 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: ofer
Date: 2023-03-13 07:01
I’m looking for ways to train the fingers without the clarinet.
The reason for his is that I play clarinet about an hour and half each session, and this is the fun part, except working on long notes.
I rather do the fingers training while watching T.V.
Any suggestions for exercises,?books about this topic? Gadgets maybe?
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Author: Tom H
Date: 2023-03-13 08:17
I have on occasion practiced my clarinet silently while watching TV. Sometimes if I have a stomach ache & don't feel like blowing. I figure finger exercise actually on the clarinet makes sense.
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Author: SunnyDaze
Date: 2023-03-13 13:55
Hi Ofer,
I have some good exercises that I do.
I always struggle with my fourth fingers and pinkie fingers not being agile enough and I have an exercise for that that really works well. What I do is to imagine that my fourth finger and pinkie finger are the two legs of a person who is riding a bicycle and I pedal with those two fingers, while bracing the pad of my third finger on top of the nail of my second finger to keep it still. I really find this helps enormously with developing and maintining agility in those fingers. I just do this all the time when I am walking about the place, so I get in several hours of practise a day.
I made a quick video so you can see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9veb3QVFWI
I also have the left shift key of my computer keyboard disabled, to force me always to use my right pinkie to press shift. That has helped a lot with giving my mind training material to map the position of my right pinkie relative to my hand.
I tried switching the buttons on my computer mouse so that I have to use different fingers to click, but that didn't work that well tbh.
Jennifer
Adult learner, Grade 3
Equipment: Yamaha Custom CX Bb, Fobes 10K CF mp,
Legere Soprano Sax American Cut #2, Vandoren Optimum German Lig.
Post Edited (2023-03-13 19:17)
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2023-03-13 20:13
There are a few notes on that.
Firstly if you are actually placing your consciousness elsewhere, then you are not reinforcing much as far as clarinet oriented fingering goes. I have certainly practiced while the television is on for sure, but it is an "in-and-out" process......one suffers for the other. Or rather, you can get twice as much of either done in the same amount of time if you bother to not do the "other one."
Doing exercises that are strictly "finger exercises" without the clarinet I believe to be very limited in benefit. You can try reinforcing rhythmic coordination of the fingers with each other by maintaining a steady pulse to your movement and even adding some "snap" to the movements both upward and downward. However I find having the clarinet in hand while doing silent, FULLY CONSCIOUS fingerings of scales and exercises (not playing) is much more beneficial. Of course that requires thinking while you do it and we are back to the first note.
Finally, over the years I've been enamored with the idea that my stubborn, uncoordinated fingers and muscles had the most deleterious effect on holding back technique. But of late, I would say that READING (identifying the notes, intervals, exact scales and arpeggios efficiently) has a much more direct effect on fluency of technique. That is, if you KNOW the names of the notes as you move along a work, your fingers will find the right place.
The bottom line though is to be PRESENT and CONSCIOUS as much as possible for whatever time you practice and however you practice
...............Paul Aviles
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Author: lydian
Date: 2023-03-13 21:37
+1000
Practicing while focused on something else is a complete waste of time aside from strength building exercises. You won't be reinforcing any mental pathways if you aren't thinking about what you're doing.
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Author: SunnyDaze
Date: 2023-03-13 22:25
Hi Ofer,
I think you said you were an adult learner with a busy life, is that right?
I think this might be one of those things where there is a difference between the adult learners who only have a tiny amount of time to devote to playing, and the professionals who really have a lot of time and focus to give to it.
I really enjoyed the book on Kalmen Opperman where it said that he felt that only half of practise time should actually be spent playing. As an adult learner with limited time to actually play, I've tried to really take that on board, and find other ways to develop/maintain my skills when I'm not playing.
This is the book: https://internationalmusician.org/kalmen-opperman/
Jennifer
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Author: kilo
Date: 2023-03-13 23:24
John Coltrane had a broom handle with bottle caps tacked to it for this sort of thing. But I don't know if it was really that effective. He was known for his marathon practice sessions and I think he just felt out of place if he wasn't fingering scale and chord patterns.
Exercises to develop general strength and flexibility (as Jen describes) are really useful but I don't think that is the same thing as training for specific fingering problems. The sort of touch that is needed to learn a complex series of alternating right and left pinky fingers, working between throat tones and the clarion register, or (gasp!) sliding on the stack doesn't really translate unless you can feel the resistance of the keys and their exact position. I find that when I run into a tricky fingering problem, after I've mapped out and labeled the sequence, the best thing is to practice playing that passage with concentration and a good abdomen full of air.
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Author: ofer
Date: 2023-03-15 00:34
Thanks everyone for the answers.
I worked on the bicycle whole day. That’s really interesting idea.
Tonight I will try to train silently with my clarinet
I ordered the kalmen-opperman book.
Jennifer, I am a adult, 48 year old to be exact.
I started playing the clarinet two year ago and it’s really really hard.
I don’t have a busy life but I want to spend the time I’m playing the clarinet just for playing.
When it comes to making sound, I have some exercises that I can do without the clarinet. I still have to train long tones, but after doing the clarinetless exercises 5 minutes of long tones is enough (for the level I want to reach).
I want to works on my fingers in a similar fashion.
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Author: SunnyDaze
Date: 2023-03-15 01:15
Hi Ofer,
Thanks for explaining. I'm in a similar position. I'm 47 and have been learning since spring 2018. It's tricky with so many other committments, but it's definitely possible.
It's really worth reading the current and old threads on this site. There is a ton of good information on here.
Good luck with your efforts. I hope it goes well.
Jennifer
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Author: Gerwin
Date: 2023-03-15 10:21
Agree completely with Paul. For humans, there is no such thing as multitasking. What people refer to as multitasking is mostly taskswitching, which is inefficient and energy consuming, and each task is done slower. When you practice, practice, and when you need to do other things, do those first.
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Author: eac
Date: 2023-03-16 21:27
For those who are curious about why it is difficult to move ring finger separately from little finger, this link describes the pertinent anatomy:
https://www.indiatimes.com/technology/science-and-future/this-is-why-it-s-so-much-harder-to-move-only-your-ring-finger-on-its-own-than-other-fingers-341160.html
Liz Leckey
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