 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: mkybrain
Date: 2004-05-27 05:26
hi guys, i'd like to know what u guys think are the best excersises to break habbits of moving my fingers up too high and other little futile movements of my fingers that make playing really fast stuff much more difficult
btw, my teacher tells me to practice scales in front of a mirror, which really does help me, i was jsut curios as to what u guys know to do, b/c there might be something else that works better for me
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2004-05-27 06:23
I would just make sure to take a few minutes every day, playing scales or some piece of music very slowly, and focusing on moving the fingers very softly and with as little movement as possible. Just concentrate on it (just as you would concentrate on your tone during long tones, or concentrate on your tongue during staccato exercises, etc.) Eventually it should just be a habit.
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: RAMman
Date: 2004-05-27 11:12
I know that some people have constructed 'finger trainers' for this very problem.
Basically, you need three pieces of blue-tac and two pencils.
Put a large blob of tac at the top, middle, and bottom of your instrument, and then add a pencil to each joint, resting on the blue-tac.
Adjust the size of the blobs, until they leave the pencils at what you consider to be the correct distance from the keys (yes, this is all very fiddly...)
Whenever you knock off a pencil, you're fingers are too far from the keys. You'll get so frustrated knocking them off, that the problem could be solved very quickly (or you could go mad...)
I've never done this, but I know someone who has and she swears by it.
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Author: RAMman
Date: 2004-05-27 11:57
Fantastic!
That little picture from BG illustrates exactly what I was saying!
Why buy one? Use pencils!!
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Author: William
Date: 2004-05-27 14:27
On the other hand (so to speak:), Charles Niedich said, during a master class here at the UW-Madison, that he doesn't worry about how high his fingers come off the keys. He says he "just lets them fly" and demonstrated with a flurry of scales saying, "It doesn't affect how I play". He does, of course, advocate control, but does not worry specifically about hand position or keeping the fingers "close to the keys".
Incidently, if you are not familiar with Charles, he is one of our modern day clarinetist virtuosoi who had the self-confidence to tell Joan Tower--while she was writing her clarinet Concerto for him--"You know, you can write anything (for me) and I will be able to play it". During that master class series, my old clarinet professor noted Charles circular breathing and multiple tonguing skills and described him as simply, "unstoppable". For Charles Niedich, there are no technical limits, and when he makes statements disregarding certain aspects of hand position and finger action, one should listen............
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