 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: ChrisArcand
Date: 2006-10-22 00:40
For the past two days, I have been so frustrated with myself.
My sound seems horrible to me - all my tones have all different colors, everything sounds stuffy and forced, my articulation is unclear...you get the idea.
I would blame it on my reeds (And I honestly do suspect something about them) but I don't like to always say that it's an equipment problem. I think that sometimes we just have to admit that something is unbalanced with us as players.
So I guess my main question is this: When you fall in a little bit of a hole for a few days, what do you (And I mean YOU, specifically) do to get out of it? Seems like a hugely vague question, of course, but still, I'm frustrated and could use a little insight as to what others do. I for one go out to a concert at the Minnesota Orchestra and listen to Burt and the rest of them play, and that seems to really help me. Good thing I get to see them tomorrow!
*sigh* I realize that this will pass and I'll get out of this depression soon enough. It's just really annoying when you don't come out of a practice session thinking "Wow. I sound like I'm making progress" or at least "Wow. I haven't made any progress but hey I don't sound 'less' good than before".
Chris Arcand
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Author: ChrisArcand
Date: 2006-10-22 01:34
Clarification:
I've been looking around at posts for the past couple minutes, and see many threads with "dealing with frustration", so yes I know this is a topic much talked about.
But I feel that this is somehow different. I don't feel like I'm not making any progress over a period of time - A few days ago I had a practice night that was fantastic - I was absolutely stunned as to how much new, extremely difficult material I played over and the sounds I was making. In other words, in my situation I feel like specifically the past 48 hours of clarinet playing have just...sucked? *sigh*. I'm talking in circles, aren't I? I'll shush now.
Oh yes, and I get to get up at 7 tomorrow morning to play a 3-4 hour performance...did I mention that? :-D Hehehe, well maybe it'll be good for me.
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Author: Tony Beck
Date: 2006-10-23 12:36
Are you tired? Not getting enough sleep has a powerful effect on my playing. For some reason the effects of too little rest are much more pronounced with music than other things I do.
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Author: musiciandave
Date: 2006-10-23 15:06
Maybe step back from it and don't be too critical when you are in "a rut". Focus on what you are doing well and start again to feel confident that you can play the thing.
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Author: RodRubber
Date: 2006-10-24 05:33
Hi,
First thing i would do is tae a day or two off to gain perspective. Your equipment is probably fine because just a few weeks back im sure you sounded fine. You just lost the resonance for a minute, and it will come back.
after your short recess, come back to playing and try to remember the important things about playing, remember all the important parts of producing the tone. Only play on one reed no matter how bad it feels to you right off. Often when we get into such ruts, it can be caused by looking for or playing on reeds with too little resistance. After a good practice session on one and only one reed, pack up until the next day. Make sure you only play on one reed during your come back session, this is the most important.
Next day, try some new reeds, you might be back in action. Always be patient with the resonance loss, and don't switch equipment, because that will make it even tougher to find the feel again.
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Author: ChrisArcand
Date: 2006-10-28 00:01
Thanks for replies. It's been almost a week now, I got my groove back the day after I posted. I swear, sometimes I just need a good performance to really get me out of ruts. I saw the Minnesota Orchestra playing Shostakovich Symphony No. 9. Mr. Hara is a phenomenal player. Always makes me want to go straight home and play.
Chris Arcand
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