 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: wjk
Date: 2002-09-13 00:24
No less a musician than Woody Herman had a low opinion of his tone and musical abilities--- Why as musicians do we often have such a low self-image?
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Author: David Pegel
Date: 2002-09-13 01:05
Because a real musician realizes he can always improve. No one is perfect, after all...
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Author: William
Date: 2002-09-13 01:20
As a clarinetist, Woody was just being quite honest in his self-assessment. His great strength was that of an innovative and highly regarded leader of many other great musicians which made his orchestras (jazz ensembles) second to none. However, his personal skills as a clarinetist and saxophonist were effective, but modest in comparison to Artie and Benny.
Most musicians, even the greatist, are never completely satisfied and are always striving to higher levels of accomplishment. Sometimes, that constant search and personal critique will lead to a real feeling of personal despair in the worry that they will never "get as good" as they think they could be. That may be why drugs and alcohol often become such a problem with highly talented and creative artists enduring that search for perfection and public acclaimation. Just my random thoughts.............
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Author: Jim Mougey
Date: 2002-09-13 04:38
Woody was a poor man with finance, owed Tommy Dorsey a ton and Woody died bankrupt. Guess he shouldn't have taken his band across that AFM picket line in Vegas. Willie Nelson wouldn't cross, but Woody needed the gig and the money. He was a most pleasant man and, when not in a squeeze for time, willing to talk about the business. I spent 30 minutes with him in l958 and learned about spacing 4 saxes in closed and open positions. The Flugel horn addition was being tried even then. A really great theme song.
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Author: GBK
Date: 2002-09-13 05:26
"Why as musicians do we often have such a low self-image?"
Just one theory: (agree or disagree at will)
I often feel that as a clarinetist, I am fighting an uphill battle which I fear we are slowly losing.
We compete for our rightful musical place against guitars, electronic keyboards, saxophones, etc...
The bulk of our musical repertoire is more than 100 years old and the general public can barely name more than 3 famous clarinetists.
Watch any "popular" music program - not a clarinet in sight.
Scan a trade paper for "musicians seeking other musicians", and it is almost unheard of to see someone looking to find a clarinetist.
Worst of all, some of my students even question if the clarinet is a relevant instrument, or are we still just keeping a dinosaur alive? ...GBK
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Author: Tom
Date: 2002-09-13 09:21
It's sad to hear that some of your students consider the clarinet an old dinosaur. I personally feel that it can be one of the most expressive and diverse forms of instrumentalism.
The clarinet has been lying almost dormant in the world of jazz lately, resorting mainly to dixieland, but I think (and hope) that's about to change. Don Byron and many others are letting the world know how fantastic the instrument can be in the jazz idiom, and even though people are reluctant to listen at the moment, I am sure change is very close.
The popular music industry seems to be at a crucnch point, where there has to a dynamic new wave. I'm sure the clarinet has its role somewhere in there.
These may very be the words of someone who knows nothing about what I'm talk about. But I do have passion for the clarinet and its capabilities. I hope most clarinnetists agree with me!
Any thoughts?
Cheers,
Tom
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Author: Bob
Date: 2002-09-13 14:37
The music goes 'round n 'round and what goes around comes around. I did see a clarinet on tv the other night...on the Lawrence Welk show....and a Berlin orch. perf. of the 9th....string ligature and all
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Author: Andy
Date: 2002-09-13 15:05
I had to play a work by a contemp. Aussie composer not long back called "are you there?" The piece, for me at least, was one of the first pieces I have played that really bring the clarinet into modern culture. The use of heavy dance rhythms, funk beats and licks and the general feel of the piece have shown to me through over a dozen performances of it that it is a major hit with audiences below thirty. Many of the audience members of older generations who aren't musically trained don't appreciate it because they don't know it and are often turned away by the aggressive sound (sometimes I put a warning in the program notes about the sounds level, and turning down hearing aids if that is likely to be an issue!). but after reading extensive program notes that I provided for the work, many seemed to at least understand it, and some even liked it.
At one concert i did where no one in the audience was over 25 I actually had people dancing to the final section of the work when I did it for an encore. Maybe, and maybe I am just trying to stir the pot a bit, this is where we have to go if we want to survive. Show people how versatile we are. encourage varied audiences and show ourselves that we are dealing with current issues faced by todays culture, not that of 200 year ago.
We have to show our love for the clarinet by connecting with audiences and not just expecting them to come because we are doing conerts of Mozart seranades. Respect the history, love the history, play the history, but never forget to look forward.
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Author: Sylvain
Date: 2002-09-13 15:33
To come backto the clarinet self image.
I think a lot of professional might not be entirely happy with their sound and still strive to improve but I would say most are well aware of their abilities and regard themselves as good players. It requires a minimum level of self esteem and confidence to play on stage or in a big orchestra or even worse clarinet conventions.
