 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: D Dow
Date: 2004-03-29 15:24
I started on the piano and went pretty far(Grade 9 Toronto Conservatory)
and love listening to piano recitals and fine piano playing.....
How many of you play the Piano or did play? Don't Ya get me wrong...my first love is the clarinet...but the wonderful eveness of touch of the piano is pretty nice!!
David Dow
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Author: Bob Schwab
Date: 2004-03-29 15:58
My primary instrument is the piano. I took up the clarinet when I moved to Buffalo because I was unable to take my piano with me. Besides, where I live now I have no place to put a piano. That's not quite true, I have plenty of room, just no way to get one on the second floor where I live. These old homes have narrow twisty stairways. Definately no room to get a piano up one.
I sure do miss playing it. After four years of not playing I can tell where I've lost a lot when I occasionally do get a chance to play one.
Bob Schwab
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Author: Stéphane
Date: 2004-03-29 16:33
I started with the piano when I was 7, and took up the clarinet aged... 35! I am now 37 (and a half). My teacher is quite amazed with my fast progresses and the piano is definitely no stranger to this. I practice more the clarinet now, but still have a piano at home and play it regularly.
I still have as a project to record myself on the piano in, say, the Brahms sonatas and then burn an accompaniment CD for my clarinet! Oh Narcissus...
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Author: ksclarinetgirl
Date: 2004-03-29 16:48
I've been playing the piano since I was in 3rd grade (I'm now a junior in college). Clarinet is my main love however. Really ticked my piano teacher off in high school, she thought that I had the potential to be really great, but I didn't have time to focus on two instruments. Plus I knew I'd be more likely to get a clarinet scholarship than a piano scholarship. But anyway, I still play piano, although I haven't taken lessons since I was in high school. I play for my church, and for my best friend's church when her organist is gone. Most of what I play now consists of hymns, but I don't mind that at all
Stephanie :o)
"Vita Brevis, Ars Longa"
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Author: jo.clarinet
Date: 2004-03-29 19:22
I've played the piano since I was 6. Nowadays I use my piano-playing mainly to accompany my recorder pupils - and some of the more advanced modern pieces have killer accompaniments, much harder than the solo parts!
Joanna Brown
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Author: Henry
Date: 2004-03-29 19:44
I know this was not the question but, to my "eternal" regret, I do NOT play the piano. I have always liked the thought of orchestration (as well as improvisation) and have felt that playing a multi-tonal instrument (even accordion) would have given me a much better harmonic feel and understanding. It's a bit late to start now! The clarinet and sax keep me busy as it is.
Henry
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Author: clarinetwife
Date: 2004-03-29 20:11
I started playing piano when I was about 8 and clarinet about 3 years later. I find that my dual background really draws me to sonatas and piano trios and other pieces involving wind instruments. I like the touch responsiveness of the piano and the vocal-like expressive qualities of the clarinet.
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Author: diz
Date: 2004-03-29 21:13
I can play well enough to bash my way through vocal score to accompany a chorus rehearsal if my pianist doesn't turn up ...
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2004-03-29 21:29
Well Said, Henry, my thots exactly, a multi-toned instrument where I HAD to learn bass clef still seems desireable even at 84+. Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: Anon
Date: 2004-03-30 00:35
I started piano at age 3 and clarinet at 9 (my mother is a musician) I remember asking when I started clarinet "Where's the other staff?" When I was told that I only had to read treble clef, I said "Clarinet is EASY!"
Ahh.....ignorance really is bliss!
:-)
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Author: Rachel
Date: 2004-03-30 01:12
I've played piano for almost 9 years, clarinet for almost 11 years.
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Author: RonD
Date: 2004-03-30 01:23
This may seem strange but when I am at the keyboard I can visualize
scales and passages of melodies as if I am looking at the keyboard . I can translate some of this to the clarinet and it seems to give me a better understanding of the dynamics involved in playing. Wierd?
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Author: Katrina
Date: 2004-03-30 02:28
I began piano 30 years ago this fall.
I really really stink at it though because I had a teacher (the church organist!!!) who never taught me basic technique. Later I had a teacher who taught me to play from lead sheets, and I ended up learning many many music-theory fundamentals. I managed to enjoy myself immensely in high school when I would be waiting for my friends to come over for a night out, playing old songs and singing along. I'm glad my parents never taped that!
And Contra, what type of accordion do you play? Piano acc??? (just curious!)
Katrina
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Author: cujo
Date: 2004-03-30 02:37
Does making it sound good count as playing?
Post Edited (2004-03-30 02:38)
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Author: claclaws
Date: 2004-03-30 03:21
When I was in Idaho, US, I didn't bring my clarinet, but we bought a Casio keyboard at sales price. Playing some 10 or so tunes every now and then was my great pass-time.
