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The Complete Guide to Long Tones
You’ve probably heard your band director, private teacher, or other well-meaning music instructor tout the benefits of long tones at some point during your musical career. Maybe you’ve even been known to play a few long tones yourself (when the mood strikes). Better yet, maybe long tones are as integral to your daily routine as your morning coffee (#longtonesforlife). So what’s the big deal about long tones anyway? There’s a reason everybody keeps talking about long tones – they’re kind of a big deal for musicians. Whether you’re a long tone skeptic or believer, there’s no argument that long tones are super important for your musical growth and development. Much like…
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Brymer Burns ?
Celebrated English clarinetist Jack Brymer was not one to mince his words. While reading his book Clarinet, I’ve noted some of my favorite subtle critiques he offers, which I’ve dubbed “Brymer Burns.” Repertoire On the Bernstein Sonata: Possibly better to play than to hear, but makes its mark with audiences. On the Brahms sonatas: Little needs to be said about these two masterpieces except that they do belong to the clarinet and not to the viola. On the Antony Garlic Sonata for E flat clarinet: Modern, not difficult, and (dare one say?) highly flavoured. On the Saint-Saens Sonata. Slow movement is weak. On the Templeton Pocket Sized Sonatas: Should not…
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The ABC’s of Famous Clarinetists
The other night, I was having some trouble falling asleep. I tossed and turned, thoughts racing through my head. Most normal people (aka non-musicians) might count sheep or count backwards from 300 in increments of 3. What did my eternally dorky clarinet self do? I tried to name a famous clarinetist for every letter of the alphabet. I’ll admit, I had to stretch the rules a few times (using first names instead of last), but here are the names I used: Arrignon, Michel Baermann, Carl/Heinrich Cavallini, Ernesto Draper, Charles Eban, Eli Fröst, Martin Galper, Avrahm Hermstedt, Johann Ivy Benson Juler, Pauline Kell, Reginald Langenus, Gustave Marcellus, Robert Neidich, Charles Opperman,…
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Quick Fix Friday: Breathe Like Kirby
I love video games, especially when I can combine them with clarinet pedagogy. This week’s Quick Fix Friday is an analogy to help younger students (especially gamers) visualize proper breathing. I’ve taught dozens of beginner clarinetists over the years, and one of the most important fundamentals they must learn is air and breath support. Many younger students aren’t using enough air, and I can only say “More air!” so many times before we both get frustrated. Enter Kirby. He (or she??) is cute, cotton-candy pink…and a breathing machine! Anyone that’s ever underestimated Kirby in SSB (that’s Super Smash Bros., for any of my non-gamer readers) knows that his gale-force wind…
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Quick Fix Friday: Head Position
It’s been a hot minute since I’ve posted a Quick Fix Friday, so I’d thought I’d remedy that with a quick post on proper head position. You probably know not to slouch, cross your feet, or allow other poor posture habits into your practicing, but when was the last time you checked out your head position? An alarming number of clarinetists (student and professional) are guilty of dipping their heads towards their chests when they play. This is a no-no because it constricts your air flow, and we all know that bad air = bad sound. The quick fix? Check your head position in a mirror while you’re practicing to…
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Which Concerto You Should Practice Next, According to Your Clarinet’s Serial Number
If you’re looking for new repertoire ideas to practice this summer, look no further! Here’s how you can use your clarinet’s serial number to generate your next concerto: Locate the serial number on your clarinet. Add all the digits together. Take the sum from Step 2 and add the digits together until you have a single digit sum. Check the list below to see which piece corresponds to your single digit sum. Go practice! Example: If your serial number is 379125 you would add 3+7+9+1+2+5 to get 27. Add 2+7 to get 9. Use your single digit sum to find your next piece to practice: Aaron Copland – Concerto Paul…
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The Complete Guide to the Clarinet Altissimo Register
The clarinet is blessed with the largest range of the entire woodwind family. But Voltaire (and Peter Parker) were right when they warned us, “With great power comes great responsibility.” Our responsibility? To perfect the altissimo register so we don’t burst nearby eardrums or alarm any dogs in the nearby vicinity. The clarinet follows a logical fingering and keywork system. Once you’ve mastered crossing the break from the throat tone to the clarion register, all is fine and dandy until you start inching higher away from the staff. Things quickly turn from straightforward to clunky and confusing once clarinetists venture above the upper break (above high C) into altissimo-land. Then…
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The Prepared Musician’s Pre-Performance Mental Checklist
Every musician is familiar with the barrage of thoughts that flutter through their mind before beginning a performance. “What if I have a memory slip? Where is my teacher sitting? Why didn’t I choose a less stressful career??” This cacophony of thoughts is normal, and with time you will learn how to control them. In the meantime, there are several productive thoughts to improve your next performance. I’ve created this pre-performance checklist for my own performances, and I remind all of my students to use these steps to maximize their performances and auditions. Here is my pre-performance mental checklist: Don’t be in a hurry to begin playing. Fight the urge…
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Kroepsch Boot Camp
After the success of my Baermann Boot Camp from last October, I’ve been getting a lot of requests to do another boot camp. After all, scales and technical studies are much more palatable when you suffer practice together, right? For this boot camp, I’ve chosen the Kroepsch 416 Progressive Daily Studies for the Clarinet, which are one of my ride or die clarinet studies. And a lot of you agreed – the Facebook poll I created on Jenny Clarinet resulted in an overwhelming majority of Kropesch fans (sorry Jettel, you’ll have to wait your turn!). So, without further ado, I’d like to introduce the Kroepsch Boot Camp, a practice routine designed…
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Clarinet Crimes You Might Be Unknowingly Committing
As the self-appointed clarinet police, it’s my job to keep the clarinet community safe from crime. Here are some crimes many clarinetists are unknowingly committing: Infractions Flipping from middle B to C. The “pinky keys” can be confusing, and you should avoid sliding from one key to the other on the same side. But why make extra work for yourself when you can play B with both pinkies and simply lift the left pinky to produce C? Adding the Eb pinky key on high C#. The clarinet is not a perfect instrument. Some notes are atrociously out of tune, C# being one of them. Adding the pinky key just makes…