 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Clarinetgirl06
Date: 2006-09-27 21:29
Lately, in my clarinet playing, all I've been doing is stressing. I did not enjoy practicing anymore because I was so overwhelmed with the many aspects in my playing I had to fix. I was stuck on the Baermann 3 that I was required to do and would often times cut my practice sessions short after the frustrating experiences of trying to keep legato fingers, a pointed chin, a still jaw, and smooth interval leaps (etc.)
BUT, yesterday was my most stressful day I've had so far in college. I was studying for a huge Music Literature test (which was about 6 solid hours of studying) and I had worries in my mind of my lesson today, and my Wind Symphony concert on Friday, along with a presentation in my Intro to Music Education on Thursday.
Within this studying I got so stressed out and all I wanted to do was play my clarinet. So, I got out my clarinet and started with sightreading some orchestral excerpts that I had heard being played previous in the day. It may of not been perfect, but it made me happy. I then went to the Rhapsody in Blue and wailed until my little heart couldn't give anymore and it was so much fun and rewarding. Then, I went through and worked on one of my Wind Symphony pieces and fixed some problem areas. Lastly: the Baermann 3. And actually, after all of this enjoyment I had been experiencing, my Baermann was at the best it had ever been. It was good, because I was thinking of the enjoyment I get from playing.
It's funny to think it took so much other kinds of stress for me to enjoy playing again. But at the same time, I find it really neat. It was a practice session I'll remember for a long time.
Maybe we should all start off our practice sessions playing something that we love instead of heading straight for the Baermann etc., so we don't forget what the true spirit of playing the clarinet is ultimately about: enjoyment.
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Author: ohsuzan
Date: 2006-09-28 03:03
I'm with you, Carrie, even though it's the oboe, rather than the clarinet, which is my instrument of record, and instead of Baermann the etude book is Barret. And I TOTALLY sympathize with the issue of legato fingers!
Some days, I hate those Barret things so much, I just want to . . . well, you know. I have spent the past several weeks working, working, working on those exercises, trying to be simultaneously mindful of the articulations and dynamics and tone production and hand position and chin position and lip position and air production, and I have been feeling pretty uninspired about my playing -- all trees, no forest.
But last week, I had the opportunity to play with a woodwind quintet -- first time in weeks that I had done anything except dog the Barret . And what do you know! I'm a better player than I was the last time I played with a group! And I hate to admit it, but it's probably because of what the Barret has FORCED me to learn to do. The "real" music seemed easy, by comparison.
So, girl, keep on truckin'.
Susan
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2006-09-28 03:43
Is there anything better than a ww5? (When you're in it, I mean; and even (sometimes) when you're not.)
Bob Phillips
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Author: Bill
Date: 2006-09-28 22:14
I don't know how clarinet majors do it. I couldn't. I took lessons (at age 45) with a professional, and I hated scales (despite understanding, at least in part, what they are intended to do).
I MUST play "stuff" that I like ... enjoy. If I do not, it is a chore. Lately, I've been improvising a great deal. This is lovely.
I avoid anything that makes me hate my clarinet. But students cannot do this. Students must face constant challenges, must "push" their technicial skills to the next level. All on a tight school schedule.
I admire their determination and strength. Were I a clarinet major, I'd hate the instrument after 2 months.
I guess the secret for students is to intersperse the unlikable with what they love. It's a mystery to me how classical clarinet students maintain their love of the instrument. A complete mystery.
Bill Fogle
Ellsworth, Maine
(formerly Washington, DC)
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Author: frank
Date: 2006-09-29 02:32
The stresses of being a professional player are much worse. What can be more stressfull than to realize that their are no music jobs in the US where you can make a decent living anymore? Well, except for the very few orchestra jobs where someone must die to have an opening. Oh... and then you must beat out 300 other people, of which 150 play a near perfect audition. Good luck out there! My advice: get into computers or medicine and play music as a hobby. I can't wait until I do! :(
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Author: Bubalooy
Date: 2006-09-30 11:05
I remember back in college, there was a time when I was totally frustrated with my own playing. I almost didn't want to play my horn because I felt I was just playing so poorly (and perhaps I was). A wonderful teacher told me,
"When you're frustrated is when you are really making the most progress, because it means that you can't play as well as you think. When you feel that you're playing really well, it's because you can't think better than what you play."
These few words have sustained me through countless hours of practice.
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Author: EuGeneSee
Date: 2006-09-30 13:42
When I practice anew after 4 decades without playing, I keep remembering the expression I read on this board a while back:
"I'm not nearly as good as I used to be, and never was."
Then something in a dusty corner of my rusty mind chimes in with:
". . . but I will be." and I keep playing those dumb old scales and silly little one-line ditties. Then when I really feel like I have learned nothing, my teacher compliments me for the progress I made. It never ceases to amaze me. Eu
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Author: rgames
Date: 2006-09-30 14:18
I go the other way - I work through exercises at the start of my practice session then "reward" my efforts with more enjoyable playing.
Practice should be work, though. If it's not tough, you're not pushing yourself hard enough but there's a balance: you can push too hard and burn yourself out. That balance is very personal.
For me, practicing is like cutting the lawn: I don't enjoy it but I enjoy the result. Now if I could only find a way to practice and cut the lawn at the same time...
rgames
____________________________
Richard G. Ames
Composer - Arranger - Producer
www.rgamesmusic.com
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Author: Clarinetgirl06
Date: 2006-09-30 21:57
Richard-
I think you make a good point about rewarding yourself at the end. I think I usually reward myself for about 10 minutes at the beginning and then work on Baermann, etudes, solos, and then I'll reward myself at the end. Sometimes, the reward at the end is simply, "Wow, I practiced and improved what I wanted to and got through all I needed to." That is a good feeling.
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