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Practice Hack to Build Better Transitions
Most musicians know that it’s not about how long you practice, but how well you practice. (quality over quantity!) Most musicians also know that it’s important to break pieces down into smaller section to gradually loop together. However, something I’m not sure most musicians know (or actively incorporate into their practice sessions) is effectively looping sections together. Enter one of my favorite simple practice hacks. When you are practicing a section of music, always end on the next downbeat. The problem with not looping to the next downbeat – Many musicians end on the last note of the measure or section they’re practicing. This overemphasizes weaker parts of the beat…
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10 More Ways to Become a Better Clarinetist In Under 10 Seconds
Let me preface this post by saying that the clarinet is a lot of fun, but it’s also a lot of work. True progress comes from consistent practice efforts throughout many months, years, and decades. That being said, there are a few quick and easy improvements you can make in under 10 seconds (yes, really!) I’m excited to share even more ways you can become a better clarinetist in under 10 seconds. (If you haven’t already, be sure to check out the first blog post in this series – it was one of my first blog posts ever!) Here are 10 more ways you can become a better clarinetist in…
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The Relationship Between Breathing and Tuning: How to Use Breathing to Improve Clarinet Tuning
Let’s face it – the clarinet can be a bit…pitchy. If you’ve read my Complete Guide to Clarinet Tuning, you know that there are several factors which can affect clarinet tuning. I wanted to take a closer look at one of these which you can use to your advantage to help improve your clarinet tuning: Breathing! Any time you take a breath, the next note you play will be slightly sharper (compared to its pitch had you not taken the breath). Here’s how you can use this information to improve your clarinet tuning: And finally, here’s a bonus breathing tip: If there’s a delicate attack (especially at softer dynamics or…
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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!
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Quick Fix Friday: Tongue the Ties
Happy Friday! This week’s quick fix is one of my favorites, since it’s helped me improve my rhythmic precision. Are ties messing up your rhythm? If so, you’re not alone – ties are great to create musical tension and suspension, but they can also obscure the rhythm. The quick fix? Practice the passage a few times, tonguing the tied note so you can better feel the rhythm and subdivision. After this feels comfortable, add the tie back in for more solid and stable rhythm. A lot of times, like in the musical example below, the tie connects to a downbeat. If the rhythm isn’t precise, it can also interfere with…
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How to achieve delicate attacks on clarinet
At first glance, the words “delicate attacks” might seem like an oxymoron (who decided to call them attacks in the first place?!). Despite the seeming contradiction, it is possible to play beautiful, delicate attacks on the clarinet across all registers. First things first – what is an attack? Simply put, attacks are the beginning of each note you play. Depending on the articulation you are using and the style of music you are playing, some attacks will be more emphatic (such as accented or marcato notes), while others should be more subtle (legato notes and lyrical passages). It’s important to develop a wide variety of styles for your attacks so…
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Your Clarinet Summer Glow Up Guide
Happy summer! (If we’re being pedantic, it doesn’t officially start until next week, but these high temperatures could have fooled me!) If you want to use your summer break for a major musical glow up, you’ve come to the right place! If you’re unfamiliar, a glow up is a positive transformation, whether it’s physical, mental, spiritual, and now…musical! There are tons of ways you can improve this summer to complete your clarinet glow up, and here are a few of my recommendations: Set goals. A glow up is all about feeling more confident with yourself, so in order to do that, you should make a list of goals or skills…
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10 Ways to Create More Musical Phrases
There comes a moment in every musician’s practice routine when they stare at a piece of music and think… “I have no idea how I want to play this!” Practicing the nuts and bolts of a piece (technique, rhythm, instrumental fundamentals) is relatively straightforward (most of the time, anyways), but musical interpretation opens up an entirely new realm of possibility. Phrasing choices and musical interpretation of a piece will depend greatly on the genre, style, era, and a multitude of other factors. Here are a few suggestions to help you experiment and create a more compelling phrase: Identify the phrases. It’s hard to build a better phrase if you don’t…
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21-Day Clarinet Discovery Challenge
If you’re like many clarinetists this past year, your motivation to practice probably experienced its fair share of ups and downs. While this is certainly understandable, it can be difficult to become motivated and inspired to begin practicing and trying to achieve your musical goals. This is why I’ve decided to create a 21-day clarinet discovery challenge – to help you discover (or rediscover) your favorite pieces, players, and other sources of musical inspiration. Each day, you’ll be given a new prompt to explore and research so you can learn more about the clarinet. Many of these challenges take place outside the practice room, but some challenges invite you to…
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The Science of Squeaking – What Your Squeaks are Trying to Tell You
If you’re a clarinetist, you probably learned very quickly that squeaks are just a fact of life. Hopefully, as you improve and begin to develop your skills on the clarinet, your squeaks will become fewer and less frequent. But in the meantime, let’s talk about ways you can stop the squeaking. First of all, what is a squeak? (besides embarrassing, if you’re in band class) A squeak is simply an unexpected overtone. More simply put, a squeak is just a really high note that you played by accident. Here’s a bit of clarinet acoustic science: Whenever we play any note on the clarinet (called the fundamental), we are actually hearing…