So maybe people are modest and don't regard themselves as great players but most are confident enough, and it tkes a lot of confidence in yourself to play gigs.
-S
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Author: Ken
Date: 2002-09-13 18:37
Andy Wrote: "At one concert i did where no one in the audience was over 25 I actually had people dancing to the final section of the work when I did it for an encore."
--That is very exciting, but that's Australia. Unfortunately, here in the U.S., if the audiences I play for tried that there'd need to be no less than a dozen ambulances standing by in the parking lot. v/r KEN <:-/
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Author: JMcAulay
Date: 2002-09-13 21:15
I do believe it isn't just Clarinetists who have strained self-images, I think that can happen to any artist. While I agree with GBK that Clarinetists have an especially rough time, in part because many listeners don't think of a Clarinet as a great instrument nowadays, that -- to me -- is another story entirely. And to cover that one adequately, one would have to consider the numerous posts here of Clarinet players complaining that they will have to play Saxophone in their school Jazz bands, because their Jazz bands do not use Clarinets. A Jazz band without any Clarinet? Excuse me, I must be in the wrong century.
Sergei Rachmaninoff in later life once said something to the effect that he was unable to write music, that all he could do was listen to the music of others and re-interpret it. Come on, now. Maybe the "Star Wars" music by John Williams sounds like Gustav Holst's "The Planets," but to me, Sergei's second piano concerto sounds like nothing else on Earth. And I am glad every time I hear it.
It has been said many times that you don't have to be good to be popular, and you don't have to be popular to be good. A major portion of the whole "popularity problem" relates to traditional values and practices. Mr. Acker Bilk playing "Stranger on the Shore" sounds like no other Clarinet player in history, so far as I know. But that recording became immensely popular. On the other hand, the huge van Gogh exhibit in The Netherlands a few years ago drew so many would-be onlookers that the museum scheduled visitors through the place with limited times to see the displayed works. I tried to get a couple of tickets three months before the exhibit opened and was told there were no more available. Yet although the art world reveres him now as one of the greatest, Vincent van Gogh sold but a single painting in his entire life.
Anyway, bad self-esteem is better than none at all. People who lack it entirely are much more likely to do themselves in.
Regards,
John
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Author: RA
Date: 2002-09-13 21:33
Since I have been playing an instrument since seven, I started with recorder, I find that I critique myself more than my fellow musicians. I picked up clarinet at fifteen and am now twenty. I listen to tapes that never got sent to people and critique which bar and measure needs to be improved. Is this wrong?
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Author: Allen Cole
Date: 2002-09-16 05:41
I agree with GBK's comments and see tremendous apathy in my clarinet students--particularly around high school age. I also work with flutists and saxophonists who are far more enthusiastic.
A few things come to mind:
1 - As GBK stated (and I have also broached in the past) we have very little available in popular culture. While there are fabulous and innovative players out there, much of their work is too sophisticated for young ears in an increasingly dumbed down world.
2 - I have also found in my area that many high school players have been so frustrated by their own weak embouchures and poor technique that they are extremely at-risk in terms of their enthusiasm. On the other hand, I have extremely successful middle schoolers. The key, in my opinion, is to reach them while their minds are still open and before they hit too many brick walls.
3 - WE NEED TO REACH OUT TO THEM. We need to find music that's interesing and entertaining, and we need to perform it for them. I'm at work on a project in this vein and will share more whenever it gets off the ground.
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Author: tim k
Date: 2002-09-16 17:55
Is the clarinet locked into a straight jacket? Acker Bilk is criticised because he "sounds like no other clarinet player in history". Most clarinet playing now is either classical/concert or Dixieland, with little in between. Saxophone, on the other hand, is involved in an awesome variety of musical styles and tones ranging from dark classical to bright, edgy pop, sounds from rich smoothness to raucus squawks. Most saxophonists have a favorite style, but acknowledge the validity of the other venues (although Kenny G has a multitude of detractors, possilby because he describes his music as jazz).
Maybe the emphasis on classical clarinet playing, as opposed to the saxophone's limited acceptance in classical music, accounts for the difference in the musicians' willingness to experiment and change. Wearing a tuxedo may calcify the brain. There seems to be an attitude of "This is right, that is wrong", as opposed to "That's different".
Clarinet is a wonderful instrument, but sometimes we really try to make it dull.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2002-09-17 00:23
I don't like fresh tomatoes. I don't like Acker Bilk.
I love pickled beets. I enjoy listening to Sabine Meyer.
So what?
Are beets better than tomatoes? Is Meyer better than Bilk?
Does anyone really care? What's the point? They're personal preferences. No matter how hard my wife tries to convince me that fresh tomatoes taste good - I don't like them.
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