 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: janlynn
Date: 2001-08-16 12:23
hi,
i see we have 2 jans now so i have changed my name a lil.
yesterday in my lesson i asked my teacher how to figure out minor scales. he explained the natural minor, harmonic minor, and melodic minor. i came home pretty excited of my new knowledge and when i was tellin my dad, he said thats good, but why is it important to know that? i thot a minute and suggested that if you were to play something in that key and you knew how to play that minor scale already it would be a lot easier. is this correct? is there more to it than that?
janlynn
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Author: Roger
Date: 2001-08-16 13:54
We learn minor scales for the same reason we learn major scales (& the various exercises around them---ie. scales in thirds, etc.) This is the stuff of which music is made. When you play enough music you will soon start to recognize that many portions of the music are the scales and the variant exercises that you practiced.
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Author: Blake
Date: 2001-08-16 14:42
Scales both major and minor as well as excersizes in those keys help "tune up" and "warm up" your fingers and brain to the basic patterns a piece of music is written in. I always play a scale in an excersize that a tough piece i'm getting ready to work on is in so that I can "jog" the memory in my fingers/head. Let's face it.. alot of clarinet music is written with scales. Clarinets' "doodle" well. part of that ability comes from your ability to play those passages so they sound "effortless" and smooth particularly "over the break". Learning the scales and other theory might help you find talent as a composer some day too. Its also a good way to try out your horn or a new horn for inherent quirks or potential problems that dont always manifest themselves if you just play a c major scale up and down. Blake
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Author: mw
Date: 2001-08-16 14:59
The MINOR Scales are a part of a REALLY BIG PICTURE (a jigsaw puzzle of a royal variety). They are very important. Over many years various Mentors have told me ... "Yours is NOT to question. Do what I tell you, you'll be very happy you did!"
Learn the ENTIRE Circle of Fifths now; learn to move up & down --- you will reap the dividends later ...
Best,
mw
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Author: Mario
Date: 2001-08-16 15:41
Interesting question.
The common wisdom is that, for clarinet teaching, there is a body of technique out there that needs to be learned in a systematic way, in a systematic order. Scales, arpegios, briefly exercises of all kind are recommended independently of the repertoire being played and make up an independent track in parallel to the repertoire. Check out the curriculim of the UK Royal Conservatory grading system to see what I mean.
But it is not the only way to learn an instrument. The Suzuki method for violists is "repertoire-centric". The method teaches technique essentially through the use of well-chosen pieces. It is important to keep young pupils interested and pure technical exercises rarely succeed in motivating them, hence the emphasis on little pieces getting more difficult over time.
My pianist (an exceptional coach) has some beautiful sonatas by the likes of Chopin and Debussy that she uses as warmup and maintenance exercises. The music is just beautiful (and is often played in concert). Gosh I wish we clarinetists had access to so-called "Etudes" my major composers in order to learn our instrument well while creating beautiful music instead of boring everybody around with dry exercises. It appears that the pedagogie of the violon and of the piano is much richer than the one for clarinet.
As an amateur with precious little time, I have created a hybrid version for myself. I choose the pieces that I want to work on. I identify areas with technical difficulties. I build a set of exercises (often coming from standard exercise books) targetted at overcoming these difficulties.
At first of course, this leave one's technique a little spotty since the mastery of technical difficulties appear a bit at random. But overtime, things start fitting together. In the process though, much beautiful pieces were learned.
Take Mozart K622 for instance, first movement. Much challenges across the break with fragments of scales in thirds. Dominant seventh chords everywhere. That's what I worked on through my exercises. The second movement has many pianissimo notes in the clarion. Long tones in this area, plus exercises on breadth attacks, etc.
It works for me...
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Author: HAT
Date: 2001-08-16 17:24
The only way to develop a comprehensive technique is to practice scales and arpeggios every day, in all keys. Or spending 40-60 minutes a day on one major and minor set in all its permutations (Baermann III, for instance). With a metronome, of course.
There simply is no substitute. Etudes and repertoire can only supplement regular scale practice.
My advice is and continues to be: if you have less than an hour on a particular day to practice, spend it all on scales. Otherwise, at least an hour a day of Baermann III is nearly mandatory if you are serious about really being a clarinet player.
It is the same for every instrument. Those with fine and comprehensive technique are the ones who practice their scales.
David Hattner, NYC
www.northbranchrecords.com
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Author: David Pegel
Date: 2001-08-17 17:53
"Etudes" can become boring, yes. So can major scales. Minor scales tend to add color to the musical world simply in the fact that they are DIFFERENT, and that there are so many. Natural, Harmonic, Melodic, a few varieties of Diminished... it gives you very many options. By the time those are boring, you play major scales and suddenly realize that they are fun!! Or at least not as dull.
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