 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: kenabbott
Date: 2008-11-20 12:55
I've been playing for 35+ years and I'm reasonably good - not symphony quality, but I read well and people tell me I have a nice sound. The problem is that I'm sloppy. Maybe it's my attention span. I play for local musicals, etc. No one has ever criticised me (to my face, anyway), but I miss accidentals occasionally. I keep getting cxalled back, so it can't be that obvious, but it tees me off.
Any suggestions on paying closer attention?
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2008-11-20 15:57
Ken -
Three solutions:
1. Baermann Part III
2. Baermann Part III
3. Baermann Part III
You need to have all the scales and patterns in your finger memory, so that you know how it feels to play in each key.
This teaches you to recognize the key and harmony, so that you understand what's happening. Once you hear the harmonic motion, the sharp or flat in the score just confirms what you already know.
Listen to the other players, particularly the bass line. This greatly reduces the number of possible notes, since only a few of them fit into the harmony.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Alseg
Date: 2008-11-20 18:25
Many musicals seem to have dissonant passages esp. in the bridges between songs (creates anticipation and tension), and this is where those accidentals show up.
FWIW I take home the part and MARK the accidentals....each blasted one of 'em...with a # or b or natural mark...it helps, since the passage is not always intuitive.
Hope that this helps.
Former creator of CUSTOM CLARINET TUNING BARRELS by DR. ALLAN SEGAL
-Where the Sound Matters Most(tm)-
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Author: William
Date: 2008-11-20 19:50
"FWIW I take home the part and MARK the accidentals....each blasted one of 'em...with a # or b or natural mark..."
And I hope your not the [deleted] guy who sends that book on to me without erasing all of those "helpful" markings after your last show.........
Kenabbot--marking the problem accidentals does help you to play more accurately, but always use a pencil and not--I should stress, NEVER--use ink. And as you go through each tune (act, etc) of the last show, take your heavy duty eraser and thoroughly remove all of your markings and save the next player the trouble of erasing them for you. Another helpful hint, use little square stick-on's (get them at Office Depot, etc) to mark cuts, tacets and other miscellaneous directions instead of using a pencil to draw big, messy X's and cut lines directly on the music. The stick-on's are quite easily removed at the end of the show and save a lot of erasing.
Post Edited (2008-11-23 14:47)
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Author: leonardA
Date: 2008-11-20 20:00
Any suggestions on paying closer attention?
"Just do it."
Leonard
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Author: reprise
Date: 2008-11-20 22:38
Meditation. Seriously. I was able to be much more attentive after I learned to meditate and started doing it regularly. Even 5 or 10 minutes a day helps. There are lots of books and tapes out there that can help you learn. But, one easy way to start is to sit down, close your eyes, and begin counting your breaths. Whenever you notice your mind wandering, gently bring your attention back to your breath and continue counting. Your mind will wander a lot -- that's what minds do. But as you practice, it wanders less -- and you'll probably find yourself better able to pay attention to details in lots of different areas of your life, not just music.
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Author: BandieSF
Date: 2008-11-21 00:36
If the piece is a copy, and not an original (as was the case for me up until this year), I usually take the time to go through and color-code my music with highlighters (yellow for dynamics, pink for time signatures/ tempo changes, orange for articulations, and blue for accidentals/ key signature notes and key changes). The bright colors draw my attention to the important stuff. It has always worked for me.
Now, having a piece of music that's glaring at you with bright yellow might not be something you want to end up with, so you could try something a little easier on the eyes. ;-)
-----
Current set-up:
Classical:
Strength 4 1/4 Legere Signature Series
Vandoren M13 Lyre
Jazz:
Strength 3 3/4 Legere Quebec
Pomarico Jazz*
Clarinets:
Buffet E11 Student Model
Buffet R13 Greenline
<http://operationhighschool.blogspot.com
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Author: mrn
Date: 2008-11-21 03:30
If I have a really rapid scale or arpeggiated figure I have to play where reading all the accidentals might be hard to do because of the speed and where I can't rely much on memory or rehearsal/practice time to get it straight, I will sometimes write in a chord symbol (like you'd see written for a guitar) to save myself having to read each note individually. For example, for a b minor arpeggio or scale, I might write in "Bm."
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Author: graham
Date: 2008-11-21 13:08
New Years Resolution
For every mixed accidental I will pay 5% of my fee to the Musicians' Benevolent Fund.
This will do more for your concentration than it will do for the Musicians Benevolent Fund.
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Author: pewd
Date: 2008-11-21 14:37
pick a tricky etude, learn it, then record yourself
keep recording yourself until you get a recording without any errors
try recording one a week for a few months , see if that helps
- Paul Dods
Dallas, Texas
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Author: kenabbott
Date: 2008-11-22 09:17
Wow.
Thanks, everyone. I was concerned I'd get some snide "just give up" comments, yet every one of them has been well-considered. I love this NG.
I usually just mark the offending accidentals, as per Mr. Segal's comments, but the Baermann III sounds interesting.
I wonder what the Oracle (Mr. Charette, himself) would advise?
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Author: Ebclarinet1
Date: 2008-11-23 14:24
I know this may sound crazy but I don't feel I'm ready for a performance unless I can play the piece with lots of distracting noise in the background. So, I'll turn the television or stereo up and play the piece with all that going on. That makes me focus very carefully on my part and seems to improve my ability to concentrate on the piece. Some of my friends think this is absolutely the wrong plan but it works for me. It is odd trying to explain this behavior to the person coming to the door as you are playing in the middle of this confusion too!
I used the same habit in high school, doing my homework in front of the TV although the library was a better place in college and grad school.
Eefer guy
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Author: Arnoldstang
Date: 2008-11-23 15:09
Musicals are definitely challenging for key signatures and accidentals. In some cases (especially quick page turns with change of key) , I will write in the key...eg B Major above the passage.
In your practice at home just flip to a page and play quickly without preparing. Play and mark any mistakes you make with reminder accidentals. This type of flipping through and quickly playing will show up your potential errors. It shouldn't replace meticulous practice but it will go hand in hand with it. Considering musicals are approximately 75 pages of music with lots of key changes this is a lot of music to prepare and go through in a meticulous fashion. I guess the one rule which is not too lofty is" don't make the same mistake twice." I hope I haven't enouraged you to lower your standards.
Freelance woodwind performer
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