 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Dan Oberlin ★2017
Date: 2022-08-15 21:56
I'm interested in your views about warmup routines - the time spent doing long tones and scale and tonguing exercises before turning to whatever happens to be on your stand. Do you employ a warmup routine and, if so, would you describe it? If you are a teacher, do you recommend a particular set of warmup exercises to your students? Some information about your current playing/teaching situation would provide useful context.
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Author: seabreeze
Date: 2022-08-15 23:09
Warm-ups can have several purposes. One is to reacquaint the player with the instrument--to get the player plugged in the clarinet, so to speak. Another is to create structure and sense musically speaking instead of just blowing random notes and noodling. How both of these ends are served will of course depend on the technical level of the player. Advanced beginners could be asked to play a few easy, slow scales, arpeggios and intervals in easy keys. C minor scale, G major in thirds, F major, F major seventh chord, B minor chord, D major scale in thirds--that kind of thing. Let them announce each pattern before playing it. This focuses the mind on structure and musical order, while giving the fingers a little reminder of where the keys and tone holes are. No wild showing off--no aimless doodles.
At the other end of the achievement scale, advanced players might want to work all year long on gradually mastering a long, demanding warm up that recapitulates many of the prime difficulties and hurdles in playing clarinet. I shrieked when I first looked at Wonkak Kim's rigorous warm up routine, based on expanding intervals in all keys. But after painfully practicing it, I hear marked improvements in my legato connections and over-all technique.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=wonkat+kim+warm+up.
Order, balance, useful musical and technical material should constitute the substance of any warm-up. Most will probably fall between the two examples I have given. Throughout any warm-up, attention should be paid to how the notes speak initially and to deliberate variations in dynamics from ppp to ff and back. This kind of variation mirrors the demands of actual music and is more practical that just playing a series of "long tones." Scales, chords, intervals, not just isolated single tones, are the stuff of real music, so make the warm ups real!
Post Edited (2022-08-15 23:35)
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2022-08-15 23:28
The purpose of a warming up is to loosen muscles and tendons that will be needed in a playing session and get blood flowing to them to energize them. You can just charge into whatever you're planning to do or do an explicit warmup first. It really depends on how much sloppiness and marginal control you want to put up with until those soft tissues start to work efficiently.
I almost never do long tones unless there is some recent change I've made that affects (for good or ill) my ability to sustain a tone. I use them, when I play them at all, to test a reed I've just chosen or adjusted to see how easily it produces a controlled sound.
I need some warmup time to get my fingers to stretch out to the tone holes and keys - something that has become much more of an issue as I've aged. I generally start with scales in some form - diatonic, thirds, or arpeggios, starting them at a comfortably slow tempo and, as my hands feel looser, increasing speed. Not for too long - maybe as little as half the circle of fifths (usually both major and minor, as in Klosé Daily Studies) or, if I'm especially stiff, the entire circle. I concentrate on smoothness of both fingers and tone. My next step is to get something that I want to work on - an orchestra part, an etude, a solo piece - and play a page or so of it slowly (again, comfortably, not so that it's painful). Pick a tempo you wish the conductors you play for would take or slightly slower. By that time I'm ready to go to work.
Karl
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2022-08-15 23:37
seabreeze wrote:
> At the other end of the achievement scale, advanced players
> might want to work all year long on gradually mastering a long,
> demanding warm up that recapitulates many of the prime
> difficulties and hurdles in playing clarinet. I shrieked when I
> first looked at Wonkak Kim's rigorous warm up routine, based on
> expanding intervals in all keys. But after painfully
> practicing it, I hear marked improvements in my legato
> connections and over-all technique.
I would only quibble that I wouldn't consider this a warm-up. It's full-blown practice material, at least until you've "mastered" it, if mastery includes the tempo he demonstrates at the beginning of his video.
