Author: Tom Puwalski
Date: 2005-09-15 02:17
The first thing that one needs to when learning how to play klezmer or any style of music is the "Why" You need to know why you want to do it, because just thinking it would be cool won't carry you through the work that it takes to get good at it. So here is Tom's list of "Whys"
1. Rock and Roll + Guitar, Jazz= saxophone, Classical, Sorry guys, = Piano&violin. Klezmer is about the Clarinet! I don't care home many tours Pearlman goes on playing it.
2. you have to have chops to play it, you need a great embouchure, and really clean technique to do it right. So you really do still have to keep practicing all the other good clarinet stuff
3. I think you get to develop you " Singing voice" on the clarinet, this style of vocal playing, will put you right in the mix with a good string quartet on the Mozart
4. The gigs, oh the gigs! To be at the vortex of an incredibly great party be it a wedding or Bar mitsva, and to realize that you are why people are dancing that makes you feel great
5. The money! A few years back I got called to play some gig with the Balto smyphoney, a pops gig or something. It payed a third of what I would make playing klezmer!
The only thing wrong with playing klezmer is eating tons of catered Koser food!
But if you really want to learn, I tell people in my book: get the Dave Tarras King of Klezmer, and the Naftule Brandwein cd they have at every Borders and listen to them, learn a tune try playing it exactly like they did. The first one will take forever, the second one will take half of forever. Buy the time you hit the 6-7 tune you be amazed at how easy it's starting to get.
In my book I've transcibed a bunch of the tunes off those 2 CDs, and I describe the process that I and anyone else that really plays klezmer learned to do it.
Tom Puwalski, former Principal clarinetist with US Army Field Band, author of "The Clarinetists Guide to Klezmer" and clarinetis with "The Atonement" The hottest Klezmer band on the east coast!
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The Ethnic Clarinet
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