 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: beejay
Date: 2001-04-16 13:20
Do you ever have one of those days when nothing comes out right? All your reeds are wrong. Your horn sounds like a fog-horn? Your fingers and tongue are out of synch? You think you are out of tune, even if the tuner tells you you are not? When your favorite records sound flat? When this happens to me, I get out my book of scales and keep going until the mood passes. Does anyone have a better coping mechanism?
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: William
Date: 2001-04-16 13:25
Playing my sop. sax always makes my clarinet sound better. :>)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Kai
Date: 2001-04-16 16:38
Having struggled with the clarinet for almost 10 years now, I have faced countless times when I just feel like giving up the instrument for good and telling myself that I am better off doing something else! I don't know if that sounds kinda extreme but I am even getting used to it!
I don't know if this will help you but what I do is I stop practicing.. even the daily scales. Stop playing for say, 2 or 3 days and turn your things to other matters. Often I find that not only have my playing miraculously 'improved', but this renewed enthusiasm sort-of compensates for lost time!
(well.. the cycle continues yet..)
Like what William does, but I turn to the piano.
Or another suggestion is to turn your mind to studying some scores, listen to recordings, doing a bit of research here and there, etc. To me, practicing doesn't always have to be one full hour of blowing.
Somtimes, whatever happens, just trust your better judgement and instincts.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: jerry
Date: 2001-04-16 17:26
Put your horn in the shop - if you have only one.
I didn't know I was so attached to this thing I cannot play, until I had to put it in the shop for four days. I really did miss it and couldn't wait to get it back.
Sounds like I'm not the only one who gets out of the mood now and then.
Good luck.
~ jerry
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Danielle
Date: 2001-04-16 20:00
When I can't play anything, it's usually because i'm distracted. If that happens, i stop playing whatever i'm concentrating on (my NYSSMA solo, most recently), pick a blues scale, and improvise for 5 or 10 minutes...just playing whatever comes into mind. I do that when i'm upset, too. It's soothing...to assemble my clarinet, warm up, and play whatever i want.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Fred
Date: 2001-04-16 20:53
I guess it kind of depends how you view clarinet. For me, it is neither my course of study nor my profession - it is my diversion and pleasure. I'm not as serious about it as I would need to be if I were competing for whatever, or being paid as a professional musician. I am good enough to get paid to do small productions, but not good enough to play every lick without practicing my rear off. So I do what i do for free and everything works out great.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Aaron
Date: 2001-04-17 06:11
As a college student i have been through sometiimes an entire week where playing the clarinet made NO sence. It felt like an entirely foregin object in my hands. When just days later i was flying through etudes, scales, and solos like there was no tomorrow.
I dont know how many of you might view this. But I just think theres something to do with Bio-rhythms. Somedays(hopefully a very small amout) your bio rhythms are off kilter just enough so that your brain just isnt working correctly with your hands. It's like there's a big wet blanket bolcking the stimuli fro the world to entering your brain.
I think it also has to do with just a time when youare distracted, be it by frustraion in other parts off your life, sleep deprevation, overwehlming anxiety, or even depression. It's something for everyone to work through. And I'm shure it's someething that everyone has had a problem with from time to time. One thing to is just try and remove the thing that might be putting you into these moods of Brainblock. for me it was marching band and other anxiety problems. NOw the times when I just CANT play my horn are VERY few.
If these things last longer for a week and go for long periods of time you may want to go talk to a specialist or some type of councelor. But basicaly, just remove yourself from the thing that makes you go into these STATES of brainblock. If You are in these moods. Just stop playing for a day or so...it isn't going to kill you to go one day without practicing. Dont even think about practicing, watch a movie, go to the park. Just gget away And relax. Just the same way you would eal with any other stressors in your life. Treat the practicing problems(brainblock) like any other problem in that same sort of situation.
hope i could help. Just dont be afraid to take the time off.....o week may be something that's needed and will do good for the long run....
Aaron
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Sylvain
Date: 2001-04-17 14:43
It might sound odd to some of you but I really think that one can overpractice.
Which most of the time results in frustration...
If you have the time, and are not pushed by some competition, concert, etc... Then underpractice, touch the instrument a bit less do a few scales slow making sure they are all very even, play long tones, maybe an old "Rose etude" and use the rest of the time to go for a run or something completely unrelated.
I usually come back to the music a few days later as if it was the first time I'd seen it.
Practise very very slow, listen carefully to your sound visualizing embouchure, tongue position, fingers. Try not to play the piece in its entirety, until you make those difficult spots easy.
Good luck!
-S
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Cass
Date: 2001-04-17 16:11
I don't seem to get totally burned out very much but sometimes I go through times when I would rather not work hard on anything very challenging. It happens especially in the hot part of the summer. Then I just let it go, play tunes by ear for awhile until I get motivated. Now I am taking lessons again so I don't think I can get away with it this summer! This teacher is too smart to believe, "the dog ate my music." :-)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Brenda Siewert
Date: 2001-04-17 19:20
Everyone has a bad day now and again. I sometimes feel I have more than my share. But, I've learned we're more critical of ourselves than others are of us. Most great artists think of themselves as behind the curve (unless they're hopelessly arogant). I always remind myself that tomorrow I will do better. I'll keep practicing and learning how to avoid the mistakes I made today.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Cass
Date: 2001-04-18 13:49
Your saying "tomorrow I will do better" reminds me of something else I do to get motivated. Thinking about tomorrow makes me think I can put everything off. Then tomorrow I will think "tomorrow" again and it is always going to be something to do tomorrow instead of right now, so it never gets done. So I try to think "*today* I will do better" on one particular thing. I don't try to bite off something huge and ambitious, just think "I can do *that measure*" or that trill or whatever not necessarily perfeft but better than yesterday. Sometimes I will pick a key with a lot of sharps or flats and I will work on that scale and arpegio, just to get it down really smooth. It seems like not much but choosing a different little thing to work on everyday or every week adds up after awhile.
Also setting a small goal makes me feel I can really do it, and succeed. For me that is better than to just daydream about some big grand plan and then feel like a failure when it doesn't happen yet. I think about things that seemed impossible and depressing when I was in high school and now I can do them because I worked on them a little bit at a time.
One time at a seat assignment test (junior high) the conductor said "Play me a two octave scale in the key of B". I almost fell over dead, my worst music nightmare come true. I messed up totally and ended up in the third row. Now if somebody asked me that today, then I would just play them a scale in B and no big deal. So I think about that when I feel as if goals are too far away and overwhelming.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