Karl
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Author: seabreeze
Date: 2022-08-16 00:16
I don't know if Kim typically plays this entire intervallic survey before breakfast each day but a conversation I had with Jose Franch Ballester might shed some light on the value of such a routine. Ballester was touring the country as guest artist with many orchestras, playing concertos by Mozart and Copland and performing the clarinet/ bass clarinet parts in Pierrot Luniere. I asked if he practiced anything in the hotel rooms or on the planes, and he said he didn't practice scales or arpeggios much but he did practice series of expanding intervals (which just happen to resemble what's in Kim's warm-up). He'd practice these without the clarinet in his hands (on the plane), and with the clarinet whenever he could. He seemed to imply that if you can play a rational selection of intervals really well (smooth, even, fast), your fingers know the score and can play mostly anything. I accept Karl's "quibble" about whether to call that a warm up, but as a technical accomplishment or goal, it bears consideration.
Post Edited (2022-09-15 06:43)
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Author: brycon
Date: 2022-08-16 00:19
Quote:
I'm interested in your views about warmup routines - the time spent doing long tones and scale and tonguing exercises before turning to whatever happens to be on your stand.
I think that for the most part, time would be much better spent elsewhere than on lengthy warmups.
My own warmup lasts about 20 to 30 mins and includes a bit of stretching, improvisation, and a single very slow scale or arpeggio, that is, it gets my body, ears, and mind in gear for practicing while allowing for the instrument itself to get up to temperature.
A few points to toss out:
1. Long tones, scales, etc. should be things you actually practice, not things you prosaically play through before getting to "the real stuff."
2. Indeed, all those warmup-like exercises require expressivity. For the tongue to work, for instance, the air needs to be active and moving somewhere. Many players, however, focus entirely on the technical aspects of playing ("The tip of my tongue has to hit exactly on this spot at the tip of the reed...") during their warmup while ignoring the expressive side. The warmup, then, gets them further from their playing goals by reinforcing bad habits, that is, playing in an entirely non-expressive manner.
3. Players tend to stick with material for far too long. There's a lot of stuff out there on learning plateaus and how to get off of them. Making minor improvements, often so small they're beyond the threshold of perception, rather than tackling new difficulties isn't going to make you much better at clarinet. How many players fuss over getting an exact tone color ("I want to have that ping that Harold Wright got!") and doing lengthy longtone exercises while their finger facility remains rather bad? Seems to make more sense to focus on what you're bad at rather than mindlessly sticking with some warmup routine (which, moreover, you probably didn't even devise yourself but was given to you by some player who undoubtedly has different issues with his or her playing than you do).
4. For those players who swear by lengthy warmup routines, I wonder how much improvement they'd see (or how much worse they'd become) if they ditched the routine and replaced it with a similar length of a. singing, b. piano playing, c. ear-training exercises, and d. actively listening to music. I bet for most people, the warmup is a psychological crutch, "I've got to get through this stuff in order to really play clarinet," rather than something leading to real and substantial growth as a clarinetist and musician.
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Author: seabreeze
Date: 2022-08-16 01:16
Just one additional point: the presentations of scales, arpeggios and intervals in standard clarinet books like Baermann and Klose are not necessarily the most appealing to players today with more contemporary "ears." I see nothing wrong in learning arpeggios for instance in more modern voicings. Jazz tenor sax player. Chad LG, for example, offers 5 Golden Arpeggios here in a pattern that would be excellent to memorize and practice on clarinet. Selections from these in several keys would make useful warm-up material for any clarinetist.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=5+golden+arpeggios.
Julian Bliss has suggested that clarinet fundamentals ought to be presented in
harmonic, chordal context so classically trained clarinetists would find it easier to improvise. Tying clarinet pedagogy more closely to both classical and jazz/popular music theory and ear training would prove to be of great value.
Post Edited (2022-08-16 05:49)
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Author: Fuzzy
Date: 2022-08-16 08:06
Are warmups universally accepted as necessary?
