 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: JasonOlney
Date: 2015-10-28 01:43
So, this is probably an unorthodox question...
My day job is as a receptionist. I have piles of free time and little to no supervision. I can listen to some music and pretty much do what I'd like between answering phones. I've been listening to pieces that I'm playing in my various orchestras, listening to some of the Marcellus masterclasses and reading articles about clarinet playing.
Any other advice for ways to make my time more productive? I can't play but I could potentially bring in an instrument to finger through passages.
Links to articles or suggestions of rep to study are very welcome.
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Author: JonTheReeds
Date: 2015-10-28 03:17
Get a drum rhythm book like MODERN READING TEXT IN 4/4 and practise reading different rhythms. Tap your foot to keep time and tap out the rhythm with your hand
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The older I get, the better I was
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Author: nellsonic
Date: 2015-10-28 08:25
Following up on JonTheReeds, there are some good apps for working on rhythm. I think some time spent with them can be beneficial for a player at almost any level, provided that there is a wide range of difficulty available within the app. ReadRhythm is pretty good and has some tricky/unusual combinations at the top levels. It can be set to demand a very high degree of precision. It's for the ipad but may be available for other platforms as well. Others may be better. I haven't done a full survey of what's available, but this is a good one.
Embouchure exercises such as this one might also be beneficial:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4d2gpRysZY
This particular exercise has been very helpful to some of my students.
Breathing exercises are another idea.
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Author: JasonOlney
Date: 2015-10-29 18:25
Good ideas! Rhythm can always improve. I'm also going to start some score studying- I haven't really done much of that since grad school.
And Philip- boss suggested I bring in a book to read or watch a movie on my work computer. I'd rather be productive when I'm unproductive.
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Author: ClarinetRobt
Date: 2015-10-29 19:46
There's a famous study with basketball players shooting free throws.
One group practice on the court 30 minutes everyday.
Another simply thought about going through the motions: perfect form, execution, and making the shot in their mind.
The last group did nothing: no practice, no thought, zero.
The study supposedly concluded the group the actually practiced improved the most. But closely behind were the folks that simply thought about the activity. Obviously, the 'do nothing' crowd saw no improvement or got worse in percentages.
My point is...grab some etudes, concertos and look at the music. Imagine playing it perfectly (fingering along with a pencil?). That activity might just surprise you.
Also practice on a pencil figure combinations that are notorious for 'flipping' on clarinet. High Ab to Bb, for example. You can do some training to improve muscle memory to move the fingers exactly together.
~Robt L Schwebel
Mthpc: Behn Vintage
Lig: Ishimori, Behn Delrin
Reed: Legere French Cut 3.75/4, Behn Brio 4
Horns: Uebel Superior (Bb,A), Ridenour Lyrique, Buffet R13 (Eb)
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Author: nellsonic
Date: 2015-10-30 08:14
Score study is a great idea. Also learning more about music history and performance practices, and the non-clarinet works of the masters. There's an infinite amount to learn and the more you understand the more you can bring to your performance.
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Author: Katrina
Date: 2015-10-30 22:15
The bulletproofmusician blog has lots of thoughts about practicing with and without the instrument. It's a great resource!
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Author: Chris_C ★2017
Date: 2015-10-31 21:46
One of our clarinet section used to sit on the bus on his way to work just fingering scales for 45 minutes on an "air clarinet", and the practice certainly showed in his playing!
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2015-10-31 22:33
Clarinet Robt,
I believe you are referring the book by Maxwell Maltz called Psycho-cybernetics from the early 1960s. There is a newer addition available.
Whether this technique works in any or all cases may still be open for discussion. I'll let you decide on the validity of Dr. Maltz's work.
My problem with the concept is part of playing the clarinet is part psycho motor and another part is cognitive. How psycho-cybernetics impact this paradigm is pretty elusive in my mind since I'm pretty quantitative about most things.
HRL
Post Edited (2015-10-31 22:38)
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Author: James Langdell
Date: 2015-11-01 00:20
I'll add a vote for working with MODERN READING TEXT IN 4/4 and the follow-up volume ODD TIME READING TEXT. Great resources for any musician.
One bit of silent practice I found useful is to spend time thinking through each note-to-note change. I'd count the number of fingers moving up, moving down, and holding stable before executing the fingering. Being aware of all those simultaneous movements improved my technique.
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