 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: tyffi_05
Date: 2006-11-10 03:02
I thought it was a good idea, so I said "yes." After a while, I realized that I would probably have to improvise because they do not have music for me to look at. The worship team consists of a couple of keyboard players, a drumset, guitar, bass, and of course vocals. Now, I think about it, and I'm like "A clarinet doesn't seem to belong there, and I do not know how to improvise." Then they gave me sheet music for the vocal parts. I don't know what to do. I'm freaking out, but I would still like to play with them. Can someone offer me some advice? Just so you know, I am in my second year at a community college going for music education.
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Author: FDF
Date: 2006-11-10 03:08
Play. When it doesn't sound good play soft, when it sounds better sing out. In time you will be as good as the rest, and probably better. Enjoy.
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Author: claclaws
Date: 2006-11-10 05:59
As you have the score for the vocal part, play that or make some harmony out of it.
Have fun!
Lucy Lee Jang
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Author: D
Date: 2006-11-10 06:28
Figure out the most common keys that they play in, figure out your equivilents for whichever clari you are playing, wiggle around in those keys. Arpeggios and a few grace notes are often quite convincing when you are feeling desperate. If they are playing quite predictable cord patterns in some tunes then you have those to help focus you too.
Good luck.
Alternitively........................RUN FOR THE HILLS!
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Author: Mike Clarinet
Date: 2006-11-10 07:55
Having done this for a few years in the past, here are my tips in no particular order:
1. Learn to transpose by sight ie play every note a tone higher than written and adding 2 sharps. Start with a few songs you know well and practice. You will soon pick it up.
2. Get good at the sharp keys D, A, E, B and F#. I mean REALLY GOOD. Guitars love sharp keys, and you will be playing in up to 6 sharps. Scales, arpeggios, dominant 7th's, up, down, sideways, inside out....
3. Learn to play by ear as well. Sooner or later, someting will come up that the rest of the group know and you don't. Again, try playing songs you know well at first.
4. At first, stick to the melodies. If you have a vocal line only, try going up a 3rd. A few notes will sound wrong and you will need to go up a 4th. This will produce an acceptable harmony line above the melody. If there is an instrumental verse, nothing wrong with playing the meoldy.
5. If they exist, try to get a piano + guitar chords part. Learn how major, minor, 7th and suspended chords work. (no time here for a harmony lesson). These will give you a starting point for improv. You will see the same stock chord progressions appearing over and over, so after a while you will begin to recognize patterns.
6. Attend a few practices before playing on a Sunday. Get used to the way the band operates. If they don't practice, (yes, this does happen) then get together with one of the keyboard players and have a bash yourself.
7. Remember - You dont' have to play all the time.
Post Edited (2006-11-10 14:50)
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Author: SolidRockMan
Date: 2006-11-10 13:51
Good advice above from Mike Clarinet. You have to know the sharp keys well if guitar and keyboard are the dominant instruments.
My advice would be not to get too intimidated about 'improvisation'. If you don't know what to play concentrate initially on the slower songs. When the singers end a line, try playing some short runs that either ornament the melody or 'lead' into the next line. You don't have to do it for every line. Start with just a couple of notes and see where it takes you. Don't be afraid to repeat what you played last time if it works. If you can practice this to a recording of the song, so much the better...
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2006-11-10 16:58
Yep - Good advice, it'll take a bit of practice to "feel-out" tunes, hymns etc in the keys that the group plays in, I'm now doing something like what you describe, but happily our pianist knows of the clar's transposition [key] problems and is picking pieces in 1,2,3 flats for her to play and me to "go along with". If you have a guitar-influenced band, you might find that using a clar in A would ease some of the "knuckle-busting" that many #'s might provide. Yes, learn the C to Bb transposition, its the same for the F to Eb [French horn/Eng. horn to alto sax/clarinet {useful} ] incidentally, up one full step, add 2 #'s to the signature. Much luck, PLAY, Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2006-11-10 17:00
Wouldn't that be the perfect excuse to buy a C clarinet? ![[wink]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smilie3.gif)
--
Ben
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2006-11-10 17:34
Yes, Ben [T X 3] , it would probably its best use or as a sub. for oboe in a church orch, with its somewhat "brighter" tonality. Did it, Works ! Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: johng ★2017
Date: 2006-11-10 21:29
Although mainly a clarinet player, I play alto sax on a church worship team. Talk about hard keys...an easy key of D for the guitarist becomes B for me.
I would like to add to Mike Clarinet's good ideas with some of my theories about playing in this situation.
1. A little saxophone goes a long ways, so I don't try to play every song, or all of a particular song. Some praise songs work better than others.
