The Clarinet BBoard

The Clarinet BBoard The C4 standard

New Topic | Go to Top | Go to Topic | Search | Help/Rules | Smileys/Notes | Log In

Previous Message | Next Message

Re: Online Bought Leblanc/Backun Legacy Questions

Author: seabreeze
Date: 2017-03-27 07:02

Don't just play whatever is easy for you and makes you sound good. Play some hard passages that give you trouble. Be sure to play soft entrances like the Pines of Rome solo, fast staccato like the Midsummer's Night Scherzo, prominent melodic passages from Brahms Symphonies, passages from the second Brahms sonata that hang on that pesky throat Bb and so on. Try some passages that highlight the forked fingering for the altissimo F. Does it speak easily? Is it in tune? By all means play with other instruments. If you play regularly with a band, bring the Bb clarinet to the rehearsal. Bring both to a symphony rehearsal if you can.

Play something with a piano that is an acoustic challenge to sound well on the clarinet. For example, the second movement of the Saint-Saens Clarinet Sonata--the Lento in 3/2 where the lowest notes on the clarinet have to blend with the piano. How are the tuning and balance in that pairing? Some clarinets tend to sound thin like kazoos or shapeless like fog horns. Yours should sound rich and focused.

Ask other people who are used to your playing how you sound on these new instruments. Try as much music as possible, in different settings and instrumental combinations. Play with strings, brass, and percussion, as well as other woodwind instruments. If you can find a singer to do something with you for a page or two (Shepherd on the Rock), how well the instrument blends there will also tell you a lot. Duets with another clarinetist can also tell you something.

Make music with the clarinets, and if the music sounds good to you and to other musicians, then the clarinets are also probably good.

Post Edited (2017-03-27 07:05)

Reply To Message | Avail. Forums | Flat View

Newer Topic | Older Topic

Topics