Author: mrn
Date: 2009-09-26 16:52
I'm with Alex. Your list is overkill, while at the same time lacking in some important areas.
You don't need to learn all those scales--just the ones Alex mentioned will suffice. Actually a bunch of the scales you listed are really the same scale, just starting on a different note and in a different key. C Dorian is nothing more than a Bb Major scale where you start on C instead of Bb. So if you learn all your major scales, you're covered--the finger pattens are the same, and if you really need to know that something is "Dorian mode" or "Mixolydian mode" or whatever, you can figure that out in your head--there is no need to memorize each Dorian scale, for example.
For playing an instrument, there are some other scale-type exercises that are very valuable (some might say essential) that you have not listed. Scales in thirds, for example, are extremely important. In general, exercises that get you used to playing various intervals on the instrument are valuable. The better scale books also contain exercises for scales in fourths, scales in fifths, and other intervals.
One of the most complete (if not the most complete) scale/arpeggio books for clarinet is "Klarinetten-Schule Band 2" by Rudolf Jettel. It contains scales and arpeggios as well as other exercises to get you used to playing in different keys. Although it's a bit pricey, I highly recommend it. It has just about everything you could want from a scale book.
Another similar book that is older, less expensive, a bit less complete, but nonetheless good for this sort of thing is volume 3 of Baermann's method for clarinet (usually referred to here as "Baermann III"). It's published in various forms, including under the title "Foundation Studies" by David Hite, where the Baermann materials are ordered by key signature, as they are in the Jettel book.
A perusal through one or both of these books should give you an idea as to what scales, arpeggios, and scale-like studies are most important.
However, important as scales and arpeggios are, I think it is really more important to have a good arsenal of practice techniques to allow you to quickly learn unusual patterns you run across in music, especially in more modern pieces that aren't based on traditional harmony. In other words, you should strive to master the art of learning new bits of technique on an as-needed basis from the pieces you play. This will help you to learn passages that do not rely on scales or arpeggios, but it will also aid you in learning scales and arpeggios.
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The Clarinet BBoard
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