 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Stephanie
Date: 2001-12-31 21:12
Hey! I was just bored and I came up with a question. I'm just curious, but where do you all practice? I live at home and even though I would like to practice for more than an hour or so in the nice, warm house, I can't because it drives everyone crazy! I usually go out to my dad's shop ir it is heated, but it's not half the time. I just want to know if anyone else has a problem like this. Do you drive everyone in the house crazy? Oh, by the way, HAPPY NEW YEAR! Woohoo! 1 more year til it's the year that I graduate!
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Author: Jo
Date: 2001-12-31 21:25
I have a problem that I really don't like people to hear me practice. I love to preform, but I don't like anyone hearing the process- kind of like a painter that may not want someone to see the painting before it's done and signed. I usually try to get out of the house and practice elsewhere (I'm a teacher, so I can practice at school) or I wait until the house is empty.
That's my story.
Good luck!!
Jo
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Author: Pam
Date: 2001-12-31 22:11
I practice in a little room off of our bedroom. I'm kinda the same as Jo in that I like to be left alone when I practice so no one else has to hear my mistakes. On the other hand, I love to perform and smaltz it up on occasion!
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Author: bob gardner
Date: 2001-12-31 22:16
have you ever notice that no one hears you practice excepy yourself. I believe that everyone else just tunes you out (except the dogs and cats).
So don't worry about missing a note or the beat. No one is listening.
if someone else is in the house ask them what your were just playing. 9.34 times out of 10 they haven't a clue.
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Author: clarinet713
Date: 2001-12-31 22:16
I don't like people hearing me practice either. I practice either in my bedroom or in the spare bedroom in my house when I am home, when I am at school, I spend a lot of quality time in the practice rooms at my college. I like to practice late at night and usually I'll take over the recital hall because no one is in there late at night usually. I sometimes practice in the art gallery when no one is there too, it makes practicing a little more interesting. And I have played in the bathroom before too, nice acoustics :-) oh and the elevator and stairwell-until people start looking, then I run to the practice room hey you have to have some variety sometimes!!!!
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Author: Kate
Date: 2001-12-31 22:20
Hi, I'm bored. It's quarter past eleven in UK and so i thought i'd come in here cos i have nowt else to do.
Umm, if u wanna know where I practice, it's basically anywhere I get my clarinet out.....at school before registration, assembly, break (tho always on my own except for band practice obviously) lunch...it doesn't bother me where as long as there aren't any people there......I do love to perform but it's embarrassing trying to play something and having ppl listen!!!!! I practice at home, always in my room and in the music room, and also my brother's room just to annoy him. He's 18 (2 years older), really gets on his nerves. Mind you, it's payback for the times he shouts things at my friends when I'm on the phone. And he plays the trumpet so you can imagine what it's like in our house!!! v.v.v. noisy!!!!!! It used to annoy people when I began the clarinet cos I was always squeaking but now I'm advanced at it so most of my practice is technical work and proper studies, not squeaking, unless I get a bad reed etc.......
Oh dear, I seem to have babbled on,
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
From
Kate (and Kris, the trumpet bro who's reading this over my shoulder!!!!!)
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Author: Tim2
Date: 2001-12-31 22:32
When we built our house, I did a lot of research on soundproofing. My wife, whose hearing is very keen and is prone to migranes, is the reason I did this. So what we have is a room that is soundproof for the most part, I'd say 95% and she can watch TV while I practice in the room.
It wasn't a lot of extra money either. The walls and ceiling have have a special acoustic drywall put in, the name escapes me for the moment. The floor has a lot of padding on it and we also have an outside door to the room so the doorway is sealed when it is shut.
That was our solution. Before that, even though I would shut the door to the room, I would be heard through the whole house.
I have no problem with others hearing me. My wife understands what kind of practice it take to learn things well.
There was a time where I practiced in our church, but only for a short period of time.
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Author: willie
Date: 2001-12-31 22:32
A place to practice is a big problem for a lot of folks. Some of the kids at our school say they can't practice because the parents don't want to hear it. One girl has to go into her closet and use it as a sound barrier but it does allow her to practice and not be to noisy. One ingenious kid, made a large "tent" in his room with large quilts and some portable clothes racks so he could practice. It knocked down the sound quite a bit. When I went to his house for his lesson we had a ball playing in that thing as he was very proud of it. I, myself will be fixing up our old chicken coop (they're gone, we ate 'em) as my 13 yr old son just got a drum set for Chistmas and he IS driving us nuts. It is big enough though we can make a small studio out of it.
