 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: clarinet713
Date: 2001-10-12 02:42
Hello all
I was wondering if it is rude to swab your clarinet on stage in a middle of a performance? And if so, where would you keep the swab (I am a female and in my recital I will be wearing a dress and NO I won't pull it out of my chest :-)) Would you just carry it on stage and set it on the stand? Please help? Any other tips on being a polite performer would be appreciated.
One more thing-I am terrible at aural skills-it is just NOT a natural talent that I have-so ummm will that be a bad thing when I get to grad school?
Thanks
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Author: William
Date: 2001-10-12 04:06
Swab when ever you need to--it's ok. Lay it descretely (?) on the stand, floor or piano--where ever you can pick it up without too much hassle.
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Author: bob gardner
Date: 2001-10-12 04:12
All of the performers at the fest carried a swab on stage and used them whenever--
if it ok for them it's ok for you.
It's better them blowing bubbles!!!!!!!!!!
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Author: dennis
Date: 2001-10-12 05:27
clarinet713.....no, it's not rude to swab during pauses, movements,etc. Consider the consequences of not swabbing when you have the opportunity.....stopping to blow out the condensation from the 'usual' froggy notes. I've seen brass players use the 'water key' during a few measures rest.....and they don't carry around a tin cup either. Being the other gender, I'm unable to offer a location as to where you could/would keep the swab. If you need to turn pages, then perhaps using the stand would not be an ideal place. I can share in your concern of being a "polite performer". Stage manners are graded !!! Dennis Najoom (principal trumpet Milwaukee Sym for 30 yrs) and I attended Hartt College. In recitals, we both violated Moshe Paranov's cardinal rule of stage manners......held the instrument in one hand and put our other hand in our pants pocket.....hmmmm oh well (:o))
Your other concern regarding oral skills......(I assume you meant oral and not aural) rather than view your oral skills as a "bad thing" later on, perhaps a more positive view is it's something that could use strengthening and improvement. In today's business climate, communication skills and one's ability to communicate clearly, how they express/project themself, is an ever increasingly element of importance. If YOU feel a need for improvement, have you considered speech therapy, communication classes, etc.? BTW.....only Ivan was terrible.
A suggestion on your first concern (swab). Go into the artist profiles for Buffet, Yamaha, etc. and look for a female clarinetist. When the name is 'clicked on', the profile comes up and sometimes an email address is given. Contact them direct and ask what they do and what is professionally acceptable.
(:o)
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Author: Aussie Nick
Date: 2001-10-12 08:36
About a month ago when I played Weber F minor concerto with my youth orchestra, I used my pull-through (swab) at the end of the 2nd movement, and I could hear people murmering...and after the performance some of my violin friends who came to watch started laughing and saying how it was funny when I cleaned my instrument....and I asked what was funny about it, and they said it's just unusual isn't it? And I said nah it isn't that unusual. Just thought I'd share that story with you. :P
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Author: beejay
Date: 2001-10-12 12:57
Don't forget to carry a few cigarette papers to dry gurgling pads. Cut the gummed bit off before you use them, or you will soon have stuck pads. I recently managed to find ungummed papers, which are perfect.
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Author: Lynn
Date: 2001-10-12 15:28
If you're wearing a long dress, it's easy to hide things under your chair because your dress will hide it.
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Author: Blake
Date: 2001-10-12 15:29
Its a given for our clarinet section that we swab between movements. One thing that I use which might be easier is to use one of the pad saver type swabs. I dont use them routinely to swab and there are MANY postings in the archives on the pros/cons on these.. in any event, since i double on Eb and am going back and forth during rehearsal and concert, I bought one of the extra plastic shelves that easily attach to the bottom of your stand and put my extra reeds, cigarette papers, tuner, pencil right there. My reed caps fit nicely there and dont fall on the floor. Theyre very cheap - like under $5 and available from many of the Sneezy sponsors. I have a Mannasett stand so have their attaching shelf. Good luck with the solo!
Blake Velde
Arlington, VA
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Author: clarinet713
Date: 2001-10-12 15:40
Thanks for the input-I did mean aural skills-as in sight singing, melodic/harmonic dictation. Dennis-I would be interested in reading those rules you were talking about! Thanks again!
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Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 2001-10-12 15:43
You do what you need to do to keep the instrument playing right. A violin soloist can retune at the end of a movement, and nobody thinks anything of it. Running a swab through your clarinet is no different.
Men usually keep a swab in a jacket pocket. If you're a soloist and are using music, get a stand with a second shelf and put the swab on it. I agree that for women, it would be indelicate to pull it out of your bodice, but if you're a soloist with the music memorized, you have certain privileges. Ask the concertmaster to keep the swab on his/her stand. If it's a man, have him put it in his pocket. After all, if a violin soloist breaks a string, the concertmaster routinely switches instruments. If the conductor uses a "conductor's stand" with a shelf beneath the desk part, I've seen soloists put the swab there.
Imagine if you played horn. Horn players have to empty condensation out of 7 or 8 crooks after every movement. Harry Berv (who played in the NBC Symphony under Toscanini) told me he had never seen a picture of the orchestra in there wasn't at least one horn player with the crooks out, shaking the water out of the tubes.
In my woodwind quintet, everybody swabs after every movement. I once had a screw work lose during a concert. At the end of the movement, I just got up and said "We'll have to take a short break. A screw on my clarinet has come loose and a key's about to drop off, and I'll have to get a screwdriver out of my case to tighten it up." Everyone relaxed, and there was no sense of etiquette violations.
Relax and do what's necessary. If you behave as if it's nothing special, the audience will take it that way.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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Author: dennis
Date: 2001-10-12 18:15
clarinet713........feel free to email me at wtail9@ao.com
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