 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: ruben
Date: 2025-11-13 13:38
When I see you Classical soloists these days-whatever the instrument- they seem to be doing knee-bends, rolling their shoulders, jumping up and down...are more and more demonstrative. I don't think this helps one's music-making or is particularly pleasant to watch. Watch videos of Heifetz and see what elegance and sobriety he displayed. The great jazz clarinetists that I knew: Buddy di Franco, Jimmy Hamilton..hardly moved at all.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
Post Edited (2025-11-13 13:39)
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Author: jim sclater
Date: 2025-11-13 16:29
Ruben, I couldn't agree more. It's all very distracting.Just play the music.
jsclater@comcast.net
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Author: lmliberson
Date: 2025-11-13 16:46
Indeed…but if you want to learn the technique…
https://youtu.be/5twANQ7S050?si=mWl3Cs4vMoGh75Ok
Enjoy?
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Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2025-11-13 18:00
The trouble with much of it is it's amateurish. Acting is a skill. A non-practitioner attempting it will do no better than a non-musician trying to pick up a clarinet and play.
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Author: RefacerMan
Date: 2025-11-13 19:08
You only have so much energy to play your instrument and excessive moving around takes energy away from what you have to make music.
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Author: Alexey
Date: 2025-11-13 19:23
I remember one clarinetist (probably Woytek Mrozek) said at one masterclass that his German teacher required him not to move at all, that music should speak, not the body language.
At the same time, when you are really involved in making music, if it touches you, if it encourages you, it's hard not to follow with your body the music's ups and downs.
The issue is that sometimes ( actually quite often) the performer doesn't really understand or feel the music and starts to make up meaning, often overcomplicating music and phrases too much, substituting deep meaning with shallow bells and whistles, and fake artistry.
Also, nowadays it's hard to sell yourself as a musician if you can't amuse the public.
It's not bad, it's not good, it's that's it. There are still plenty of good musicians - some of them use bodies extensively.
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Author: ruben
Date: 2025-11-13 20:21
Refacerman: I agree! -plus the fact that bobbing up and down destabilizes your embouchure control and makes for unwanted sounds.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: cigleris
Date: 2025-11-13 23:55
Unfortunately today people listen with their eyes and not their ears.
Peter Cigleris
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Author: Fuzzy
Date: 2025-11-14 03:14
It all began with Elvis. That low-down-dirty dog! Hahaha!
Seriously, though - when you look at what "music" has become to the average 12-28 year-old...I'm not sure how we invite them into the concert hall.
Some? Much? Most? music isn't performed live anymore - at least not in public. Folks don't even care that they're listening to lip-sync, they aren't offended by it in the least - it's all about the show. Lights, dancing, provocative, daring.
If you could count every person hearing music at this exact moment in time - I wonder what small percentage would be hearing music live? (Including those at a "concert")
Wasn't there even a discussion here a few years back about military honor bands using recordings because of wind/temperature/etc.?
Sorta like how photography entered the digital age - driven by folks with immense understanding, attention to intricate process, talent, and connection to the physical/chemical world - and were replaced by those who cared nothing about the process, but more about the results they could conjure by turning the pixel, clicking a button. There's some amazing graphic artistry out there now - but very little great photography remains.
I'm wondering if music, too, will face a similar shrug of the shoulders...or has it already?
Fuzzy
;^)>>>
[edit: corrected spelling of "conjure"]
Post Edited (2025-11-14 03:14)
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Author: David H. Kinder
Date: 2025-11-14 03:29
Yes, I agree, but Martin Fröst is one of the most well-known clarinet artists. It is distracting, but if he wasn't... would we be talking about him?
Ridenour AureA Bb clarinet
Ridenour Homage mouthpiece
Vandoren Optimum Silver ligature (plate 1)
Vandoren Traditional #4 reeds
ATG System, Cordier Reed Trimmer, and A.L.E. Reed Balancer
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