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Quick Fix Friday: Keep your chin up!
Happy Friday! This week’s quick tip works both literally and metaphorically. The quick fix? Keep your chin up! A common issue I see among clarinet players is playing with a lowered chin. This compresses the air way, making it more difficult to use or air effectively. The bottom of the chin should remain parallel to the ground. To ensure you keep your chin up while playing, raise your music stand a bit above eye level to fight the urge to drop your chin. You can also use a clock, poster, or wall decoration as a reference point if playing music from memory. P.S. Keep your chin up metaphorically, meaning stay…
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Quick Fix Friday: Listen before you look
Happy Friday! If you’re trying to improve your listening skills (for pitch and/or rhythm), there’s one important thing you need to do… Listen before your look at the tuner or metronome! Instead of constantly looking at your tuner or metronome, take a few seconds to listen to yourself. How do you think your pitch is? Is it sharp? Flat? By how much? For rhythm, are you lining up with the metronome? Are you rushing? Slowing down? Once you’ve listened and answered these questions, look at your tuner or met. Were your answers close to the results you see? By listening to yourself before looking at external sources (aka your tuner…
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Quick Fix Friday: Lean into lower notes
Happy Friday! Have you ever seen a passage like the one below with large intervallic leaps? Passages like this can be difficult both technically and on a musical level. The tendency is for the higher notes to pop out, and there is often an imbalance in dynamics. The quick fix? Lean into the lower notes! When you have large intervallic leaps, many clarinetists focus on the higher notes. This makes sense, since they’re more likely to pop or squeak. Instead of focusing on the higher notes, lean into the lower notes. These should serve as a musical springboard to catapult you to the higher notes. This will also help equalize…
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Quick Fix Friday: Don’t tune too soon!
Happy Friday! By now, you should know that I have a lot to say about tuning, but here’s a quick fix many musicians overlook… Tuning too soon! Several of my students have told me that they tune as soon as they assemble the clarinet. The majority of them will be flat, through no fault of their own. Why? If you tune as soon as you assemble the clarinet, this doesn’t give you a very accurate reading, since the clarinet hasn’t been played much and will be colder. (Remember, cold=lower pitch; warm=higher pitch) As you warm-up (both physically and mentally) and blow warm air through the clarinet, the clarinet will literally…
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Quick Fix Friday: Tune by Trends, Not by Notes
Happy Friday! Does it seem like you’re always having to adjust by pushing in or pulling out? If so, you’re probably tuning based on individual notes. The quick fix? Tune according to trends, not according to individual notes. What does that mean? When you tune, you should choose a few reliable notes on your clarinet (I like written low C, open G, middle C, and top line F on clarinet). Play these with a tuner and look for overall trends. If you are “trending” sharp, most or all of these notes are sharp. Conversely, if you are “trending” flat, most or all of your notes are flat. If you adjust…
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Quick Fix Friday: Move like molasses
Happy Friday! Title catch your attention? Hear me out! (Maybe I’m inspired by all the holiday baking 🥣) Oftentimes in technical passages, we tend to rush through the phrase. As a result, the notes become jumbled and indecipherable. I have a mental trick I use that helps me make sure each note is clear and enunciated. The quick fix? Move like molasses! Have you ever had those nightmares where you’re moving in slow motion, almost like you’re running through molasses? That’s the feeling we want to recreate on difficult technical passages. This mental trick encourages you to make sure each note is played clearly and precisely before moving on to…
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Quick Fix Friday: Steady Air = Steady Sound
Happy Friday! I wanted to share a quick tip to help you improve your sound. We all know that air is all-important (that’s why it’s called a “wind” instrument), and the connection between air and sound is closely related. The quick tip? If you’re looking to improve your sound, focus on the air you’re using. A steady sound is a reflection of steady air. If your tone is wobbly, your air is probably wobbly. If there are spikes in your sound, there are spikes in your air flow. Take a moment to analyze your sound. Be detailed in what you’d like to improve – smoother sound (smoother air); louder sound…
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Quick Fix Friday: When in doubt, play it out
Happy Friday! This week, I wanted to share one of my most-used practice techniques – using your air! Granted, this isn’t some big secret (after all, we do play a woodWIND instrument!). However, I’ve found that oftentimes when we’re working on a passage, we’re so focused on the technique/rhythm/articulation/other that we neglect to use our best air. The quick fix? When in doubt, play it out! Simply put, play louder. By playing at a louder dynamic, this increases both your air quantity and speed, resulting in better air usage. Using good air can solve (or at least improve) a multitude of issues in the practice room. This is especially useful…
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Quick Fix Friday: Ear-Training Tuning Tip
Happy Friday! This week, I wanted to share a quick tip I’ve been using to improve both my tuning and ear-training. A tuner is a helpful tool to have while practicing. However, sometimes musicians become too reliant on watching the tuner and reacting to what it says. Instead, use your tuner to help train your ears for good pitch/tuning and become a more active listener. The quick fix: Turn on your tuner and pick a note to tune. Close your eyes and sustain the note until you think you’re in tune. Open your eyes to see how close you were to being in tune. It’s that simple! This ear-training will…
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Quick Fix Friday: Say Cheers to Good Hand Position
Happy Friday! This week, we’re saying cheers to the weekend, but also to good hand position! ? So, raise a glass (mugs, coffee cups, and others work best) and notice your hand position as your fingers wrap around the cup. (Don’t hold the cup by the handle.) Do you see how your fingers are slightly curved? The fingers should be relaxed, and there should be no unnatural positions or tensions. Another way to check your hand position is to bring your arms to your side and let your fingers relax. This is also great hand position to use when playing clarinet! Happy Friday, and happy practicing!