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Author: SCD
Date: 2002-01-01 01:39
I hate having someone hear me practice too. When I'm at college, I practiced in the practice rooms. While they weren't sound proof, it was mostly other music music majors, so I didn't seem to worry as much. At home, it's a completely different story. My parents would love to hear me practice; they always beg me, "Play us a song." Maybe it's some sort of rebellion thing, but I refuse to let them hear me practice. The big problem is that 90% of the time, one or both of my parents are home, resulting in very little practice time for me. Because of the holidays, I don't think I've played my clarinet in 3 weeks! :( There is a college with practice rooms nearby, but they are on vacation as well. Besides, these rooms are only open on Tuesday and Thursday nights for 3 hours, or something like that. Alas...
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Author: ron b
Date: 2002-01-01 05:50
I don't mind people listening to me play, practice, whatever - it's all the same to me. I usually try to find someplace out of the way - garage/shop (yes, it's kinda cold out there now) or an unoccupied room. I don't like people commenting while I'm trying to concentrate unless we're working together on something.
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Author: David Pegel
Date: 2002-01-01 06:03
I made a deal with my parents:
I practice in my room and ONLY in my room when everyone else is home.
I cannot play any notes above altissimo G, not even by accident, unless I'm the only one in the house.
I cannot torture my cat, so she must not be anywhere while I'm playing clarion because it bothers her. (Gosh, cats are so finicky.)
I cannot practice between 9:00 pm and 7:00 am
I must play pleasantly. No flutter tonguing or intentional squeaking.
I CANNOT experiment with a five-octave scale, no matter how impossible it is.
I must not surprise anyone (whatever that means)
In return, they will put up with my practicing for five hours scattered throughout the day.
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Author: Ralph Katz
Date: 2002-01-01 12:57
David Pegel:
Looks like you get the award for the first posting for 2002.
Happy New Year!
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Author: Kirk
Date: 2002-01-01 12:59
I am like Ron B., I don't mind if anyone else listens as long as they keep quiet and don't disturb my concentration. If they ask questions during a pause, I am happy to answer them but prefer to practice in privacy. Usually, I practice in our den area between kitchen and bedroom and between 7-9 p.m. On weekends, it is usually sometime in the afternoon. Most of the time, my wife and cat tune me out unless I ask them to listen. Because of a mild hearing loss, I may occaisionally ask how loud I am playing or if it sounds anywhere familiar to what the song should be. At least our cat doesn't run out of the room during practice anymore, so I will take that as a sign of improvement. I have played in front of our neighborhood watch meeting groups as dinner music and they have told me how much I have improved. (VERY BIG GRIN) Sure, every now and then I squeak but who hasn't
HAPPY NEW YEAR AND EVEN HAPPIER CLARINETTING !
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Author: C@p
Date: 2002-01-01 14:34
I have a plastic folding secretary reading stand in my home office which I set up on my desk in the office and play from my office chair. My office computer is handy for practice purposes as I tape my community band rehearsals with a $60 Radio Shack recorder and make *.wav files out of the parts that give me trouble. During the concert season I usually have time only to practice the challenging parts of our scores, which for me means most of the scores. I can use programs like CoolEdit or Wave Studio to easily find and play back repeatedly any parts of the score I have to work on.
I live in the Chicagoland area and I have my professional practice in my house out of a converted garage which, until we put on an addition, extended out from the house with three outside walls from the kitchen wall which was insulated as the garage originally was not heated. When we converted the space, the outside walls, ceiling and floor were heavily insulated. The door to the outside was solid oak. With the addition now covering one of the outside walls, the kitchen door was removed and the oak door still stands and it is between the office and the addition. All addition walls were insulated because we have an Alzheimer patient in our family.
My son is a drummer with a rock band which practices in our basement under the far end of the house from where I practice. He has a hard concrete floor but has padded the walls and ceiling with foam carpet padding.
I noticed that no matter how much you insulate, hollow doors still allow sound to escape and the sound goes through the heating ducts.
