 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2024-10-12 17:48
The local community band played a Christmas concert last December. The clarinet section has just five members, while there's twice that many trumpets, and plenty of other brass. I invariably play principal 1st, though some seasons I don't join at all. When I'm there, I work hard to serve the band by attending all the rehearsals and practicing the music to as close to perfect as I can get it.
Outnumbered, it's often a challenge to balance the frequently prominent 1st cl part. People keep speaking of me as "leading the section", and sometimes I'm the "amateur as good as a pro." Egad, that messes with me. I'm really a clueless, solitary, self-teaching nobody making the whole thing up in his head and dreading any limelight. I've offered to play 3rd cl in the past, an interesting part that needs the support, but no, they need me on first, and oh, hey, want to play this-or-that solo piece?
It's the Christmas concert, we're on stage. We're well-rehearsed and ready to make the music; my parts are pretty much memorized. I'm keyed all the way up, the public is watching, gotta focus, gotta listen, be careful, no mistakes, play in tune, blend in or sing out, adrenaline on. I'm ready, we're ready, it's going to go well. Long intro speech by the announcer, l-o-o-n-g, man, hurry up. Jitters. Ok, finally, first piece is about to start. Conductor raises his arms, the band breathes in. The downbeat comes . . .
And I play the opening motif, double forte as written, in tune, all there. Except, I omit the real first bar of 4-beats rest that's in the part. That bar is supposed to be the trumpets' statement of the motif, and the clarinets are supposed to come in over it in the 2nd bar. We've played it so many times in rehearsal. Aw, ess, I quickly realize my error and adjust. But one of our 2nd clarinets followed me ("the leader.") That 2nd is a wonderful intelligent guy who loves to play, but even though he can count just fine, he never comes in anywhere until someone else does. So that's what he did to start the first piece, he came in when he heard me, but he didn't correct course for some time. That predictably confused some of the other section members.
Though startled, the conductor smoothly led us out of that little morass, and the concert by all accounts went well. My specific memory of it is unclear, except for recalling the overpowering wish to avoid having been born. I don't know if I'll ever get over that blatant blunder. I sat out this summer and fall from the band, not that they didn't ask for me a number of times. I practice daily, some things are improved, yada yada, but that kind of unthinkable mental error could undeniably happen again, and practice doesn't seem to apply. Life, I hate you.
Anyone else have a worst playing error they ever made that they care to share? And, how do you subsequently work the memory of it into your simulation of reality?
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Tom H
Date: 2024-10-12 22:48
Not at a concert, but this past summer we were playing Raymond Overture (Ambrose Thomas) in the pro band where I am principal. On one of the solos there were a bunch of tied half notes before the note changed. Unfortunately I counted them in 2/4 but it was in 4/8......Fortunately only at a rehearsal. Since I only play in summers now, every once in a while my mind slips and I count something wrong-- that I would never do when I was playing year round in a lot of places.
Then there was the time c 1975 when I was subbing for the principal in the local symphony and we did the Dvorak New World. Coming to the solo I had rests before it and farted around with my reed. Reed and ligature both went to the floor. I did manage to keep counting and retrieve them in time for the solo. When I was basically on the ground picking them up the conductor wondered why the seat was empty. He was also my high school private teacher.
The Most Advanced Clarinet Book--
tomheimer.ampbk.com/ Sheet Music Plus item A0.1001315, Musicnotes product no. MB0000649.
Boreal Ballad for unaccompanied clarinet-Sheet Music Plus item A0.1001314.
Musicnotes product no. MNO287475
Post Edited (2024-10-13 01:30)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: zhangray4
Date: 2024-10-12 23:12
9-10 years ago when I was a freshman in high school, I was selected to be a part of the NAfME All National Honor Band. The conductor was Eugene Corporon. I had the privilege of playing 2nd chair clarinet. We did a lot of rehearsing and the time came to perform on stage at the historic Grand Ole Opry House. was excited and a bit nervous for the concert.
except I couldn't play a damn thing. I think my reed dried up, or maybe it just died on me then. still to this day I'm not entirely sure. I was only a freshman then and so I was inexperienced, didn't bring backup reeds with me. I barely played anything and mostly fake played the entire concert.
it was probably my highest musical achievement in high school other than getting accepted into a top music program for college, so very unlucky for my final performance at the concert to be such a failure. I was, and still am, very disappointed by it. but you just gotta remember it's all in the past and life moves on...
-- Ray Zhang
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: LFabian
Date: 2024-10-17 15:59
My reed was failing. Altissimo was stiff and repositioning was constant. There was NO intermission so that I could get another reed. I was stuck with it so I played essentially high G downward. There was plenty of resistance and I breathed more and in shorter measures. The conductor did his part. Never looked at me. Later after the concert, I told him what happened. He shrugged. He probably remembered that old phrase “**** happens when you least expected it”.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
