 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: J-MB
Date: 2016-06-16 02:31
Hello, I'm new here on the forum, and I need your guys's help on forming my self a practice routine. I will give you some background information. I am going to be doing marching band (optional). I play on a Buffet R13 clarinet. I have a Yamaha 250 student model clarinet for marching. I practice a lot. I could use some help on forming a practice routine for myself, thanks
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Author: brycon
Date: 2016-06-16 04:43
I find that Spring warm up an infuriatingly colossal waste of time. Spending 20 minutes playing every single pitch on the clarinet is the epitome of a time suck (Who has that much practice time to waste?).
I tried that warmup routine one summer (I had played for Spring in a masterclass and wanted to give it a try before dismissing it--he is a well-respected teacher and was quite nice to me in the class). But even now, thinking about doing that warmup makes me want to throw my clarinet into the wall. I just don't see how it could be a good use of anyone's practice time.
To the OP, as opposed to pointless breadth of Spring's routine, you should think smarter. Instead of taking someone else's program, design something (perhaps with the help of your teacher) to address your weaknesses, goals, etc. This presupposes you know what you need to work on; if you don't, maybe finding that out should be the first step.
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Author: J-MB
Date: 2016-06-16 04:46
brycon, For my warmup she has me do scales and such. So this spring warm up is perfect for me.
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2016-06-16 05:00
So, we have no idea, because you haven't told us, what you're doing now. Your reply to brycon implies that you have a private teacher. So you must already be practicing in some way. Maybe there's nothing wrong with what you're already doing.
"Scales and such" is not the Spring routine. What is the "such?"
Please tell us more.
Karl
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Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2016-06-16 05:01
Brycon is right, it depends on your needs and goals. If you want to play jazz, obviously, practice more in that direction. If you want to play orchestral, include more work on excerpts. And so forth.
Yes, you'll always work on technique - sound, fingers, articulation, style, musicianship, etc. How much of each depends on your strengths & weaknesses, and how much time you have. Listen to yourself play, and think about it.
Though I know little else of his, I have tremendous respect for Robert Spring for his warmup routine video. I can only wish I had technique like that. However, one might wonder if all that work on that routine has prepared him to play just that, more than other things.
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2016-06-16 05:26
I play a few long tones and then play the 2-page Klose exercise in thirds around the circle of fifths, rather slowly (86), concentrating on evenness.
Ken Shaw
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Author: brycon
Date: 2016-06-16 05:31
Quote:
However, one might wonder if all that work on that routine has prepared him to play just that, more than other things.
Also raises questions like, "Could he have achieved similar results with less effort/time?" Or "Could he have achieved better results with a more flexible and focused approach?"
How many other elite performers, such as professional athletes, do the same exact routine every single day? Perhaps at one point some did (though I question whether athletes were ever as stubborn as clarinetists), but advances in psychology, conditioning, and technology have shown them a better method. Why wouldn't we want to do the same?
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Author: J-MB
Date: 2016-06-16 06:09
I do take lessons, Im currently working on The Stamitz Concerto No.3. Rubank Advanced method 1. Warming up is scales. By Such I meant, long tones.. twelfths. thirds..
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Author: JHowell
Date: 2016-06-16 06:12
I'm not sure how wise it is to focus on "routine." Every day, I practice scales. Every day, I work on articulation in some fashion. Every day, I spend some time on a long-term technical challenge, something that I will be able to do eventually but don't quite have in hand yet. I believe firmly in fundamentals, and will spend time focusing on perfect legato and perfectly rhythmic finger motion, and strictly controlled prepared staccato. Every day, I focus on sound/pitch in some way, often specific to this week's music. Every day, I spend a bit of time keeping technical difficulties brushed up for upcoming repertoire. Most days, I'll read an etude or two, and most days I'll play a little Bach. if a big piece is going on or coming up that will get as much time as required.
