 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: dfh
Date: 2003-03-26 17:45
hello!
I have recently started out my "real life after college", and am a private teacher (which I love) BUT - I am having a really difficult time finding a beginner method book that is, well, any good at all. Rubank is too boring for kids (and adults) and the band methods don't have enough techinique and the songs are too short (so it's difficult to build indurance.) Also, I have a number of students who aren't in the school band. Others are too "cheesy" for 12 yr olds. Klose works for the more astute students...I could go on, but, any advice anyone may have would be very much appriciated!! Right now I just piece together things, which Is good for instruciton, but bad for my time!
Thanks!
dfh
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Author: msloss
Date: 2003-03-26 19:46
DFH,
From a cold start, I am using some of each from Rubank and Klose even with the little ones. You can actually make the practical and mechanical exercises in the Klose fun if you approach them the right way. Each exercise is compact enough to teach an important skill but not wind or bore the child.
Once they can skronk their way through enough notes to play some melodies, grab a few pages out of a Disney or other songbook. The kids generally get pretty excited if they can play something that sounds even remotely like a tune they recognize. Good way to get them to link what they hear to what they see on the page. Just make sure they are reading the music and not purely playing from ear.
Go ahead and piece stuff together. Great teachers never work exclusively from the textbook or syllabus. You'll get a formula together that works for you and your students, and it won't take any more of your time than teaching from a single book.
Cheers,
Mark.
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Author: tetiana
Date: 2003-03-26 22:02
I used a Mel Bay beginner method book when I first started. Although it didn't take me very far, it had good pictures - of proper embouchure, finger placement etc. Notes were progressively introduced. Short finger exercises alternated with short pieces. Easily readable, well laid out on the page with good illustrations of fingerings. Check it out.
tetiana
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2003-03-26 23:00
DFH,
As I recall, there are some pretty good clarinet method books by Nilo Hovey and there was a 1st Division Clarinet Method (not the band method) that within each lesson had scales, apreggios, and a few tunes that fit the key and level of play. Some areas on special fingerings right from the start.
HRL
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Author: PJ
Date: 2003-03-26 23:15
Keith Stein's book "The Art of Clarinet Playing" has a great list of literature that I use for students from beginners all the way up. Additionally, the book offers some great referrence reading when you're having trouble diagnosing a particularly difficult student's problems. I refer to it quite often for myself as well. Stein was a great teacher. To have his methods/advice printed is a valuable tool as a teacher (IMHO).
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Author: Katrina
Date: 2003-03-27 00:01
I actually prefer to use one of the band books. You can easily supplement to develop greater endurance. Some of the band books out there, though, are really ineffective in a private lesson scenario. One flute teacher friend of mine uses Rubank beginning but adds in all kinds of "tunes" since that's what's missing there...
My absolute favorite is "Clarinet Student" by Weber. I use a Rubank book of solos (not the contest collection) to supplement this. I use the first two volumes of the Weber, and then move on to Rubank Advanced.
Ultimately, I think for you to teach well, you must have something you can use effectively! If a book isn't working for you, maybe create your own. Finale does some good stuff vis-a-vis music publishing at home. Since teaching is such a personal type of thing, this can work really well.
Katrina
p.s. Don't forget that each student is different too! Remember to take cues from them!
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Author: Dee
Date: 2003-03-27 01:25
Well the Rubank, if used correctly, gives the student excellent fundamentals. Keep in mind that the beginning book is intended for a two year plan. So only about half a page a week should be covered. Any faster and you will be rushing the student. However it can be boring for a student so supplement it with tunes the students are apt to like. For example, I bought my daughters books with tunes from "The Little Mermaid" and other music that they liked to keep it fun. This way they had a goal to shoot for (i.e. play music they liked) and so could see some reason to carry through on the assigned drills. That reason was to become capable of playing their favorite music.
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Author: Karel
Date: 2003-03-27 02:44
I liked Avrahm Galper's Method in 2 books. Inexpensive and added a bit of sparkle to the Rubank.
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Author: Bryan
Date: 2003-03-27 02:53
I've also used the Galper method books, and like them. They're organized to build skills in a logical progression, much more so than some others I've seen.
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Author: allencole
Date: 2003-03-27 16:21
I'm with Katrina on those band books. The new band books such as Standard of Excellence and Accent of Achievement are very well done. They have play-along CDs available which are fantastic if used properly. I usually supplement these with the Master Theory Workbook, and later add Tunes for Clarinet Technic from Belwin's Student Instrumental Course.