I grew up very athletically-inclined. In sports, I tried all the general stretches and such that were supposed to prevent injury...along with all the other warm-up routines. Inevitably, I found the routines to throw me off. I did much better just getting to the task at hand. I'd perform better, and feel better prepared mentally. Over the years I ended all warm-ups and performed very well...never injured and always at the top. The warm-up rule was always there, and folks always tried to make me comply with the policy - but it never worked for me. I had a couple friends in the same boat.
Now that I'm older and not in my prime, this type of "just jumping in" would probably not be wise...but it made me wonder about the clarinet. Is the "warm-up" something of a "most people" thing instead of an "everybody thing." Are the young, nimble, mentally-prepared folks in "need" of a warm-up - or is it another rule to be broken by the capable?
My second question is: how does one tell when the warm-up is accomplished, and the work begun? (It would be difficult for me to differentiate one from the other.)
Fuzzy
;^)>>>
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Author: Tom H
Date: 2022-08-16 08:59
I sort of agree with brycon on some of these points.
I have never in all my years done any long tones specifically as part of a warm up--well maybe when I was a 9 year old beginner, I can't recall. There are long tones in some of the stuff you practice/play. My warmup consists of a few things from my book that are original technical ideas. Sometimes I get a new idea and just make that my warmup. Both ways takes about 2 minutes. We are not brass players who depend on our lip muscles being in olympic shape in order to play a successful concert/solo/whatever. I just finished playing our 7 concert (each with rehearsal) summer band series where I am Principal clarinet. Often times I warm up just a minute or two to make sure my best reed is still working well. My ideas I'm sure don't represent the majority.
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Post Edited (2022-08-16 09:00)
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Author: lydian
Date: 2022-08-16 18:39
I agree with Tom. As a reed player, my warmup consists of blowing a few notes for about 5 seconds to confirm everything is in working order, then the performance/rehearsal can begin. Unlike brass players, and possibly flute players, who have to loosen up the lips and get in the groove hitting the right partials/registers, all a reed player has to do is blow. If the fingers don't work immediately, then something was missed in the practice room. Ripping up and down a bunch of scales or blowing long tones isn't really going to accomplish anything at that stage.
Long tones are critical for absolute beginners to develop a good, steady, strong tone and stamina. But once you get the knack of it, you can maintain your embouchure strength and tone quality though the normal course of playing tunes and exercises. When my students reach that milestone of a good quality tone, I no longer prescribe long tone exercises. They usually reach that point after a month or two, occasionally longer.
If you're talking about warm-up as in refreshing and re-enforcing what you already know while in the practice room, then, sure, play some scales and arpeggios to keep sharp. But I don't think that belongs on the bandstand or should take up an inordinate amount of practice time. Practice time is best spent on things you CAN'T already do, not repeating what's already etched into your brain and fingers.
Of course if you're performing in the Macy's parade and it's freezing cold, then by all means, do an extended warmup to get the blood flowing in the fingers and the horn up to temperature. That's just about the only case where a longer warmup for a reed player makes sense.
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2022-08-16 18:49
lydian wrote:
> Unlike brass players, and possibly flute players, who have to
> loosen up the lips and get in the groove hitting the right
> partials/registers, all a reed player has to do is blow.
I wish!
> If the
> fingers don't work immediately, then something was missed in
> the practice room.
Or lost along the way to Medicare.
