 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: clarinetwing
Date: 2014-04-12 02:40
Hi.
Maybe someone could help me here.
Some time back I heard of a method to teach musicians to only use the necessary force when playing the instrument. This is to avoid unnecessary stress when blowing or pressing the fingers against the instrument. Or any muscle stress for that matter.
I think there was a name for this technique and the exercises to achieve it. The thing is I'm trying to remember the name so I could find more info about it.
any help appreciated.
thanks
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Author: TJTG
Date: 2014-04-12 02:54
I think this is simply efficient technique. I think it is simply the result of good practice and control of the instrument. Technique is the opposite of brute force.
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Author: clarinetwing
Date: 2014-04-12 03:10
Yes, it could be called common sense too. This can be applied to any activity actually. We all find ourselves doing a lot more force than necessary in simple things like opening a can or a bottle, for instance.
However I was told there were some exercises to help players work on this area specifically. There was a name for this method and this is what I'm trying to find out.
Cassio
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Author: fskelley
Date: 2014-04-12 04:28
Now I'm imagining a clarinet instrumented with pressure gages and such for the fingers, then readings taken from a series of very high end players (you know who you are), to establish baseline minimums and maximums. While you're at it, also take readings of bite force and air pressure inside the mouth.
Then later a student could play on a similarly instrumented horn and get immediate guidance on what's out of whack. Do any other musicians think this way? ...or only the ones of us who are also engineers?
I think the cost of the system would be way more than anyone could ever afford to pay- but I also think there's a good MS thesis or PhD dissertation in there. Probably already done and buried in obscurity.
Stan in Orlando
EWI 4000S with modifications
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Author: clarinetwing
Date: 2014-04-12 04:50
Yes! That's it. Alexander technique. Thanks! With this I could Google to find more about it.
Apparently nothing to do with music actually but some musicians told me they were using it some time back.
--
Cassio
Post Edited (2014-04-12 04:51)
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Author: ruben
Date: 2014-04-12 10:42
The Alexander method is very popular with musicians; so much so that it is often taught in conservatories (the Paris Conservatory, music schools in London, etc.). It's the kind of thing that can't be learned from a book or videos, though. It requires a teacher. One thing that Mitchel Lurie taught that I find very helpful is just to get the feeling that the abdominal and lower back muscles are collapsing under their own weight; just use natural gravity instead of pushing. If there is a great rightness to your breathing, the rest will follow suit.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: Tony Pay ★2017
Date: 2014-04-12 18:22
Just in case people misunderstand this link to begin with (as many people in the thread itself did): the idea is to see that the word 'necessary' in the phrase: 'use only the necessary force', requires a context in order to determine what's 'necessary'.
Choosing that context is non-trivial.
Tony
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2014-04-12 18:41
Stress free is the best way to think of pretty much every system while playing.......
EXCEPT your embouchure and your core (abdominal muscles). Yes friends these must be WORKING at all times (even at the conscious level).
..............Paul Aviles
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Author: ruben
Date: 2014-04-12 19:01
I looked at various videos of the Alexander technique and it looks very interesting and appropriate. I wish I had discovered it earlier, but it's never too late. I might add, however, that sometimes you see some people do all the wrong things and sound great: a lot of jazz musicians (Paul Desmond, for example), Glen Gould.. On the other hand, many of them didn't live long.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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