How you teach a beginner may need to vary depending on whether the student is enrolled in a school band.
I have recently had much improved results with starting students off playing by ear. If they can negotiate a low F scale, we do a wide variety of things. If we need to go slower, there are a number of 6-note songs that can be done in written C.
We pretty much work this like a game, and students learn to write down their notes (just open noteheads) on real music paper. That way, they can play the rhythms that they really hear (as opposed to simplified) and we save their papers for a later time when they are ready to reverse-engineer the rhythms.
This is a good beginner activity because it gives them some control, provides a real challenge, and allows you to train their ears at a time when they are less likely to be bored by simple songs.
One beginner has just learned to play "Fun Fun Fun till Daddy Takes her T-Bird Away" (1st verse) right along with the Beach Boys recording. It was quite a challenge, but she is fully engaged. Just a few months ago, it was This Old Man, Joy To the World, and Do-Re-Mi. Now she knows five scales and is blasting through her school band music.
While the Rubank Elementary Method is a very thorough book, I think that the true basics can be learned more rapidly and applied in more interesting and rewarding ways. I think that the new band books are written with tremendous wisdom, and even do a good job of addressing some of the clarinet's unique issues.
Main advice - Don't be shy about devising exercises and activities of your own when you see a need that isn't being met. The students themselves will often provide hints--or sometimes show you--routes to more effective motivation and learning.
Allen Cole
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Author: dfh
Date: 2003-03-27 17:19
Thanks everyone for the great advice!
At this point, I have been doing alomst all of my techinque training "by ear" for all of my students with great results. I've also had some students figuring out tunes by ear, which is alot of fun for both of us! Some students need/want more methodical work, which was were I was having my delima. I have/am working out of a number of the band books, and I just feel that they graze over too much and don't get up over the break soon enough, so I'm jumping around and writing out a ton of my own stuff...I'm just not totally comfortable with it.
Teaching has turned out to be almost more of a creative outlet for me that playing is, and after spending all that time and $$ getting 2 degrees in music, I never had any istruction in how to teach! I think it's a major downfall of most of our music institutions. (I got performance degrees) Since just about everyone in music teaches at some point!
Thanks again! I"m going to go check out these books, more advice is alway welcome!
dfh
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Author: williamainsworth
Date: 2003-03-27 20:14
I taught myself and had a lot of fun with "The Complete Clarinet Player" by Paul Harvey. He tries to teach by using popular tunes rather than technical exercises, scales and arpeggios. I still think scales, etc. are essential but the book makes it more fun. I have the omnibus edition by Wise Publications.
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Author: allencole
Date: 2003-03-28 11:17
William -
I agree with you on the Paul Harvey book. Belwin's "Tunes for Clarinet Technic" has been a great help to me. It's not just the fun of having tunes to work with. Books with real songs (hopefully identified by their real names) help to build common knowledge among players.
dfh -
Glad to hear you're doing the ear thing. You're giving them a priceless gift. I also recommend that you test-drive a lot of different books. Not only will you discover some hidden treasures, you'll also gain a healthy appreciation for the virtures of some that you're using now.
I agree with you wholeheartedly that teaching is a fantastic creative outlet. Some gigs have me climbing the walls before they even start, but I could teach 60 students a week and not get tired. Keep that enthusiasm!
Allen Cole
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Author: ejay
Date: 2003-03-29 13:19
One series of books (six volumes plus a scale book) I have not seen mentioned in reply to your inquiry is the "Modern Course for Clarinet" by James Collis... published by Henri Elkan. I am also one of those who teaches TONS of students per week, and have had excellent results using this in conjunction with the Opperman Velocity studiues. As son as possible, I begin to use Lazarus book II for technical development... the range is better than Baermann for most younger students.
GOOD LUCK!!!!
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Author: Rene
Date: 2003-03-29 18:22
Ruth Bonetti's book "enjoy playing the clarinet" is really what it claims to be.
Also I am a big advocate of the ear method, you seem to use, at least for quite some time in the beginning. It is difficult to hold the clarinet, place the fingers and all these things, so the young one needs no further distraction. Even with a book, it is a good idea to learn the pieces and exercises, until they are memorized.
Rene
Post Edited (2003-03-29 19:23)
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Author: elmo lewis
Date: 2003-03-29 19:41
The Clarinet Student, vol. I, II, and III published by Belwin works for me and my students. You can supplement these with Selected Duets, vol. I and II published by Rubank.
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The Clarinet Pages
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