 The Ethnic Clarinet
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Author: music_is_life
Date: 2005-06-03 17:35
I am looking for some good klezmer books for clarinet...preferably upper level stuff (I have been playing for 8 years...I don't want to buy anything to simple)
I saw a klezmer fake book on jewishmusic.com, but I am not sure if that is something I should buy? any recommendations?
I also saw thre clarinet books on the site (http://www.jewishmusic.com/index.asp), but it says nothing about the level and to be perfectly honest the titles mean nothing to me, since I am fairly new to klezmer.
help!
thanks.
-Lindsie
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Author: Steve Epstein
Date: 2005-06-03 23:57
music_is_life wrote:
> I am looking for some good klezmer books for
> clarinet...preferably upper level stuff (I have been playing
> for 8 years...I don't want to buy anything to simple)
> I saw a klezmer fake book on jewishmusic.com, but I am not sure
> if that is something I should buy? any recommendations?
> I also saw thre clarinet books on the site
> (http://www.jewishmusic.com/index.asp), but it says nothing
> about the level and to be perfectly honest the titles mean
> nothing to me, since I am fairly new to klezmer.
> help!
> thanks.
>
Why are you concerned about "the level"? I see this kind of posting frequently on the regular board. I can understand that if you are auditioning for something or preparing a recital to fulfill a class requirement, then yes, level of difficulty must be considered, but if you are playing klezmer, you are playing it for your own enjoyment and the enjoyment of others. No one could care less if it's hard for you to play it or not. Anyway, like all music, the easier it apparently is the harder it really is because you've got to rise to the occasion of playing the easy stuff stylistically well. Can you krekhs? Play the other ornaments? I'm still learning how, still can't krekhs.
Any fake book will be good. In any key. Buy a bunch. And buy CD's as well, to listen to. The fake books don't show you the ornaments.
Steve Epstein
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Author: Steve Epstein
Date: 2005-06-04 00:05
music_is_life wrote:
> I am looking for some good klezmer books for
> clarinet...preferably upper level stuff (I have been playing
> for 8 years...I don't want to buy anything to simple)
Don't mean to repeat myself and belabor the point, but the music is what it is. This is like saying, K622 is too easy, don't think I'm going to play that. Is there a version he wrote for more advanced players?
Except in the case of klezmer (and jazz, and pop, and folk, and all the other "aural" musics), there is. But it's not written down. Fake books just give you the notes; you have to add the rest -- by listening.
Steve Epstein
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Author: music_is_life
Date: 2005-06-04 02:01
I just didn't want things written, say, down an octave to be easier (or transposed to be in an easier key), without ornaments, etc...I wanted real klezmer, not stuff written for beginning players and such. you know what I mean?
btw- not to sound ignorant (but I guess I am...) but what is "krekhs"
-Lindsie
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Author: Steve Epstein
Date: 2005-06-04 08:23
music_is_life wrote:
>
> btw- not to sound ignorant (but I guess I am...) but what is
> "krekhs"
>
Krekhs are sounds you make from the palate; there have been numerous discussions about the topic on this board.
> I just didn't want things written, say, down an octave to be
> easier (or transposed to be in an easier key), without
> ornaments, etc...I wanted real klezmer, not stuff written for
> beginning players and such. you know what I mean?
I still think you don't get it. The music in these books are not compositions. They are TRANSCRIPTIONS. Unless it is stated that it is the composer's manuscript, what you are looking at is what someone heard someone else playing, and was able to sketch down. If it is highly notey, it means that the listener heard a very florid performance and was able to write it down. It doesn't mean that the piece was meant to be played that way.
Generally, the music should be an octave down, i.e., written so it's mostly mid-staff, because typically, the trumpet will play it in that range while the clarinet will transpose it an octave up, in order to be heard over the trumpet (if there is a trumpet playing). Thus, your penchant for difficulty may be assuaged by transposing all the clarion and chalameau stuff an octave up, and all the higher stuff an octave down (to show off your virtuosity when soloing, you may do both).
But since you want challenge...the real challenge is not to learn any of this material by reading it. There is none of it that can compare to the diffficulty of classical music, in terms of reading. The ultimate challenge is to play it by ear. The greatest performers of klezmer, and all folk music, for that matter, play it 100 percent by ear. And I don't mean memorizing, I mean by ear -- hearing.
But if you can't play well enough by ear, then you do the next best thing. You use the fake books to get the NOTES ONLY, but you use your ear to get EVERYTHING ELSE.
Your real challenge is to make your playing of this music sound BELIEVABLE.
Steve Epstein
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The Clarinet Pages
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