The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Kim
Date: 2002-12-15 03:12
When do most ppl start working on this?
And how long does it usually take them to get through the whole book?
I'm a high school junior. I've had it (the hite edition) since freshman year...and i'm only on like page 50
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Author: Mario
Date: 2002-12-15 03:44
Hello Kim:
You will never be finished with Baerrmann, or Rose, or Cavallini, or Stark.
As one progresses, new priorities emerge and oftentimes what we believe was under control must be revisited from a new angles.
W.r.t. scales/arppegios/thirds/etc. are concerned, the first priority is to learn to play them relatively well with a relatively good technique.
But then we must move faster, with improving finger placements and movements. Work on the tone, intonation, dynamic kicks in. And linkages between notes (especially across the breaks) need polishing forever. And then, when eveything seems perfect (fast, bubbly, even, colorful), one must go back to square one and learn to play them real slow with perfect musicality using nice adagio finger movements.
IT NEVER STOPS.
Learning the clarinet is not about a race to finish a particular book; it is a race toward perfection.
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Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 2002-12-16 19:53
Kim -
Baermann III is as much a part of our lives as Brahms. It's how you make your tools, which you'll use forever. It's slow, and it's a grind, but there's no substitute. For the ugly facts, see my posting at http://www.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=1&i=24907&t=24731.
You need to give it your best time, at the beginning of each session, when you're fresh. Never go faster than perfect, or you're just practicing to make mistakes.
When you get it into your fingers, you'll be amazed at how easy things get. You'll already know all the possibilities, and complex passages seem to play themselves.
The other side of the coin is that after you do your technical work, you spend the rest of the session working on the most beautiful music you know.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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Author: shep
Date: 2002-12-17 07:34
Page 50! Wow! I've been working on the first section for years! No, seriously, I started working on them in high school, continued playing them all through college, and find them to be irreplaceable even today (four years after a music degree). Every audition to a serious clarinet college will require sections of the exercises.
Eddie Daniels gave a masterclass in my area last year, and I recall him saying something to the following point: Lots of people come to him and ask for lessons. He pulls out the Baerman Bk.1 and has them play the scales. If they don't have that under their fingers, he tells them that their isn't much that he can help them with until they learn to play their instrument with greater proficiently. Knowing the Baerman can help you do just that!
So keep working on them! I'm sure you will come to appreciate all that you can do when you are well practiced in Baerman exercises.
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Author: GBK
Date: 2002-12-17 07:48
Every music stand should come issued with a pencil and Baermann III.
Both, are tools that you need to make music.
In 30+ years, I've gone through many pencils, but my original copy of Baermann III is still on the music stand...GBK
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The Clarinet Pages
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