The bathroom is the place where I enjoy the sound the most because of the resonance from the hard tile surfaces but it is hard to maintain a consistent practice session because of the normal traffic in that area. But I will usually play in that room if I want to try to get a better understanding of what tone is coming out of the horn. Another place to get resonance is in a long narrow hallway which has uncarpeted hard wood flooring. This is not as effective as the bathroom because the drywall walls and ceiling still act as baffles for the tone.
As a practical matter, no matter which room I practice in I cannot hear how it sounds in the other rooms as I am not there to hear the sound. I do not know how much my family hears my practicing but I have only been encouraged by them to practice. I am not sure if that is for my benefit or theirs.
C@p
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Author: Fred
Date: 2002-01-01 15:09
I find practicing these days very discouraging. It doesn't seem to matter how good I sound (or bad), our two dogs insist on providing the "accompaniment". It's hard to take yourself seriously (much less anyone else doing so) when the dogs are howling. But you know what? I'm still happy that I can play and do as well as I do at rehearsals and performances. It's for pleasure . . . not for perfection - for me anyway. Might be different for other folks . . .
But even for the serious folks, my dogs would still howl.
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Author: William
Date: 2002-01-01 18:23
Being retired has one big advantage for practice--and empty house during the day while everyone else (wife, daughter and son-in-law) are away at work or school. I like to practice in the kitchen because the wood floor provides a nice reflective surface for my sound. On weekends, however, I am banished to the relatively "dead" sound of the upstairs third bedroom where I keep all of my instruments and accessories (also known as "my junk"). My dog (Bailey--choc. lab) doesn't seem to mind and usually falls totally asleep while I practice--much the same as some members of my audiencies. Wierdest place I ever practiced--in the front seat of our Izusu Trooper parked on a National Forest campground fire trail--isolated so as not to bother other campers and family. I guess that, after all these years, practice has become somewhat "auto"matic..............ok, my first bit of humor 2002. Good Practicing this New Year to All--hope its better than the last.
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Author: GBK
Date: 2002-01-01 18:55
When I designed my house, one of the main points I stressed to the builder was the fact that I needed a room which would serve as my teaching studio/ music library/ and personal practice room.
It is very convenient to have everything (supplies, accessories, instruments, stands, music, sound equipment, area for reed work, etc...) all in one place when you need it for yourself or for private students.
If I had to redo it, the only change I would make is a direct phone line to Vandoren for BETTER REEDS.
Also, I was careful not to make the room too "live". I've found that too much echo or resonance gives you a false sense of your real sound. If I can make the instrument "ring" in the studio, I know that in the real world outside the practice room the sound will be what is desired.
I once had a clarinet teacher whose studio was so "live" that we would all say that you only need to play half your lesson, as the echo would play the other half...GBK
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Author: Jim S.
Date: 2002-01-01 20:20
As I search for that perfectly-in-tune and stable fingering for the altissimo C I get heckled. Something about "reaching for the screech". This jogs a free-association: Does anyone have a heckelphone? It is supposed to be the loudest woodwind (or maybe it was the sarrusophone). Imagine the practice problems.
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Author: Suzanne
Date: 2002-01-01 20:30
I practice at home, but I have already had one roommate move out, a new roommate ask me if I could "play something with a melody" (I was practicing the Muczynski Time Pieces), and a next-door neighbor ask me to take a week off and then practice with the window always closed.
And I thought I was pretty good! :P
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Author: Pam
Date: 2002-01-01 20:46
I guess I have it pretty good. My husband enjoys hearing me practice. He realizes that it's just what I do and knows how committed I am to it. Besides, if I'm practicing at home, it means I'm not at a rehearsal or lesson -- I'm home with him. Not a bad thing. ;-)
Fred, I understand the dog thing. We dog-sat for my sister in law and Max loved to sing along with the clarinet. I was laughing too hard to get much out of that practice session.
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Author: Peter
Date: 2002-01-01 21:12
My wife is one of those family members who can't seem to understand that practice is intrinsic to improvement in music (as well as most other things in life,) so is one of my daughters and one sister, both of whom, thank God for small favors, only visit rarely.
Son Daniel, the last one still living at home, plays both acoustic and electric guitar (on the former, classical, folk, blues and whatever, on the latter, mainly hard rock, but some jazz, as well) also piano, clarinet and tenor sax, although he hasn't played the tenor in a while. He used to play electric bass also, but hasn’t had one at home since the next older son, Fabian, moved out several months ago.
