 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: pacherry
Date: 2012-12-09 23:47
Mostly this post is just about getting feedback on my son's work as I am paying everyone whose opinion I have gotten so far. My son is 11 and has been playing for about 14 months. His teacher keeps telling me how gifted he is and that, if he is interested, I should commit to helping him towards playing as a profession by considering Interlochen for high school and several moderatly to fairly expensive camps/ensembles/orchestras for youths. I am more than happy to give him every help possible, but I am not so naive as to just accept his teachers word for it. The piece I included is the one that he will be doing a good portion of his auditions for scholarship and admittance into said groups. He has been working on the song for about four weeks and has until mid January. Please don't hesitate to give me an honest critique as that is, truly, what I am after. Thank you for your help.
http://youtu.be/BVOXlxH1PS0
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Author: pacherry
Date: 2012-12-09 23:48
Sorry, as a follow up he is playing on a Leblanc Bliss, LB210N, Vandoren M15, Vandoren 2.5 V12's, and a Rovner ligature.
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Author: pacherry
Date: 2012-12-10 00:21
Thanks for the feedback Thomas. He currently practices, on his own with no prompting, for about 2-3 hours a day. This piece doesn't really show it, but he is playing songs where he has to consistently hit the A above the register and is able to push out the Eb above that. His teacher is a winds instructor at a local University and her focus is on Sax. Another teacher at a major university about 45 minutes away has offered to take him under his wing, but I am concerned about too much too fast. However, I also understand the importance of getting ahead at an early age when dealing with something as competitive as music.
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Author: reed and MP dude
Date: 2012-12-10 00:33
I went to Interlochen - the early 70's. It's a fantastic school. The clarinet instructor there is married to a trumpet player or a trombone player. I think they met at the Eastman School of Music. The clarinet instructor is very nice and it's not too early to say hi to her.
Very nice people. Send her this recording. Maybe she can help prep him for the challenges and demands of Interlochen. He may then know what to expect and practice for the next few years.
I can't make an honest call if he is good enough. He may get accepted. His limited time playing shows promise. I don't care what gear he plays on, nor will Interlochen when/if he auditions. The setup he has now is fine. Part of the audition to get in there is sight reading, major and minor scales, 4 sharps and 4 flats. The solo piece needs to be clean, free from major mistakes, it doesn't have to be a fast piece nor a slow piece, just something that shows his level of playing. I'm not keen on having a sax instructor, but for now he's ok. When should you make a switch to a clarinet instructor? Thats your call. From the video, the position of the clarinet is off several degrees.
This is my reason for looking into a gifted clarinetist. I started playing the clarinet in the 3rd grade and the sax the following year. Both horns are very different to teach and play. Kind of a funny story. I auditioned to teach at a college; the clarinet. Found myself teaching the sax. It's a good time for your son to learn both, if interested. The clarinetist that was offered the college job wasn't up on the sax, so the Dean made the change, he asked us of course if we minded. Yes I had to reaudition on the saxes - more then one sax. I can play both pretty much the same because of starting so young. This gifted clarinetist sadly died in his house from a fire. Sad times. I won't ever forget him. We were like twin brothers, a very close relationship.
So sorry to talk about him, he was just on my mind while writing. By the way, I taught the alto sax on a crappy horn. The horns don't make the players great, it's just a tool.
The cool part of Interlochen is it is pretty much like a family. After all of these years I'm in touch with some of the players and a few instructors.
Interlochen has a summer camp and the actual high school. Maybe start off with the summer camp. He will have so much fun. Lot's of summer activities, swimming, all of the fun summer fun. The school has concerts pretty much every night. Big stars.
The academy is a high school. Lots of winter activities, but it's nothing like the summer fun. The academy holds very high standards of excellence, not just music. It's expensive, save your money. I think it's around $20,000 a year. Crazy perhaps, but an incredable school with dedicated teachers. The average per class is about 8 students to 1 teacher.
A and Bb r13's new.
Bb r13 1963 backup
Vandoren 56
Ciaccia custom mouthpiece
1.07mm facing amazing mouthpiece
2 Kaspers as spares
Post Edited (2012-12-11 06:04)
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2012-12-10 02:35
The kid's all right. I'd say he's on par for someone of his experience level who enjoys playing. I wouldn't go enrolling him as a prodigy anywhere, but I also wouldn't say "ditch the horn, you're no good."
I don't see "OH MY GOD, HE'S AMAZING, HE HAS A RARE GIFT THAT MUST BE HARNESSED." I do see a kid who seems to enjoy it. Let him take the lead. If he's itching for more, maybe enroll him in a camp or two.
Playing as a profession barely exists. Careers for "I'm good enough, the world will embrace my talents and provide me a way" haven't existed in several decades. I know a LOT of absolutely brilliant musicians who are scraping by teaching lessons and working at Starbucks. Some of the more resourceful ones can make rent, utilities, and food while only doing music for work. These guys completely blow my mind when they play, and are thrilled to bring in 25k/yr from part-time and one-off gigs.
