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 Re: Was my lack of improvement of my tone quality my fault or my teacher’s fault?
Author: nellsonic 
Date:   2020-09-20 05:11

You don't mention anything about actually enjoying music or the clarinet, only the desire to make the All-State band. While such goals can be powerful motivators, they are only sign-posts along the way - they are not the journey.

You said you quit band over this. That's a red flag. What's really going on here? Why was making All-State the end-all and be-all for you? What did you think you would gain from it? If you are not in band now are you even eligible for All-State?

If your pursuit was purely for the thrill of competitive victory I would recommend that you find something else to devote yourself to, something that provides some satisfaction to you just in the act of spending time doing it.

That doesn't mean you should stop playing clarinet altogether, it just means you should figure out why you want what you want so that you can make sure your aims are in alignment with what might actually make you happy. Accomplishments in and of themselves are hollow unless they are a natural result of a passion for what you are doing.

For me making these groups was always about two things 1) the actual experience of the music and the people involved and 2) my growth as a musician in the process of preparing for them and participating in them. Sure, I was also competitive by nature but I was lucky enough to have understood that competition at that level is just a tool to be used for improvement and not a measure of my worth as a person or a musician, for better or worse.

The answer to your question probably doesn't matter until you explore your reasons for what you do more deeply. My guess is that your current attitude about your playing and what it represents would make you nearly unteachable by just about any teacher. I'm sure that comes across as harsh. Perhaps it's not as dire as you make it sound, but I can only respond to the tone and content of what you wrote here.

Ultimately your attitude is the biggest limiter of your altitude if it is not optimistically directed towards your goals, regardless of your most recent results.

Yes, we all get down on ourselves from time to time but if that's not a passing and relatively rare phenomenon that's likely where your real problem is.

By all means try some other teachers. That's probably a good idea. Just be sure that you are ready to enthusiastically explore and apply what they will offer.

Anders

Post Edited (2020-09-20 13:00)
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 Topics Author  Date
 Was my lack of improvement of my tone quality my fault or my teacher’s fault?  new
Deranged Winner 2020-09-19 03:14 
 Re: Was my lack of improvement of my tone quality my fault or my teacher’s fault?  new
kdk 2020-09-19 04:59 
 Re: Was my lack of improvement of my tone quality my fault or my teacher’s fault?  new
Paul Aviles 2020-09-19 05:35 
 Re: Was my lack of improvement of my tone quality my fault or my teacher’s fault?  new
Deranged Winner 2020-09-19 06:05 
 Re: Was my lack of improvement of my tone quality my fault or my teacher’s fault?  new
Matt74 2020-09-19 06:38 
 Re: Was my lack of improvement of my tone quality my fault or my teacher’s fault?  new
Matt74 2020-09-19 06:54 
 Re: Was my lack of improvement of my tone quality my fault or my teacher’s fault?  new
Ken Lagace 2020-09-19 17:19 
 Re: Was my lack of improvement of my tone quality my fault or my teacher’s fault?  new
Ed 2020-09-19 18:18 
 Re: Was my lack of improvement of my tone quality my fault or my teacher’s fault?  new
Slowoldman 2020-09-19 21:46 
 Re: Was my lack of improvement of my tone quality my fault or my teacher’s fault?  new
brycon 2020-09-19 21:39 
 Re: Was my lack of improvement of my tone quality my fault or my teacher’s fault?  new
RKing 2020-09-19 21:56 
 Re: Was my lack of improvement of my tone quality my fault or my teacher’s fault?  new
Ed 2020-09-19 22:53 
 Re: Was my lack of improvement of my tone quality my fault or my teacher’s fault?  new
kdk 2020-09-19 23:25 
 Re: Was my lack of improvement of my tone quality my fault or my teacher’s fault?  new
brycon 2020-09-19 23:56 
 Re: Was my lack of improvement of my tone quality my fault or my teacher’s fault?  new
nellsonic 2020-09-20 05:11 
 Re: Was my lack of improvement of my tone quality my fault or my teacher’s fault?  new
Ken Lagace 2020-09-20 05:45 
 Re: Was my lack of improvement of my tone quality my fault or my teacher’s fault?  new
Deranged Winner 2020-09-20 06:15 
 Re: Was my lack of improvement of my tone quality my fault or my teacher’s fault?  new
donald 2020-09-20 09:19 
 Re: Was my lack of improvement of my tone quality my fault or my teacher’s fault?  new
Deranged Winner 2020-09-20 10:53 
 Re: Was my lack of improvement of my tone quality my fault or my teacher’s fault?  new
Fuzzy 2020-09-20 10:11 
 Re: Was my lack of improvement of my tone quality my fault or my teacher’s fault?  new
Tony F 2020-09-20 10:18 
 Re: Was my lack of improvement of my tone quality my fault or my teacher’s fault?  new
Deranged Winner 2020-09-20 10:51 
 Re: Was my lack of improvement of my tone quality my fault or my teacher’s fault?  new
nellsonic 2020-09-20 12:43 
 Re: Was my lack of improvement of my tone quality my fault or my teacher’s fault?  new
Ken Lagace 2020-09-20 15:11 
 Re: Was my lack of improvement of my tone quality my fault or my teacher’s fault?  new
Deranged Winner 2020-09-20 15:24 
 Re: Was my lack of improvement of my tone quality my fault or my teacher’s fault?  new
kdk 2020-09-20 17:23 
 Re: Was my lack of improvement of my tone quality my fault or my teacher’s fault?  new
Deranged Winner 2020-09-20 17:48 
 Re: Was my lack of improvement of my tone quality my fault or my teacher’s fault?  new
rmk54 2020-09-20 18:04 
 Re: Was my lack of improvement of my tone quality my fault or my teacher’s fault?  new
kdk 2020-09-20 18:10 
 Re: Was my lack of improvement of my tone quality my fault or my teacher’s fault?  new
Deranged Winner 2020-09-20 19:09 
 Re: Was my lack of improvement of my tone quality my fault or my teacher’s fault?  new
EbClarinet 2020-09-21 04:18 
 Re: Was my lack of improvement of my tone quality my fault or my teacher’s fault?  new
Jeroen 2020-09-28 13:43 
 Re: Was my lack of improvement of my tone quality my fault or my teacher’s fault?  new
bradfordlloyd 2020-09-28 16:33 
 Re: Was my lack of improvement of my tone quality my fault or my teacher’s fault?  new
Deranged Winner 2020-09-28 17:47 
 Re: Was my lack of improvement of my tone quality my fault or my teacher’s fault?  new
rmk54 2020-09-28 17:43 
 Re: Was my lack of improvement of my tone quality my fault or my teacher’s fault?  new
Mark Charette 2020-09-28 18:56 


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