I play clarinet, soprano and alto saxophone, and occasionally a little flute.
I don’t always agree with Daniel’s music, but I tolerate it. I understand about the need to practice, especially since he may be looking at a career in music. He practices in his room with the door closed, and any amps reasonably turned down.
I also help to keep his mother off his back, most of the time. Especially since the piano is in the same room as the main TV in the house and often interferes with his mother’s TV watching. This was also the case with son Fabian. So, she is sometimes “forced” to go watch her shows in the bedroom, or elsewhere in the house.
I did the same with any other child of mine who endeavored to learn music.
I usually practice in my office or in a personal room at home with the door closed. Although, when the fancy strikes me, on some cooler winter evenings, I may go sit out in the back yard to play and/or practice.
None of the indoor rooms are soundproofed so, while playing in them with the doors closed somewhat helps to muffle the sound, it's still usually loud enough to be well heard within the building(s).
But at the risk of seeming rude (what, me rude?) as far as I'm concerned, anyone who doesn't want to hear me can get the hell out while I play.
You kids who are at your parents' mercy, if you are really serious about your music, your only recourse is to try to reason with them and point out that their tolerance today, may be of great help to you and your future in music.
It would be difficult to imagine a parent who wouldn’t bend over backwards to help out a child under those conditions, but it does take all kinds to make the world go ‘round...
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Author: FT
Date: 2002-01-01 21:22
I don't know why, but no matter how loud or high I play, NOBODY can hear me! I guess they're used to it already. I practice in my bedroom, But now my aunt is sleeping in my room so I can't find a good place to practice(she's got a whole bunch of suitcases!!).
Happy New Years!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Author: Sandee
Date: 2002-01-02 00:41
When my #2 son practiced his sax, it took three of us to make it happen:
1- Ben, to play the sax
2 -Mom to help and encourage him
3- Dad, to hold baby brother who was scared to death of the sax.
Ben know plays guitar.
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Author: Ginny
Date: 2002-01-02 04:11
To me there is no sound more beautiful than my two sons practicing or pecking out tunes for fun.
One practices in his room sometimes in the living room, the other in the living room or dining room. I practice in the living room. Sometime we all practice together or play with family friends. Both randomly plunk out tunes by ear, when passing by a keyboard or guitar strewn about the house. People walk through, the dog sings along. No one seems to mind. Lucky me, we just seem to view practicing as being a normall part of life.
Ginny
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Author: bob gardner
Date: 2002-01-02 14:18
About a year ago someone said they went to a near by church at noon time and practice there. Not a bad idea. I'm sure the Lord enjoyed it.
peace
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Author: Josh Schultze
Date: 2002-01-03 16:19
I live in a large NYC 2 bedroom pre-war 1928 apartment with my mother who plays the piano semi-professionally. When I practice, I always try to find the spot that is the farthest away from her.
If she is in her bedroom watching tv, I close the bedroom door, close the door to the living room and play in the kitchen with the door closed. Then I focus on pieces I know fairly well and would never sight read anything because my sight reading is not supreme.
If she is playing the piano in the living room then I go into the bedroom; again shutting that door and the living room door.
When she is out for the evening then I practice scales, long tones and the upper altissimo register while watching TV on mute. I'm really good at scales and arpeggios because of this set up because they become automatic.
I'm pretty energetic in the morning and I like to practice in the kitchen. But I have yet to devise a way to make the kitchen entirely soundproof and so sometimes my mother becomes really upset.
What I have never understood is why she gets angry when I want to practice. She is a pianist, she should know how much effort it takes to get good. And to get better at the clarinet we must play high notes. She says I'm intentionally trying to disturb her.
One thing that I have learned throughout all this is that I can play ppppp extremely softly. The problem that has resulted is that my teacher says I have to play with more air and much louder.
I don't intend to play the clainet professionally but I would like to have it as a life long hobby.
Josh
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Author: diz
Date: 2002-01-08 04:23
Have you thought about buying "deci-damps" (that's what we call 'em in Australia) for your flat-mates ... you squeeze them up, stick them in your ears, they swell up and then ... hey presto!! no one hears you play.
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Author: Bea Starr
Date: 2002-01-21 21:02
I don't like to play in front of anyone but myself so I try to practice usually practice with my stero on or late at night
~Later~
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