 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Skimalodeon
Date: 2025-02-16 21:48
Hello everyone,
I am a beginner clarinet player (playing a little over a year). Before this I was learning jazz piano for about 6 years. At the moment I don't have a teacher, but my most recent teacher said that the best thing for me would be to start playing with other people rather than taking lessons. I've found a beginners big band at an adult college near me, which says it accepts people who are grade 3/4 at ABRSM.
I wanted to ask what people thought about my practice in order to reach this. I'm not taking any exams but I've been working through the ABRSM jazz clarinet books, which have tunes which include a solo section. I'm now on the grade 3 book. But in the exam for ABRSM you only need to play 3 songs, but I'm trying to be able to play all 15 in the book (reading as I play). Although I'd say I never get any of them 100% perfect. I keep improving on them a little until I can generally play them then move on. What do you think of this way of working? Would it be better to follow what the exam is like and just really focus on only a few tracks, or keep going through them but maybe never nailing it completely? Could I really call myself grade 3 with this level / should I apply for the next term of beginner big band (at Morley college in London)?
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Author: m1964
Date: 2025-02-17 01:06
Skimalodeon wrote:
>... I am a beginner clarinet player (playing a little over a year).
> Before this I was learning jazz piano for about 6 years. At the
> moment I don't have a teacher, but my most recent teacher said
> that the best thing for me would be to start playing with other
> people rather than taking lessons...
I would strongly recommend getting a teacher- unless you are a very gifted musician/clarinet player, getting good fundamentals is the key to later advancement.
If you develop bad/improper habits now, it will be difficult to get rid of them later (please, don't ask how I know that).
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Author: ACCA
Date: 2025-02-17 15:00
I second the motion of getting a good teacher.
In my opinion. the ABRSM resources are a good way of assessing a pupils progress on playing jazz, not for learning it on your own, especially the improvising sections.
If you want to learn to play the pieces in there well, you need to:
-listen to different arrangements/ interpretations of the jazz tunes in there
-practice the "head" section of the jazz tunes with articulation and expression appropriate to the style
-work slowly on building up a good solo appropriate to the chord changes and style.
explore online options if there are no good tutors local to you. good luck!
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Author: Skimalodeon
Date: 2025-02-17 21:40
Thank you for your advice!
Yes as you say it's quite hard to assess myself. I will think about getting a teacher at some point.
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Author: Bennett ★2017
Date: 2025-02-17 22:31
Perhaps clarify what 'big band' means. Is it a jazz band with w/wo charts or a concert band playing all manner of (printed) music. Would you likely be improvising, playing melody, or playing harmony-accompaniment?
Let me share my experience which might help explain my questions. I joined a concert band after about a year of lessons, which included duets with my teacher where much of what I played was melody. So I join the no-audition-required band as one of several 3rd clarinets. Halfway through the first piece I didn't know what page we were on. I was not playing anything recognizable as melody; rather it was bips and boops, a long note here and there, etc. Counting, Counting, Counting was what I was failing at. I don't know what the ABRSM materials look like but I doubt that they spend much time on disconnected and seemingly non-musical passages which often are the plight of beginning band members.
Perhaps ask if you can observe a rehearsal or two sitting next to one of the clarinets; that might give you a better idea of what skills you might need or perhaps already have.
And I second the recommendations about getting a teacher - if only to tell you what to work on.
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Author: Skimalodeon
Date: 2025-02-18 20:24
Hello
Thank you for sharing that. Yes, I think that would be beyond me! It mentions on the course page that the focus is on simple jazz arrangements so I don't think I would be waiting through pages of orchestral material.
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