 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2010-07-29 01:58
And not just cause he's a great player. Cause he's younger than me, and he's a great player. I've been doing some thinking, and he worked hard and studied, and got sent to a great university to play and learn clarinet when he was young. Less time on this earth than me.
And while I don't have the same opportunities, and I have other things in my life that may have to take priority, it goes to show me that it really just takes determination, guidance, and time. I'll be the first to admit, I do NOT have the determination to be a world-class soloist. But I have the time. And will hopefully have some guidance. And I DO have the determination to get better.
So really, I was inspired by his performance and Q&A. When asked how he learns hard passages, he responded with, "Slow it down, practice different rhythms" all stuff that everyone's told to do. It's just he took it to heart and did it with all the determination that it'll work. And when asked how he circular breathes, he gave a quick description of the mechanics behind it, a few exercises that would help, and then stated how it took him about "six months" to get to work well. It's just he took those six months to learn it at a much younger age than I am. And I just have to remember that it potentially WON'T work for six months, maybe longer. But if you stick with it, it'll learn.
So now I'm pretty fired up to get a teacher and start getting some guidance. I'm working on finding a good schedule to maximize practice time while still retaining family time and performance time (in the Army Band I have commitments I need to adhere to),
And if you think you can't get better or make it, just keep in mind that he was able to do it in less time. While you may think that's discouraging, I keep it in perspective. He was able to do it in less time, but with a world-class teacher, at an age where he didn't have a family of his own or a full-time job, and his goal from the get-go was to be the best in the world.
I may never have a teacher with quite as many CDs or solo performances under his/her belt, and I have to divide up my time amongst a few more people and events in my life, but I also have a drive to get better. And I will. It'll just take a little more time.
And if you're in middle-school or high-school and your goal is to be fulltime performer, take advantage of the time you have now. It may mean you have to sacrifice some hanging out time with the friends, but that all depends on your priorities. You have to make necessary sacrifices now to reap the benefits later. It is up to YOU how much you're willing to sacrifice. Just know that there's a direct relationship to how much you'll benefit.
Alexi
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2010-07-29 02:37
Not to mention he did all that AND he's down to earth and genuinely a professional guy. How a clarinet player of that ability stays down to earth I have NO idea. But it's good for the companies who sponsor him, good for his reputation, and good for the local joe like myself who notices that (GASP) world-class clarinetists CAN be polite!
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Author: skygardener
Date: 2010-07-29 03:09
"And if you think you can't get better or make it, just keep in mind that he was able to do it in less time. "
I wonder about this. I am not sure of his practicing habits, but what I know of other young virtuosi, is that they spend a great deal of time practicing every day- and they started young. With that in mind, I am not so sure that they really did it in "less time" than anyone else.
Perhaps they started earlier and did more per day, but the count on actual practice hours is probably very high. So I wonder if the virtuosi really can do more in, for example, 100 hours of practice than anyone else? OR is it that they just fit those 100 hours into fewer days than the "average" person??
An "average" college student might do 100 hours in a month (about 3 hour/day), but the prodigy does 100 hours in 2 weeks (7+hours per day).
The old story... An audience member goes backstage to meet a solo violinist after a performance and says, "I would give my life to play like that." and the violinist says, "I did."
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2010-07-29 04:19
While many hours of practice will be necessary, quantifying hours of practice is a rather poor metric for artistic and technical proficiency in my experience.
I've had epiphanies in five minutes that advanced my playing more than the previous hundred hours of practice. Of course, how many, if any, of those hundred hours were necessary to allow that epiphany to occur is up for debate.
The painful ones are where I realize I've been drilling something into my technique that is actually detrimental to my playing, essentially setting myself BACK dozens of hours, more so with each practice session (though other aspects of playing would have improved in that time). "Breathing from the diaphragm" is the most vicious offender, but that's a topic for many, many other threads.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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Author: William
Date: 2010-07-29 15:27
Remember, too, that it is not just a matter of how many hour or years of practice one devotes to learning their art, but much more the specific abilities or high levels of performance skills that they were born with that makes the difference between *them* and *us*. Not all of us are born to run the four-minute mile or win Olympic Gold in the boxing ring no matter how hard we train or how many coaches we can buy to instruct us. Julian was lucky to discover the musical skills he was endowed with and motivated enough to develop them through study and practice. To say, "if he can do it, so can I" is not really accurate nor logical. After all, how many of us really became the next Benny Goodman??
