 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Ron Jr.
Date: 2004-05-10 18:49
After working through the various method books: Klosé, Bärmann I-III, Lazarus I, II and even Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw I don't know what to do with them now.
I've spent significant time working through the books and there is a sense of accomplishment of having gone through the technical studies. But for the last couple of years I've devoted myself to playing actual pieces, not just etudes or excercises.
After mastering the basics does anyone still use their method books? Or do you, like me, get far greater satisfaction by playing repertoire?
Ron Jr.
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Author: mw
Date: 2004-05-10 18:58
Few people (% wise) ever totally master all of the Method Books & even fewer ever play the Method Books to the best of their possible abilities. The concensus opinion is that - after completion of Method Books - one starts to work parts of the Method Books BACK into normal practice. Baerman 3 C Major this week, F next, & so on. Etudes can be practiced for the skill that each attempts to hone.
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Author: donald
Date: 2004-05-10 20:59
i can speak for myself and most of the proffessional players i know- we all use scales books and studies from Klose/Rose etc as part of daily warm ups + to perhaps (as MW suggests) to improve holes in technique.
i wish i had more time for this, actually (and, maybe if i had done this in my 20s i'd now have better gigs!).
in addition to using the old exercises from Klose etc i have little booklets i have made up of excerpts from chamber/solo works, and use these when i get odd moments to practise- for example, in 10 minutes between students i might work on a scale exercise from the Hamelin book, but then in the last minutes play the opening of the slow mvt from the Stanford concerto.
donald
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Author: Terry Stibal
Date: 2004-05-10 21:42
Method books are designed to advance certain skills on a progressive basis (for the most part). That's a good thing for someone who does not have full mastery of the basics on the instrument, and even for someone who does to revisit them now and then.
One thing not often considered is that some method books (Lazarus, for example) are designed to work with other clarinet systems (such as the so called Albert system), and the exercises are set up in part to deal with the special needs of that system. You might spend a considerable amount of time working through a set of Lazarus exercises designed to facilitate F/F# changes on the upper joint, not realizing that the same actions are reversed on your Boehm style horn.
But, it's still all music and still worth playing.
My warm up on clarinet and bass clarinet always includes a complete cycle of thirds in all keys up to high E, then chromatic runs from and to random points on the horn, and then a series of long tones for stability and intonation. Parts of this have been borrowed from various methods over the years, but I couldn't say that I got it all in one place.
Your mileage may differ, void where prohibited by law, etc.
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Author: mw
Date: 2004-05-10 22:21
Donald said:
"to perhaps (as MW suggests) to improve holes in technique.
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That "holes" or areas that need improvement exist after completing study of Method Books is entirely possible. However, that isn't quite what I meant.
What I was trying to say - was that one can (almost) always play something BETTER. It just depends on WHO your task master is - and how diffilcult he/she is to please.
If the player is DEMANDING of his/her performance in the Method Books or Etudes, there will always be countless opportunities to clean up the breaks, to smooth things, to play faster, to play slower, to vary articulations, etc. (ad nauseum).
Actually, to my way of thinking - this is part & parcel in MOVING TO THE NEXT LEVEL OF USE OF THE METHOD BOOKS.
Post Edited (2004-05-10 22:57)
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Author: diz
Date: 2004-05-11 01:37
Method books are a bore, period ... once you get through them, start 'em over again.
I note that one of Czerny's piano monsters is called "exercises for fingerability" ... the mind boggles.
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Author: donald
Date: 2004-05-11 11:00
MW- good point, there's nothing more annoying than a clarinet player who doens't think they have to continue improving (and i've met a few of them...)
donald
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Author: bnanno
Date: 2004-05-11 11:23
Anyone ever used Romero? He seems to be quite popular with teachers here in Spain for "digitization" ...thats my name for it when I see my daughter use it?? She always complains loudly when she has to use it!!
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Author: mw
Date: 2004-05-11 16:19
DIZ wrote:
"Method books are a bore, period ... once you get through them, start 'em over again."
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heck YES ! especially when you have a wonderful teacher who learned from an impossible taskmaster. "Hmmm ... beautiful sound, v/g pulse, but I think I hear just a little 'something' coming down off the break!"
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