Author: TonkaToy
Date: 2006-02-02 21:01
My first teacher, Bob Listokin, was a Bonade student who recorded some of the Rose etudes for a promotional album Bonade released for Leblanc in the late 1950's, early 1960's.
As one of his students I was, of course, introduced to the idea or the"squeezing fingers" or "soft fingers" as my teacher called it. It's devilishly difficult to do well and consistantly. Oddly enough, I always enjoyed doing the exercises and have realized great benefits over the years from them. My teacher explained it as attempting to create resistance to the fingers both when the fingers were lifted from the keys and when they were lowered to the keys. Sort of like moving your fingers underwater or through hot wax.
Over the years I've come to view the exercise as a sort of clarinet Tai Chi in that the exercises are performed slowly and gracefully with smooth and even transitions between them. The very definition of Tai Chi. Just as with Tai Chi, doing the exercises fosters a calm and tranquil mind, focused on the precise execution of the exercises. Learning, or attempting to learn them, provides a practical avenue for learning about things like balance, fine scale motor control, rhythm and movement.
They are well worth your time and energy. Don't get discouraged. You'll see a great improvement not only in slow, legato playing but, like magic, it will make it easier for you to play fast passages. Even fingers can be fast fingers, Grasshopper.
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The Clarinet BBoard
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