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Technique and Relaxation

Author: RosewoodClarinet
Date: 2005-05-21 19:13

Hello,

These are posts which I wrote in past few months ago. I am still playing, practicing, and trying to improve my playing.

http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=1&i=178194&t=177851

http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=1&i=177936&t=177936

Something I found. My finger technique needs to be better. I was biting into the mouthpiece, which causes sore lip and distortion in the sound. My left shoulder was tensed. Probablly because left hand is located upper than right hand on clarinet....

So, when I continued practicing over and over, I found these habits above. I thougth that these bad habits came from physical tension from my body. This tension made a result to restrict the beauty fo the sound and the fruency of technique. Once I found problems, I could really find a solution. Relaxation.

I am practicing and revewing all music which I studied in many years. Put metronome, play, find stops in music and which part of my body where is getting tensed, and tell myself to relax, get realxed, play again and figure out and fix the mistake, and play and play...........I am repeating this thing over, over, over, over, and over.

And, this week, somehow I can play some of technical passages much easier. Sounds little more effortless and seemless. I think this can be much better, however, I could not believe that I could possibly play like that easy.

I learned this phrase. Practice is really important. Relaxation and practice in relaxed manner are tightly connected to result a good playing.

I feel so happy to find this, and I am not sad about bad audition results any more!! I will take auditions again and again.

Time heals me and music heals me.

Thank you.
RosewoodClarinet

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Re: Technique and Relaxation

Author: sdr
Date: 2005-05-22 20:22

As Robert Pirsig so aptly noted in "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance," the system you are debugging is yourself.

-sdr

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Re: Technique and Relaxation

Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2005-05-23 14:35

RosewoodClarinet -

Congratulations on your progress.

You probably realize this anyway, but practicing in front of a mirror is a good way to watch for tension, particularly, as you mention, raising your left shoulder.

Another practice method is to "click" your fingers up, but let them fall by gravity, without effort. Of course, you must put some muscle power into overcoming spring tension, but it should be the absolute minimum. Eventually, you want your finger motion to be almost effortless in both directions.

Use the mirror to watch your finger motion. You want the minimum movement. Instead of rolling your left index up onto the throat A key (or, even worse, rotating your wrist), just nudge up with your finger. The same for the throat Ab key -- just brush it with the side of your finger, and don't move your wrist.

If you have to go through contortions to get to the bottom trill key with your right index finger, by straightening it out or moving your wrist, that interferes with your technique. Mark Nuccio of the N.Y. Philharmonic advises having that key bent outward to make it easy to get to. If a friend has a Leblanc clarinet with the "jump" keys, try out the feel of those side keys, which are higher and more toward the top of the instrument than on Buffet, Selmer or Yamaha instruments. If you're nervous about bending the key, have a repair shop glue a thick piece of cork to the top of that key (and the one above), so you can get to it easily.

Make all your finger movement come from the knuckle joint (where the finger joins the hand). For more detail, see the finger movement section in http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=1&i=178641&t=178641.

Finally, read the advice in that same posting on slow practice. Speed comes from learning perfect finger movements at dead slow tempo. Fast practicing helps very little, and more often than not produces well-practiced sloppiness.

Don't try all of this at once. One thing at a time works best.

Keep at it, and keep us informed.

Ken Shaw

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Re: Technique and Relaxation

Author: RosewoodClarinet
Date: 2005-05-23 15:43

Ken Shaw,

Thank you for nice and kind words and advice. I wrote this post because I realize that it is always good to go back revewing important fundamental, which I've done long time ago, especially after busy schedule. I'm in vacation and away from school, too. I can practice a lot until the music festival (I will practice there, too.). I am so glad that I am seeing improvement on my playing (can be better, though!), and am getting advice from people like you. I really appreciate it!!

Also, It is so helpful that you wrote about left index finger since I am trying to reduce tense from my left shoulder.

I will keep practicing.

Thank you.
RosewoodClarinet

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Re: Technique and Relaxation

Author: RosewoodClarinet
Date: 2005-07-18 04:19

Hello,

I am practicing even in hot weather.....I am fun with doing this.

I am working on technique and relaxation this summer. My current teacher is very helpful for me to improve my playing. Also, I am working in proper manner of playing with more relaxed attitude. Now, I am playing some of Cavallini 30 caprices with more fluency with my technique. I see that my fingers are moving with more sucure and accuracy.

Also, I notice that I am making much better sound which I could not ever do. I am so glad.

RosewoodClarinet

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