 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: LaurieBell
Date: 2015-07-12 15:31
I’d like to give a “shout-out” for SummerKeys, an adult music camp in Lubec Maine.
I think SummerKeys started about 20 years ago with a focus on offering piano study for adults, but since then they’ve added study for other musical instruments (including strings, flute, clarinet), as well as non-musical programs like photography and creative writing.
My husband first learned about SummerKeys on a Piano Forum 5 years ago. Back then he was just picking up the piano again and I hadn’t yet returned to music, so I went along as a sightseer.
The next year, I contacted the flute instructor, who happened to have experience with Baroque music and recorder, and asked if she would give me recorder lessons. I also signed up for coached ensemble and was lucky enough to play with a faculty pianist and cello instructor. I skipped the 3rd year and by year 4 I had just returned to clarinet again so I went to study with Anna Maria Baeza.
That 4th year, I was the only clarinet student that week, so I had Anna Maria all to myself. Each day included an hour-long clarinet class (which turned into a private lesson), an hour private lesson, a 30-minute session with the piano accompanist, an hour of coached ensemble, and a scheduled practice time of 3 hours. As you can imagine, that was quite a lot for my underdeveloped chops, but I had a wonderful time and came away inspired and jazzed about playing clarinet again.
This year I came to SummerKeys with a fully developed embouchure, longer endurance, and two vastly different pieces under my belt, ready for an intense week of study with Anna Maria.
The first piece I had prepared was Saint-Saens’s Clarinet Sonata, Op. 167, movement 1. I had always wanted to study French music, and Anna Maria has extensive experience, having lived and studied in Paris earlier in her career.
My main challenge with this piece was to play it with piano accompaniment, since we’re sometimes playing two against three (in a measure). Also, I hadn’t practiced it with accompaniment before, but was lucky again to be assigned to a wonderful staff pianist.
The second piece I had prepared was Alec Templeton’s Pocket-Sized Sonata No. 2 (movement 1). This is more of a jazzy piece, and quite the crowd pleaser, plus it offered the same challenge of playing “two against three.” The other challenge was that my husband was accompanying me. (smile).
WHAT I LEARNED – MY TAKE-WAY
As a former military musician I have quite a lot of experience playing in concert bands and have developed those desired techniques: playing with even tones, in a very metric and precise style, with well-defined attacks and releases, shaping the larger phrases, and playing without undue attention to myself, but rather blending with the clarinet section.
This week, Anna Maria gave me a “virtual eraser” that helped me “un-do” those concert band techniques, and learn solo and chamber techniques where every note has a purpose and shape, bending the meter (just a bit) can be acceptable, and using different syllables and tongue placement (like singers do), can add beautiful color to the sound.
The other thing I learned about ensemble playing is the art of getting through a piece without stopping when one of the players gets a little lost.
When playing with my husband, Anna Maria intentionally made one of us stop and the other “get back into the music". This really helped both of our playing and we sailed through the student recital without any problems.
But the interesting thing was when I played the more difficult Saint-Saens Clarinet Sonata during the student recital. The pianist was a professional so I hadn’t anticipated any problem, but during the middle difficult part (just after the big runs), we did get off. But he kept playing and I was able to come back in without any problems. I later asked my husband how it sounded and he said no one who didn’t know the piece would have been able to tell there was a mistake.
All-in-all, the week at SummerKeys was very rewarding and I’m totally geared up now to apply what I’ve learned to my chamber playing. If anyone might be interested in a great musical experience, whether you’re new to the instrument, a returning player, or a seasoned player, I highly recommend SummerKeys. (www.summerkeys.com )
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