 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: jeeves
Date: 2008-10-28 00:21
What makes a clarinetist good, and how does one attain such qualities? I know this is subjective, but I'm just looking for ideas.
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2008-10-28 00:32
Karma.
The right pieces, the right interpretation. Which means the right way of exploiting the Zeitgeist. Commercially, at least.
You are you, and you are not a Sabine, nor a Simon, nor a Larry or whatever the names may be. You're an original, not an emulator.
Stay Jeeves, practice and prevail. (and stay off beaten-to-death pieces)
--
Ben
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Author: Ryder
Date: 2008-10-28 01:19
Hours of focused, correct practice. Devote your life to it and you'll see reward. Immerse yourself in it and music. You must also know the instrument to play it well...at least that's what I think.
I do believe there is some natural talent involved, but not much. Our bodies are different and suited to different things.
OOOOO Hoslt's 1st suite just came on!!!!!!!!!!
____________________
Ryder Naymik
San Antonio, Texas
"We pracice the way we want to perform, that way when we perform it's just like we practiced"
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Author: clariknight
Date: 2008-10-28 01:29
There is a deeper sense evoked when an excellent clarinetist plays. It's something you don't feel in the literal sense of the word. One moment I like to think about is when I first heard the recording of the Mozart Clarinet Quintet K.581. It features Karl Leister playing with the Vienna String Quartet. When Leister comes on with the first bit, the first thought that popped into my head was, "wow, that's what a clarinet is supposed to sound like." Now, of course there are many different styles of playing and all draw on a different tonal quality, and I enjoy all of them thoroughly. But hearing something so magical as to forget that these other types exist is something greater than just good. I felt a similar thing when I listened to a recording of Stanley Drucker playing Webers' Concertino. The same thought popped into my head. And, although these two players are entirely different, each one has the ability to block out all other things. I hesitate to call it magic, but I believe entirely that it is something far beyond the spectrum of human understanding. All we can really say is it exists, and we can mention it when we find it.
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Author: marshall
Date: 2008-10-28 06:59
I've talked to countless professionals (both clarinetists and non-clarinetists) about what they think makes a good clarinetist (or rather, good musician). I get the same answer almost every time, though it may be worded differently.
If you want to know what makes a good clarinetist, then just listen to someone who spends their entire life in the practice room with their nose in the Klose or Baermann. They'll be phenomenal at the clarinet, but it's not the "good clarinetists" that get the jobs...it's the good musicians.
A good musician is someone you just want to listen to. You hear them play something, and when they finish it isn't quite enough. You just HAVE to hear them play more. There's something about their playing that makes you crave their mastery. When I heard Sabine Meyer play the Brahms quintet a few weeks ago, it simply wasn't enough to hear that one piece. I wanted so much for her to play something else. People like that are good clarinetists, yes, but above that they are good musicians. They have an understanding of the music that helps them play it in a way nobody else can, and ultimately, THEY'RE the ones who get the jobs.
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2008-10-28 08:30
I assume that by a good clarinetist you also mena a good musician. In that case, I would say it is when the music and playing live in their own reality which has it own specific but general logic and sense, regardless of how illogical or abstract that reality is. Sorrry that I can't explain it any clearer The main idea is... an idea. The person playing needs to have an idea.
I don't have the answer on how to "attain such qulities". I think part of it is possibly realizing what you really want to do and what you are really interested in. I mean REALLY.
>> I hesitate to call it magic, but I believe entirely that it
>> is something far beyond the spectrum of human understanding.
That 'magic' is one of the things I invest a lot in trying to understand. It's not always possible, but sometimes it is, and could be hard or easy. Just like playing music, it takes practice too. I found that some people don't want to try to understand this because it will take away from the experience of hearing/playing the music. For some people that's probably true, but for some it isn't and it;s possible to understand without any effect on the emotional reaction you describe.
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Author: Nessie1
Date: 2008-10-28 09:10
I think a some posters here seem to be confusing "good" (as in the OP's question) with "commercially successful". I hope that we all agree that these are not the same thing at all! I'm not saying that the players alluded to are not good players but you can be a good clarinettist without being a star.
My own assessment is that being a good clarinettist is about 85% hard work, 10% interest, curiosity and passion (I'm thinking of the desire to listen to other musicians, research repertoire, equipment etc) and 5% natural musical aptitude (including some specifically for the clarinet).
There are many who become good players without any desire to play professionally or to become stars. If you want to do that, various non-musical factors come into play, such having the inner resilience to cope with not always knowing how long you have a job for, only being as good as your last performance (in some people's eyes) and, of course a healthy dose of luck (being in the right place at the right time can lead to making connections that have a considerable benefit to one's long-term prospects).
Vanessa.
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