If you want to support music as a fulfilling endeavor that will teach him all sorts of things about life and pursuing a discipline and so on, then have at it. I would advise HEAVILY against doing it with any thought of a career, and especially in exerting any pressure for him to succeed.
In my case, I determined that even if you succeed, you also kinda fail. The paying gigs, even the good ones, put the musician at the bottom of the totem pole, a sort of hired-help, trained monkeys in penguin suits, an afterthought. And that's if you're lucky enough to land those gigs.
Also, for clarinet, getting ahead at an early age isn't terribly critical. A dedicated individual can go from schmuck to pro level in a few years once everything clicks. And if they can't, no amount of early-start will get them there.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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Author: Carl Maria von Weber
Date: 2012-12-10 03:45
He's quite good for his level of experience! Great volume and rhythm, with mostly good tuning.
A few pointers:
1) Steadier, more consistently firm lips on mouthpiece for a more focused tone.
2) Tonguing is good, but he would benefit from relaxing the tongue more to keep it light and avoid pitch bends. Less tongue on the reed is preferable for a cleaner interaction between tongue and reed (I don't want to say the word attack because that sounds too aggressive).
3) Breathing must be taken from below near the abdomen area, and breaths taken should stretch the very corners of the diaphragm. All this should be done without upward shoulder movement.
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Author: Buster
Date: 2012-12-10 04:39
Let's not burden a student with incorrectly explained wrong solutions to be passed to them through a well-meaning parent.
That could be more of a punishment as well intentioned as it may be.
-Jason
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Author: reed and MP dude
Date: 2012-12-10 08:08
I think breathing is actually simple. Take a balloon. At first it will be very resistant. Get past that. Once the balloon is easy to blow up, well there you have the perfect breathing technique. A game an 11 yr. old would enjoy. I wouldn't get into the science of it. Just blow up one during a break. from playing.
A and Bb r13's new.
Bb r13 1963 backup
Vandoren 56
Ciaccia custom mouthpiece
1.07mm facing amazing mouthpiece
2 Kaspers as spares
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Author: MartyMagnini
Date: 2012-12-10 15:52
I have a son who's also 11, and also plays the clarinet. He enjoys it, and practices without being told. I have had almost no input into his musical progress at this point, other than what any "normal" parent would. At this stage, I think the "hands-off" from clarinet-playing Dad is the best for our situation - I'm sure that will change in time. I do occasionally play duets with him, and do occasionally remind him of embouchure issues, etc., but mostly I let him develop at a "normal" pace along with his classmates.
From what I can tell from the video, your son is at about the same level as mine. As a 6th grader, my son is playing in the top junior high band (one of only 2 6th graders in the ensemble), and sits in the upper 3rd of the section. So I think he's good - ahead of the curve even, but I'm not sending him to Interlochen anytime soon. Perhaps he may become great at some point, but I don't consider him extraordinarily gifted. I will encourage him as best I can, and as he develops, I'm sure I will be giving him some tips and music beyond what his band director does, and will get him private lessons.
I think your son is doing quite well, and you should be proud if him. I'm glad he likes playing and practicing. Beyond that, proceed cautiously before considering him a prodigy or gifted - just my opinion.
My son also plays a Bliss clarinet and a VanDoren M15, but I have him on Legere 3 reeds until he learns how to adjust and pick reeds better
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2012-12-10 16:28
pacherry -
Your son definitely has talent, but it's difficult to assess because he clearly has not had correct instruction.
Any good teacher would have him practicing long tones and smooth, slurred scales, which he seems not to have done. Equally important, a good teacher would have had him listen to a recording of La ci darem la mano http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEDnmGnYb6I and read and understand the lyrics http://classicalmusic.about.com/od/classicalmusictips/qt/La-Ci-Darem-La-Mano-Lyrics-And-Translations.htm. Listening to a recording will show your son how a sequence of notes must be sung as a single gesture, without tonguing in between. Each phrase must hang together and go some place.
One way to assess your son's talent is to have him read the lyrics and listen to the recording, and then ask him to look away from the music and "Play it that way." If his playing changes to match the recording, this is a sure sign that he has music in him.
I went to the Interlochen summer camp back in the late 1950s and early 60s. It was a transforming experience. He will be in the intermediate group, which will have many people at or a little above his level. The 6 weeks at Interlochen will give you the clearest indication of whether he could go on to the Academy, and, equally important, will give him a chance to decide whether he wants to.
Good luck to your son, and also to you.
Ken Shaw
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Author: pacherry
Date: 2012-12-10 16:30
Marty, thank you so much for your response. It is nice to know that I am not the only one....struggling?.....with this issue. The last thing I want to be is that overbearing parent that everyone else stares at in disgust. At the same time, I want to open any door that I can for him. I think your advice is perfect. Thank you for taking the time to give it.
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