 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Rapidcif
Date: 2013-01-16 01:06
ok this is almost entirely a mental issue rather a physical one, and reasons for this kind of phenomenon have many varying factors, but basically i'm having a focus issue while practicing. When i do any other activity i can calm my thoughts and focus and i do the task well, but once i step into the practice room i cannot calm my mind. And i actually genuinely enjoy music, i'm not one of those people who's parents forced them to play as kid or something. In my free time i spend a lot of time immersed in music...looking at music related things etc...; i even get excited when i discover something new to practice. This excitement will carry with me even until 2 minutes into practice, but that's as far as it goes - it then dissipates abruptly. When i then practice i basically feel like i'm spinning my wheels in mud. This may seem like a weird question, but to make a long story short, i'm had focus problems for 2 weeks now and it's been driving me crazy, so i was just wondering if anyone else has ever experienced a rut like this, and if so, how did you get out of it? Thanks.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2013-01-16 02:04
Do you have a jury exam or a recital coming up? Nerves can do this to you.
Otherwise, I find I'm more focused when I have specific things to accomplish. If you're spending your practice time just "playing through" music without paying much attention to little sloppy things or intervals that don't speak well or places that just feel uncomfortable, you may just be bored. I find I'm most focused when I concentrate on very small places in music that I find awkward. The detective work involved in figuring out what's causing my discomfort and what I can do to try to overcome it is impossible without focused concentration.
Karl
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Author: JHowell
Date: 2013-01-16 03:02
I'd start a practice log/notebook. Write down what you wish to accomplish, overall. Do you want a job in an orchestra? What, specifically, must you accomplish musically and technically to put yourself in a position to compete? Do you want to teach? Same question: what needs to change about your playing?
Formulate intermediate goals, and short-term goals. For each practice session, write what you intend to do, and then record whether or not you've done it or not. The trick here is to put the carrot at the right distance. If you don't set realistic intermediate and short-term goals, the carrot is too far. It's hard to focus on a speck in the distance, and it won't feel like you're making progress even if you are. Discouraging. If you don't set any goals, the carrot is too close. There is not enough motivation to put you in the zone of maximum learning, where you are striving for something that you can almost but not quite grasp.
That said, what does your teacher say? If one of my students had such a complaint, I'd want him or her to consult me before asking the internet.
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2013-01-16 06:08
How is your breathing? Are you relaxed?
For a time, I had a tweak in my mid-back. As a result, when I played it was very slightly painful to take a deep breath, and also to relax completely. It wasn't enough to raise warning bells, but it WAS enough to put me into a very slight state of panic. Like I wasn't able to breathe as well as I'd like. Not enough to make me scream or run away, but enough to send my head buzzing as it tried to find a solution to the problem. Coupled with the huge amount of things to pay attention to when playing music, my head went, as you say, to mud.
For the same reason, I also had trouble sleeping. All factors combined, it made me hate practicing and performing, and ultimately I put down the instrument for a while because it was so unpleasant.
I suspect you're trying to do too much at once, to control too many aspects of performing. You can only actively control so many things at once, and if you, like many clarinetists, are keen on thinking about embouchre AND breath support AND all the musical issues AND omigodwhycantifocus... you just can't handle that much at once. Playing a musical instrument is a largely physical endeavor, and much time has to be spent allowing your body to learn how something feels, learning to trust that the breath and embouchre will happen on their own and so on. You simply cannot THINK everything into submission, a fact that I've only recently come to peace with.
I'm not sure if you're going through the same thing I was, but if you are, it's intensely frustrating and also nearly impossible to describe to other people. For me, it both was and wasn't a mental game.
How is your sleep lately? Do you wake up feeling like a kitten after a nap, or are you wired?
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2013-01-16 06:13
Something to try:
The way to win this mental game may be not to play the mental game. Treat clarinet practice as an entirely physical pursuit for a while, and see if that gets you anywhere. Allow no words to enter your head as you inhale, exhale, finger notes. Do it entirely by feel. This will be very slow at first, but can lead you to learn by doing rather than by thinking, a vital skill for an activity with a physical component, like playing clarinet.
That's my latest take, anyways. If you try it, please tell me how it goes.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2013-01-16 08:52
Sometimes you can get too involved in the problem. The more you worry about it the worse it gets. Try taking a week off and do something else you enjoy doing. A week off isn't going to make a whole lot of difference to your progress in the long run and the week off may break the habit of worrying that you're in danger of developing. It's worked for me, it may work for you.
Tony F.
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Author: rtmyth
Date: 2013-01-16 14:53
See your MD for advice. The doctor can help you.
richard smith
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Author: GeorgeL ★2017
Date: 2013-01-17 15:31
One possibility is that your mind is trying to tell you that clarinet is destined to be an avocation for you, but not a vocation.
Of course, since you have only had this problem for two weeks, don't make any rash decisions. Time off sounds like a great idea.
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