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Author: graham
Date: 2010-07-29 15:39
Alexi
It isn't clear to me from your post whether JB said "you can do it too". Did he?. To be brutal, I agree with William. Most people can't however hard they try.
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2010-07-29 15:56
No, he did not say anything related to whether someone can "do it too". And I realize that the "less time" is in perspective. He did do it in less time, but he did have tons of practice time, training and mentoring from the best of the best, and wonderful support from his family to give him all those opportunities.
But in general, I'm just trying to say that I used to think that I could never gain a lot of skill. That I couldn't fathom how they got to that level. And I'm seeing it. And the basic recipe is pretty simple. Direction, motivation, and time to practice and learn the skills correctly. And while I probably won't achieve that level (ever), I figure with enough time and direction, I will at least be able to reach a much higher level than I'm at right now.
I almost feel like I had an "epiphany". It's not that these performers and professionals were BORN to do it. They also needed training and time to work on their craft. And at some point in their lives (whether it was after 1 year of training or ten years of training), their skill level was the same as mine. And they got better by continuing and not "accepting" that they've gone "far enough".
It just took a little thought process and seeing a clarinet prodigy such as Julian to make me realize that it's not about where you are in life. Here's someone who was touring the world before I was even legally an adult. So it's not about what time of life you're in, it just takes time, practice, and direction. Basically realizing that he was able to accomplish so much so quickly renewed the spark in me to really get a teacher and start working myself. Because I don't want to wake up in fifteen years and say, "Man I should really start taking lessons...." He started right away. I got a late start, but I'd like to see what I can achieve. Even if it takes me a little longer.
Alexi
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Author: William
Date: 2010-07-29 18:20
I do agree with sfalexi that with practice and instruction, you can learn to be better if your start sooner. And that it is good to be inspired by people like Julian Bliss to try because that is how you discover your talent levels--and at the very least, everyone can improve with experiance. However, no matter how young you start to shoot hoops, if you are not endowed with certain extrordinary physical and perceptive skills, you probably are not going to achieve the same skill level as a Michael Jordan--no matter how hard you try or how many games you play. Some people are just born with special abilitites while most of us, frankly, are not. And no, I did not become--even after a lifetime of instruction, practice and playing experiance--the next Benny Goodman (either).
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Author: ohsuzan
Date: 2010-07-29 20:39
<<I don't want to wake up in fifteen years and say, "Man I should really start taking lessons...." [snip] I got a late start, but I'd like to see what I can achieve. Even if it takes me a little longer.>>
Good for you, Alexi! You are right.
Dude, you got into the Army band just on your native talent. You'll achieve even more as you subject that basic ability to tutelage and discipline.
Have the courage of your own convictions! Go for it!
Susan
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2010-07-29 20:46
Everyone can't be a Mozart no matter how much they practice and try. What makes people like Juliann Bliss so great is the same thing that makes all the great world soloist great like Yo Yo Ma and so many others. First off it's the gift, than it's dedication and than it's the desire to be the best but if you don't have the gift you can have the others, practice 6 hours a day everyday and not be as good as someone with the gift that practices half that time. That's pretty much the same thing with music, sports, dance etc. The truly great ones are born with the gift and somehow that take advantage of it. Sometimes they may be force into it by their parents and sometimes it just becomes self motivated but you have to have that talent, "The Gift". ESP http://eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: skygardener
Date: 2010-07-29 23:32
A violinist I know has an idea about "talent" in music.. He says, "A talented person is one that practices more than 7 hours today and has the motivation to do it everyday for the next 10 years."
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2010-07-30 02:12
Talent absolutely makes a difference in just how quickly a player will "get" something.
It's not about total time, it's about quality time, instruction, and RAW TALENT.
There was a time I taught 3 of the 4 Clarinetists of the Phila Youth Orchestra (Montanaro taught one - 3rd chair), and the talent level was very different among the players, yet they all put in the same practice effort/time.
Talent matters / Practice matters / Instruction matters
http://www.SkypeClarinetLessons.com
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Author: J Cohen
Date: 2010-07-30 03:01
Alexi, I see you are stationed at Ft Gordon in Augusta GA. If you are looking for a teacher, give Taylor Massey a call. He is principal cl of Augusta Symphony and teaches part-time at UGA. He went to two top music schools: CCM and Northwestern. He's a great guy and very laid back.
Jeremy
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