Hymns are my favorites (or the only ones that I can play),too. All in C,F,G major. I used to practice several 'Easy Bach' scores for organs. In retrospect I did enjoy a lot. But now my focus is on my 6-month old RC.
Lucy Lee Jang
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Author: Lisa
Date: 2004-03-30 03:23
I started piano about 6 months before clarinet, but I haven't kept up with it over the years. I'm proficient enough to be a substitute pianist at my church, but I need to know at least a week in advance to give me lots of time to practice.
On the other hand, I just figured out yesterday that I still have "Solfegietto" (CPE Bach) memorized, but it took a while to come back to me since I no longer have the music.
Post Edited (2004-03-30 12:27)
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Author: Contra
Date: 2004-03-30 03:41
-Katrina
Yep. There's a name for it, but the closest thing I can remember is 120 bass. I know it has a keyboard and A LOT of little black buttons. It made me learn bass clef.
I'm sure that'll come in handy some day.
Contra, the one that's waiting on the new mouthpiece.
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Author: Brenda
Date: 2004-03-30 11:23
RonD - That's exactly what I found, that by knowing the piano before playing anything else you can visualize everything, including a Bbb or an Fb - besides the arpeggios that I used to play as a kid just because they sounded good. When I teach, I have the student see the patterns on the keyboard plus listen to the sounds of the patterns. They pick it up so fast! Then that ability can be carried to whatever other instrument they choose.
Oh yes, and sitting beside a grand piano as it's played by an expert is a delicious experience!
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Author: RonD
Date: 2004-03-30 15:31
Brenda, I bought a Schoenhut (Baby) Baby Grand piano for my very young grandson for christmas, it came with a color coded strip of cardboard which is applied to the board immediately in back of the keys. The strip shows a specific color for each note and is repeted for every octave. I think that this is a very effective teaching tool for very voung children and old giezers like myself. I sure wish I used something like this when I started on the piano three years ago.
I started playing the clarinet again after a lapse of appx 40 years and started on the piano a litte later. I love all kinds of music and
really regret that 40 year lapse. My grandson has now mastered the piano bench and next month we will start on the keys.
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2004-03-30 16:46
The parents offerred and had me take two years of piano lessons. I wasn't doing very well. I couldn't seem to get the coordination between the left and right hands going correctly. And for reading music, HA! The only way I passed my lessons was to memorize the short pieces and pretend I was reading it (I'm pretty good at memorizing stuff). So we stopped after two years. If only they had recognized and invested that money into my BETTER instruments like clarinet or cello . . . .
I might have to take piano lessons next semester as part of a music degree. The course is labeled "Music Secondary" however they say it is piano . . . I'm wondering if I can argue and let them allow me to spend it on something that I can BETTER use like sax or flute. I'll bring it up to them in a bit . . .
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: D Dow
Date: 2004-03-30 16:50
What I think that some clarinetist's lack that the piano performers have is a really strong sense of the tacktile nature of musical sound...my experience of piano is that the sound and tone are so much part of the playing of piano is I feel this is the lacking issue in alot of what is wrong with so much clarinet playing...
The clarinet is alot about the hands and "knowing" how the hands will create the sound and shape the way the rythmn and phrasing works...I wonder how may Professional teachers of the clarinet on the B B feel this way.....sometimes it is the hands that unlock the secret of music...
David Dow
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2004-03-30 17:26
Quote:
sometimes it is the hands that unlock the secret of music... Sometimes I get that sense too. Whenever I see my instructor play, and it's a furious part, he moves his hands furiously. And when it's a soft, slow part of music, he almost 'carresses' the notes, place each finger down as gently as possible. Also, when taking fingers off the tone holes, during a fast part he leaves them just above the tone holes, however in a slow movement (such as the few measures of second movement of Mozart K622), he will lift each finger high off the tonehole and when playing the final them F, will hold the clarinet JUST with the F and have the other fingers curled out of the way as though to make sure that NOTHING gets in the way of that F.
Is this similar to what you notice/mean D Dow?
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
Post Edited (2004-03-30 17:27)
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Author: D Dow
Date: 2004-03-30 18:10
Dear Alexi....
How goes?
Yes, this is what I am after...music of course has a sound...but the getting to the sound comes directly from the fine point of the action of hands and the fingers in relationship to a passage...
my wife has been a great help to me in discovering certain element of my technique...she notices in fast music it looks like I am barely playing because I am using a minimal of movement of the fingers (when comparing to other junior players)
she notices that the less experienced players tend to move their hands and fingers in such a way it is noticable and bring attention to them...
when you see a gifted pianist play you notice how little effort it requires of them to play of perform a fast passage...there should of course be some of this in clarinet technique too!
David Dow
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Author: Amy
Date: 2004-03-30 18:15
David Dow wrote:
How many of you play the piano?
I try. ![[frown]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smilie2.gif)
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