Karl
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Author: davidycook1
Date: 2022-08-16 19:50
I hope it is ok to share this here - I recently authored a book "Clarinet Conditioning: Warm-Ups and Perspectives" that explores many of these questions about warming up, featuring contributions from:
Mariam Adam (Assistant Professor of Clarinet, Vanderbilt University)
Ixi Chen (Second Clarinet, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra)
Robert DiLutis (Professor of Clarinet, University of Maryland)
Julia Heinen (Professor of Clarinet, California State University Northridge)
Patrick Morgan (Principal Clarinet, "The President's Own" United States Marine Band)
Phillip O. Paglialonga (Associate Professor of Clarinet, University of North Texas)
Sarah Watts (Director of Performance, University of Sheffield)
John Bruce Yeh (Assistant Principal Clarinet and E-flat Clarinet, Chicago Symphony Orchestra)
In addition to full interviews with each of the above, the book also features many exercises from the contributors and myself. It is available for purchase from the following sources:
United States: directly from Conway Publications, https://conway-publications.com/product/clarinet-conditioning-warm-ups-and-perspectives/
Canada: Long & McQuade, https://www.long-mcquade.com/
UK and EU: June Emerson Wind Music, https://www.juneemersonwindmusic.com/CLARINET-CONDITIONING-Warm-Ups-and-Perspectives-e052bd00-b7e4-4ec2-9dfb-35384b89e92d.html
Australia: Clear Music Australia, http://clearmusicaustralia.weebly.com/
If international customers want to order this book but don't see if on the dealer's website, you can email the individual dealer directly.
Mods: please feel free to delete if this is not appropriate.
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Author: seabreeze
Date: 2022-08-16 21:12
Let's try to address all the questions. First. the few toots a player does in a bandroom before a practice session probably don't qualify as a warm-up, just more of a "check-in" to see if the instrument is ready to go, particularly with regard to reed placement and tuning.
Most of us seem in agreement about relatively developed players not needing long tone practice. I see the warm-up as a sort of statement of intention to get down to business and play music rather than screwing around on the instrument with show-off high notes, and other grandiosities. (You know how many players have that vice). Young beginners especially benefit from having a structured pattern to follow that is based on musical elements. A warm up settles the mind as well as loosening the body as Karl suggested. Track runners often spend time doing stretches before they run sprints and hurdles so they don't pull an injury. Clarinet injuries are unlikely but most players do better after they have limbered up a little in the hands, fingers, and mouth. And, in a metaphorical sense, clarinetists are likely to "injure" the music if they don't get in the right frame of mind with a down to business warm-up.
People certainly differ greatly in their need for a warm up. Trombonist Tommy Dorsey was famous for being able to play instantly on a cold lip. Cellist Pablo Casals said if he didn't practice frequently he would have to reacquaint himself with the finger board of the instrument at some length before he was comfortable playing. Playing scales, chords, and intervals personally for me does serve to establish the right frame of mind to make music.
I can have no argument with Fuzzy that if a given player is ready to go without a warmup, then for that person, warmups are rules to be broken. Who can argue with success? But the same players may (or may not) discover that with age and infirmity, warm ups become more necessary for them to reach the "ready to go" point. The warm-up is complete when the player feels and is ready to play. If they are ready without the warm-up, so be it.
Certainly, warm ups should not be imposed on anyone. They are suggestions for improvement, not binding laws. David Cook's book sounds interesting; I'll have to have a look.
Finally I suppose each player decides what a warm up means to them personally. I like to be able to play in all the keys and for some psychological reason (craziness?) don't feel comfortable till I have traversed the majors and minors in my warm up. I certainly don't expect other players to have this same eccentricity--but maybe other eccentricities and needs. "Know thyself" is a good rule for clarinetists. If players want to warm up or don't want to warm up, both are fine with me. There are so many more important things to consider.. Playing and enjoying music is one of them.
Post Edited (2022-08-16 22:58)
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Author: SecondTry
Date: 2022-08-16 23:45
I could describe my warmup routine but it's much easier for you to see it than follow my narration.
One point of clarity though, I take this much, much faster than this...this...amateur!
https://youtu.be/N3_pNnfelRg
P.S. I don't circular breathe through it, but that's only because I have enough breath for the entire thing.
I'm also selling a bridge in Brooklyn should anyone be interested. (lol)
Joking aside, I like Bob Spring's approach, albeit one I must take only portions of, and much, much slower.
https://youtu.be/3YYk8okEQ10
Post Edited (2022-08-16 23:48)
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Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2022-08-17 00:31
I apologize for culpably straying off topic, but in that Julian Bliss video I find it noteworthy that he flips the F-F# throat transitions, left thumb and index, without recourse to the side-key F#, cleanly and beautifully.