But in general, my practice is targeted to specific needs, or to my vision of the player that I want to be, not to a prescribed routine. I will sometimes prescribe routines for students who need them and otherwise will not practice, but I think that practice that is driven by curiosity, by the rage to master, should be allowed to find its own course. I would rather give a student a goal of, say, Klose scales in thirds at mm=120, than an instruction to practice Klose a half hour a day. The student committed to the goal will do whatever it takes and improve; the student who dully puts in the time, not as much.
One of the crucial elements in progressing as quickly as possible is to set the right goals; to put the carrot at the right distance. So, rather than looking for a routine, I would suggest picking goals. Have you played all of Weber for the clarinet? Excellent goal, not beyond a good high school clarinetist. Have you played (well) all of Rose 40? 32? Cavallini? How's your articulation? 132? 152? Have you tried double tonguing?
So, it is impossible to tell you what do do without knowing what you can already do, but if you are curious enough to ask the question you are probably bright enough to figure out what accomplished players your age are doing and work out what you need to do to keep pace or get ahead.
Regarding the Spring videos, I think it is easy to mistake quantity for quality, and simply doing WHAT he does, without doing it HOW he does it, would be a colossal waste of time. But if you are practicing FOR super equality of finger motion and super clear articulation, I'm not sure you can spend too much time.
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Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2016-06-16 06:13
"How many other elite performers, such as professional athletes, do the same exact routine every single day? "
Some have, for years on end, with success. I don't know how the majority of athletes train nowadays, but I read that Arnold Schwarzenegger as a bodybuilder did the same workout routine week after week for much of his career. Also, if I recall, he didn't miss a single workout in two years, as reported by a workout partner at the time. That was probably two workouts a day, six days a week.
However, one cannot reliably extrapolate well from exceptional individuals - and possibly Robert Spring qualifies.
Just to clarify, the question was originally about a whole practice routine, not just warmup, no?
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Author: J-MB
Date: 2016-06-16 06:16
Well, it was supposed to be a whole practice routine post.
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Author: brycon
Date: 2016-06-16 06:51
Quote:
Some have, for years on end, with success. I don't know how the majority of athletes train nowadays, but I read that Arnold Schwarzenegger as a bodybuilder did the same workout routine week after week for much of his career. Also, if I recall, he didn't miss a single workout in two years, as reported by a workout partner at the time. That was probably two workouts a day, six days a week.
A weekly routine already provides much more variation than a daily routine (though I have no idea what exactly Arnold did). And if someone really loves what Spring does, it's easy to turn it into a weekly routine: do 7 long tones a day rather than 50; rotate which pitches you do each day; within a week you cover the whole range. It's the length and monotony of Spring's routine that bothers me (he told me in our class that he usually reads the newspaper while he goes through it--hardly the most productive and efficient use of time). At any rate, articles in The Bulletproof Musician (and I'm sure elsewhere) have shown that skills are more quickly acquired with variation than blocked set routines. For example:
http://www.bulletproofmusician.com/why-the-progress-in-the-practice-room-seems-to-disappear-overnight/
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Author: tucker ★2017
Date: 2016-06-16 07:03
Very interesting, Brycon. A book I read a few years ago is very similar: The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle.
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Author: Katrina
Date: 2016-06-16 15:36
I grew up in Canfield OH and am wondering who your private teacher is. If you're not comfortable mentioning it here, could you please email me? My email address is available if you click on my name.
I don't use Robert Spring's warm up, and hadn't really looked at it until now. It looks fairly good, with the exception of the long tones. I've never really been a proponent of long tones as a warm up. I use them merely as a short targeted exercise to ensure that one's air is moving well and that one's ab muscles are solid. Long tones are also good, IMO, for working on controlling smooth crescendos and decrescendos.
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Author: Agomongo
Date: 2016-06-19 09:41
Ricardo Morales practices 45 minutes then takes a 15 min break then 45 min then 15 and so on. Try that.
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