 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: gregbaker112@gmail.com
Date: 2020-05-13 06:37
Far be it for me to ask a question about isolation nowadays. But how can you isolate technique (playing scales, etc.) without the other parts of your playing going to pot?
When I work in Baermann 3, to me it's all about moving my fingers from one note to the next (technique.) Invariably I have to stop because my breathing or embochure is problematic.
Is it simply a matter of concentration? I hope I have made sense. TIA
Greg Baker
Greg Baker
gregbaker112@gmail.com
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2020-05-13 07:04
What exactly do mean when you say your breathing and embouchure become "problematic?"
Maybe you're just tiring as you play the exercises and need to stop for a few seconds while you take a good breath and get a little fresh blood in your lips.
In general you shouldn't be playing those technique studies without being constantly aware of breath and of response, which depends on a controlled embouchure. Do you breathe in specific places or do you just keep going until you can't go any farther without a breath? You should breathe in a disciplined way, meaning at planned spots that come before you're at the point of squeezing out your last ounce of air.
And it's helpful when you breathe to exhale whatever is left in your lungs before taking in a fresh breath. Topping your lungs off by taking quick breaths one after the other without exhaling at least some of the time leads to less and less fresh, oxygenated air sitting on top of a volume of stale, oxygen-depleted, carbon-dioxide-heavy air, which can quickly cause fatigue.
Karl
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Author: Tom H
Date: 2020-05-13 07:26
I admit I am very undisciplined when it comes to the many exercise books I've practiced over the decades. I breathe when I have to or when I feel like it. Once in a while I decide to make one into a "performing" piece and play phrases appropriately, breathing where it is obvious to breathe, exaggerating dynamics, etc.
I figure technical studies are for technique.
I do agree with all kdk says and follow that advice when practicing a solo. That advice is also good for scuba divers for preventing CO2 buildup, fatigue and blackouts.
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Post Edited (2020-05-13 07:27)
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2020-05-13 07:42
I couldn't agree with Karl more about exhaling before the next breath. I've heard many fine players say they judge their breaths based on the length of the phrasing, but I know for me, I am NOT that smart.
I think though you may be too preoccupied with the visual presentation of the Baermann material. The exercises are basically put down on paper to get the various scale like patterns down........not to be a musical presentation. For example I just break at various points either just for comfort or to re-visit a certain pattern (to include various tempi, articulations and fingerings). I am more inclined to "perform" etudes (Stark, Rose, Uhl, etc) but even there I feel artistic license in rhythmic variation and pauses can even be an advantage.
So in the end, isolation is just that, you find a note pattern that is troubling and play that S-L-O-W-L-Y, play it with different rhythm patterns, play it with the down beat (for example) at different places within the pattern. You do that last one because we subconsciously may be emphasizing certain notes incorrectly.
Articulation practice is similar. Just remember as things speed up your cutting off of the air becomes more of just a disturbance of the flow rather than a full stop.
Isolation is king. You never want to work out two or three different issues at once.
..............Paul Aviles
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