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 How do you practice your clarinet?
Author: garyeestra 
Date:   2009-07-08 06:07

It seems to me that I'm never improving.
This is basically what I do when I practice:
Scales and Arpeggios: 15 minutes
Technique Book: 20 minutes
Song I'm working on(currently Mozart's concerto): 20 minutes
School Stuff: (15 minutes n/a at this point)
Whatever I feel like: 30 minutes

Just estimates, I do not strictly follow this but I feel like I need to follow a strict routine. It seems to me that half of my practice time is wasted.
Should I add long sustained tones as well?

Basically state your practicing routine. Thanks.

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 Re: How do you practice your clarinet?
Author: Nessie1 
Date:   2009-07-08 08:03

This sounds like quite a good routine to me although a lot depends on exactly how you practise pieces like the Mozart - do you really take out the tricky bits, make up little exercises to practise them and so on?

However, I would strongly recommend that a few long notes every session (probably at the beginning, different pitches, different dynamics and dynamic progressions) would be a good idea.

You say that you feel that half your practice time is wasted - why is this? Is it because you don't feel you are getting to where you want to be? In this case, perhaps you need to rethink though.#

Good luck

Vanessa.

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 Re: How do you practice your clarinet?
Author: BobD 
Date:   2009-07-08 12:11

Maybe you are already at your peak.

Bob Draznik

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 Re: How do you practice your clarinet?
Author: Iceland clarinet 
Date:   2009-07-08 12:12

I don't know how long you have been playing but I would practice Scales and Arpeggios for at least 30-40 minutes slowly. When you increase the tempo you are basically shortening the time between each finger motion so by playing them slowly at first and get the correct finger motion then you will have more even finger motion when playing faster(without moving the fingers faster).

Then when you practice staccato I would to get it going by using something like di di di di with the tip of the tongue to the tip of the reed and try to move as little part of the tongue as possible. I would practice all the scales 16th notes first legato,then right after 2 slurred 2 tongued and then finally 2 tongued 2 slurred.

First get the scales at a good speed just legato and then ad the tongued and slurred as fast as you can and slow it down. And when you got the tongue moving very little at a slow speed you can increase the speed again to how it was first and see how much improvement that has made. This way the tongue is not able to be practiced heavy.

Then you might ad in rapid tongue up to 6 times 4 16th notes in a row.

But remember fingers first(start slowly and increase the speed) then tongue(start fast and slow it down and increase the speed again).

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 Re: How do you practice your clarinet?
Author: Paul Aviles 
Date:   2009-07-08 12:35

Without getting into specific routines, I would try a full day's worth of practice on ONE thing.......perhaps scales, for a day or maybe two days. Then try another one of your segments like the Mozart for another day...or two.

It helps me to mix things up a bit. I can get firmly entrenched into a routine that IS showing improvement and yet other things get left behind.



Keep it fresh.



.................Paul Aviles



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 Re: How do you practice your clarinet?
Author: janlynn 
Date:   2009-07-08 13:18

its not what you practice, its how you practice.

if you are just playing something over and over for 10 minutes that isnt going to do much.

if you want to improve your emboucure or finger position, play very slowly concentrating on finger placement or keeping the correct embouchure. if you so much as hear a "blip" go back and fix it and then practice it a few times feeling the correct position.

if you want to improve your speed start slowly and slowly build up the speed for 2 measures. Usually places that give you trouble. when you are where you want to be, add a measure on either side and start slowly again building to where you want to be. keep adding measures until the whole thing is at your goal.

dont always start at the beginning. sometimes working from the middle up, or the botom up helps.

memorize your scale patterns

to improve articulation - play different rhythmic patterns -2 slurred 2 tongued, then 2 tongued 2 slurred, then 3 slurred 1 tongued etc... play triplets, play a dotted 8th and a 16th and then a 16th and a dotted 8th.

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 Re: How do you practice your clarinet?
Author: Ed Palanker 
Date:   2009-07-08 15:56

Take lessons with an experienced player-teacher. Ask them to guide you on this and give you the proper material to work on and a schedule of how to go about it. There are many good suggestions mentioned above, the best one I think is it's not what , or how much, you practice but how you go about it. As I a stated above, take lessons. I have an article on how to practice on my website in the clarinet article page, check it out. ESP http://eddiesclarinet.com

ESP eddiesclarinet.com

Post Edited (2009-07-08 15:59)

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 Re: How do you practice your clarinet?
Author: Claire Annette 
Date:   2009-07-09 17:25

Q: How do you practice your clarinet?

A: With the pointy part in my mouth and the bell-thingy down.








(Forgive me. I'm in a punchy mood.)

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 Re: How do you practice your clarinet?
Author: aero145 
Date:   2009-07-09 17:31

Q: How do you practice your clarinet?

A: With the pointy part in my mouth and the bell-thingy up.

Sorry, couldn’t resist.

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 Re: How do you practice your clarinet?
Author: David Spiegelthal 2017
Date:   2009-07-10 00:18

In a vacuum.

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