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Drills or practice tips to look further ahead??

Author: ben1948
Date: 2018-08-04 00:15

I'm currently on what feels like a 4 month plateau. A good share of the plateau seems to be that I am having trouble increasing the tempo at which I can play cleanly. I'm not sure of the best way to describe my current level, but about the most beats per minute I can manage is currently in the 260-280 range--which means the fastest tempo I have a hope of managing eighth notes is about 120-140. At that tempo, sixteenth notes are almost unplayable other than for a very short burst, and 32nd notes become unthinkable. Even the Adagio movement from Mozart's Clarinet Concerto, which I desperately want to be able to play competently, and for which indicated tempos I've seen are around quarter note = 50, is too fast for me in certain spots with 32nd notes.

I am fairly sure that one of the things holding me up is that I don't consistently look far enough ahead of the note I am currently playing. I'm not sure how far ahead good players look when they are playing. The best I can do is 3 or 4 notes, and all too often I slide back to basically just looking from note to note and crash when I "unexpectedly" hit the tougher sections.

Is this a common issue with players in the intermediate range? Do any of you have any suggestions for drills or other practice tips?

I am well aware of the standard wisdom that you have to play cleanly and slow before you can play cleanly and fast, but I don't seem to be getting any faster.

Ben Withers - began clarinet 2014 at age 66
benjamin.f.withers@gmail.com

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