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Author: Morrigan
Date: 2005-12-12 00:23
This is called progress. You should be feeling good about yourself! I'll bet most of the other clarinet plays don't experience this; and this is because you're becoming better than them. Keep it up and realise that this feeling will never actually end. I've been playing over 10 years now and I still get it all the time.
When it happens, it means you've climbed another step!
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2005-12-12 01:36
David Peachman said it well!
I recently heard a couple of stories (only 2nd hand stories, so no doubt true).
The first concerns famous trumpeter Doc Severinson (sp?). He spent half a day working a riff that didn't feel good to him at a performance.
The second is about Winton Marcellus. He still spends full days practicing --sometimes working on a single troublesome phrase for hours at a time.
For myself; I NEVER, play a page to my own satisfaction.
To me these stories of folks I thought "had it made," who I thought had enough natural talent and experience to not have to practice, actually work to make their wonderful music.
Yeah, Baermann sucks --but I can't play much of it. You should see all of the pinky swapping marks in mine. And Kroepsch is just cruel.
And, you have pages and pages (weeks) of work to do to bring your Rose etudes up to the standard you've set for yourself in your all-state auditons.
There's no end of work to do.
Bob Phillips
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Author: Clarinetgirl06
Date: 2005-12-12 02:04
yeah-man, practicing on 1 passage for a whole day? I'd go crazy and just come back to it another day. It's good to know that pros go through this too though.
So I started working on the Klose and it's sounding pretty good for the 2nd day on it. Quarter=60 in sixteenths.
Screw Baermann. I agree.
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Author: Mofiddler
Date: 2005-12-12 03:55
Hi, Carrie,
Sounds like you are making real progress, despite your frustration. It just means that you have newer challenges in your quest
If it makes you feel better, I ran across some line in a book about Isaac Stern. His wife was complaining that all he did was 'squeak,squeak,squeak' when he was practicing. So, we're all mortals after all.
Good luck!
Maureen
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Author: bass9396
Date: 2005-12-12 10:44
That's funny. I never had to play one inch out of the Baermann. My wife had a copy of it and I started messing around with it and it's turned out to be pretty useful. It's especially helpful to a student I have who has trouble getting around(neuro-physiological disorder) and cannot form a good hand position. We're using it to work one hand at a time....left hand, then right.
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