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Author: Hunter_100
Date: 2022-08-17 18:16
Sorry for not being super familiar with that song, but it looks like he uses the side key a lot around time 35 seconds. Or is that for a different note? It's so fast, its hard to keep up.
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Author: Tom H
Date: 2022-08-18 01:47
I always use the alt. F# when going up (F, then F#). Going back down (F#-F) it depends. Again, one should be fluent with both ways both directions.
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Boreal Ballad for unaccompanied clarinet-Sheet Music Plus item A0.1001314.
Musicnotes product no. MNO287475
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Author: SecondTry
Date: 2022-08-18 04:14
Tom H wrote:
> I always use the alt. F# when going up (F, then F#). Going back
> down (F#-F) it depends. Again, one should be fluent with both
> ways both directions.
>
While that's not my approach Tom, your logic makes sense to me. I wonder if my reason is similar to yours:
"Doing it going down is less likely because we clarinet players have to be experts in placing that left thumb."
I wonder, conscientiously or not, if that's the rationale behind your finger approach too.
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2022-08-18 04:23
Playing F4-F#4-G4 going up with the two side keys needs one motion to play F# - press down the side keys (if you aim for the second one you can't miss the first one). Going down from G-F#-F needs the thumb and the index finger to move together to close the thumb hole and press the two side keys. Flipping from index finger to thumb for F# to F coming down isn't necessarily any less awkward than the side key, but the side key loses most of its advantage of facility in that direction.
Karl
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Author: Tom H
Date: 2022-08-18 08:46
Karl's reasoning is exactly mine.
The Most Advanced Clarinet Book--
tomheimer.ampbk.com/ Sheet Music Plus item A0.1001315, Musicnotes product no. MB0000649.
Boreal Ballad for unaccompanied clarinet-Sheet Music Plus item A0.1001314.
Musicnotes product no. MNO287475
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Author: SecondTry
Date: 2022-08-18 18:24
Tom H wrote:
> Karl's reasoning is exactly mine.
>
Makes perfect sense Tom, cheers.
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2022-08-20 19:31
So when I think 'warmup', I think "I need to practice with a group". Meaning, this isn't necessarily me going into a practice session on my own, but band practice is starting, a performance will be starting soon, something like that.
With that in mind, I focus mostly on getting into the right head-space, and also warming up the fingers and tongue. I'm not even sure how much of it is "warming up" the fingers and tongue, but at least my brain thinks it is, and I feel more comfortable doing this. I sorta zone out and try to focus on moving fingers smoothly and evenly, and having a stable and pleasant sound.
FWIW, I have put together my own scale study compilation from various sources, but for my warmup, I only use pages 4 and 5 from Robert Spring's warmup found here.... https://www.bandworld.org/pdfs/SpringWarmUp.pdf
My choice for a warmup
So I play page 123 from Klose, 16ths at 80 bpm. All slurred, circular breathed (my circular breathing is NOT great, but hey, why not work on it every time I warm up?). Mezzo forte. Then after that, I play page 14 Langenus arpeggions. Same tempo with 16ths, however this time I play the first two bars slurred, and the next two bars tongued. I likely will not circular breathe at all here, but if I DO attempt it, it's always during the slurred portion.
And that's it. I chose 80 bpm because I'm confident I can play through it pretty darn well at that tempo. And this hits scales and arpeggios (moving fingers in succession, and the moving them in leaps and combinations), and tonguing, all while having steady breath control.
Takes maybe 8 minutes. And I feel good and ready to start rehearsal or perform.
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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The Clarinet Pages
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![[F#4]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/gb4.gif)
when rapidly moving between it and F4 ![[F4]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/f4.gif)
but does prefer its use when doing more chromatic passages.