2. My aim is to help the singers and the congregation with what I play. If they need help with notes and rhythms I play the melody. Otherwise I stay away from the melody and play interludes and lead in's to new phrases....showing the way to the next phrase for the singers.
3. Sometimes I play harmony, but some of the team singers are improvising their own harmony and we can clash from time to time.
4. Not being a good transposer to an Eb part, I usually sit down with the piano part and write out what I plan to play. Often I don't exactly play what I write, but at least there is a platform from which to work. I am not an improviser either.
5. Since my wife is the leader/keyboardist, she often writes her own accompaniment using Finale, so I can take that and transpose it using Finale.
If you remember your role is to help others you will be well along in a valued role on a worship team, no matter what you play.
Johng
John Gibson, Founder of JB Linear Music, www.music4woodwinds.com
Post Edited (2006-11-10 21:31)
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Author: Grant
Date: 2006-11-10 22:30
I like Ben's idea I need to find a church that wants a clarinet with their worship music. Then I would have to convince my wife I'm already ahead of her in clarinets 3 to 2.
Peace on Earth and May You always have a reed that PLAYS.
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Author: tyffi_05
Date: 2006-11-11 16:43
Thanks for your helpful advice everybody. I also wanted to know if all this also applys to compemporary music as well? Because the church will hear more of that around the holidays.
thanks,
tiff
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Author: BradleyHardin ★2017
Date: 2006-11-13 03:59
Like the posts above I have found that most of the Bb clarinet music is 2, 3, and 4 sharps. Occasionaly our director will give us C music, and I'll just play a few notes that blend in the chord as I can't transpose on the fly. However, most of our traditional and contemporary music comes with Bb clarinet music, as well as a host of other instruments. Perhaps your director hasn't purchased the extra parts. Getting a clarinet in C is one solution, but I have found that if everybody is playing the same part, you miss out on many great harmonies. We have the same rhythm make-up as your church, with the addition of a Bb and bass clarinet, flute, alto sax, and two violins. With everybody playing their own part, it sounds great.
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Author: Bassie
Date: 2006-11-13 09:42
To restore balance in the universe, it's worth noting that brass band music tends to be entirely in flat keys - and that's in the Eb/Bb parts. Six flats in concert pitch is not unusual. Anyone know why this is?
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Author: Brenda Siewert
Date: 2006-11-13 16:39
I play with many different church orchestras from time to time, including one very large international group. Each music minister is different and their skill levels also vary. I started playing with a group like you mentioned about 20 years ago. The leader played guitar and sang like a dream, but he didn't read a note of music. Yet, he recruited several instrumentalists (such as myself) and gave us charts containing only guitar chords and words. I was shocked the first time I went to rehearsal and was told I would have to learn to improvise. So, I began intensely listening and only playing where I thought it would actually sound good. He had some favorite keys, so it was a bit easier once I knew the songs. We had many jam sessions, so that helped as well.
I bought a C clarinet for the groups that used hymnals only. I wasn't ever great at transposing in my head.
For the larger orchestras I was always given real sheet music written for clarinet.
A church musician must be a bit more flexible than others because we never know what will be required of us. Relax and begin the journey with prayer and know that if you aren't truly "called" to do this, you'll know it before long.
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Author: David Peacham
Date: 2006-11-13 18:24
Bassie asked: "To restore balance in the universe, it's worth noting that brass band music tends to be entirely in flat keys - and that's in the Eb/Bb parts. Six flats in concert pitch is not unusual. Anyone know why this is?"
Because brass instruments are easier to play in (written) flat keys than in sharp keys. In a sane world brass instruments would be pitched in D and A, so they'd end up playing in concert C and thereabouts. But it's not a sane world.
Why are they easier, is your next question. The reason is that players of valved brass like to avoid using all three valves at once, because this combination of valves will play too sharp and needs to be adjusted by the lip or by a trigger. All three-valves is the fingering for written C#4, so sharp keys beyond G (or flat keys beyond Eb) are a pain. Therefore the Bb instruments prefer keys from concert F to concert Db inclusive, and the Eb instruments prefer concert Bb to concert Gb inclusive.
For these purposes the tenor trombone behaves like a Bb instrument, and indeed is notated this way in brass band parts, in treble clef with the same transposition as a bass clarinet or tenor sax. The equivalent of three-valves-down is slide-all-the-way-out; not a problem for intonation if the player has a good ear, but a real problem of reach. Just try playing concert A# (slide all the way in) followed by concert B (slide all the way out) and you'll see why sharp keys are unpopular. Admittedly the common use of an F-valve largely solves this problem.
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If there are so many people on this board unwilling or unable to have a civil and balanced discussion about important issues, then I shan't bother to post here any more.
To the great relief of many of you, no doubt.
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