Buzzing Reed- Classical Music & Clarinet Culture

The Minnesota Orchestra, a classical orchestra, commissions not one, but two “jazz” concertos in as many years. I like that.

Composer and performer Evan Christopher’s music is steeped in the history and vocabulary of Bechet, Barney Bigard and other early masters, but it’s also very modern. You’re hearing something old, yet it feels fresh and contemporary. Add Christopher’s compelling stage presence and gorgeous sound — if the clarinet can be this beautiful and expressive, why don’t more people play it? — and this promises to be an electrifying evening.

To read more, go to:

MinnPost – Clarinetist Evan Christopher makes the old sound new.

TempermentalMusician: Warning! Temperamental Alto Clarinetist!: Zazzle.com Store.

Now you know what to get all your grumpy, tempermental clarinetist friends for Christmas! They have mugs, t-shirts, mouse pads, key chains…

The Incessant Noise: Daniel Goode – Circular Thoughts.

From the blog “The Incessant Noise, rare and forgotten experimental music.”

I enjoyed the vivid description of the music in the second paragraph:

“Circular Thoughts” was composed in 1974, and was first released in a version for gamelan. This here is a solo clarinet version played by Goode himself.

“Circular Thoughts” starts on some very quick ostinati, with a nice melodic pattern. The real meat of the piece begins a couple of minutes in. After a short silence, the clacking of the clarinet keys can be heard without any notes. Goode slowly, quietly begins blowing in the clarinet, and doesn’t let up much for the duration of the piece. An exploration of circular breathing techniques, the material of the piece is really just a fast ascending modal scale repeated endlessly, but Goode accents different notes at different points, pulling melodies out of the repeated figure. The accented notes then slowly recede back into the texture of the scale pattern. At times, the effect makes it sound like several instruments playing, not through any multiphonics or anything, just by having a repeated textural bed with individual notes popping out. At times it almost sounds like a solo version of Steve Reich’s early phasing music, which doesn’t make any sense but there you go.

Towards the end of the piece Goode starts to throw in some traditional scottish (?) melodies now and again, making a nice little contrast to the repetitive stream of scales before. Incredibly beautiful, meditative, and probably my favorite piece of music for a solo, monophonic instrument.

A friend recommended this YouTube video. I wonder if this guy gives lessons! Such tone, style, rhythm, intonation. Genius. Now I know what I have been missing all these years! The Mozart Clarinet Concerto will never be the same.

Young clarinetist passionate about a simpler time.

This guy is amazing if you ever get a chance to hear him. He came to Columbus 4 or 5 years ago, when he would have been 20 years old, or s:

“Michigan-born Dave Bennett got his first opportunity to make music around age 10 when he had the option to join his grade-school band. His grandfather gave him a clarinet and he “fell in love with it,” practicing up to six or seven hours a day.

“Then my grandfather bought me a tape of Benny Goodman, because it had the clarinet, and that’s when it really sunk in. I couldn’t believe a clarinet could sound that way. I knew then that this was going to be a career.”

Read more:Young clarinetist passionate about a simpler time.

How many calories do you burn when playing the clarinet for an hour | ChaCha Answers.

A: The more musical you are, the more calories you burn.

Is it harder to learn how to play the flute or the clarinet | ChaCha Answers.

A: Many people say that the flute is harder to play than the clarinet. ChaCha on!

- Obviously – Because clarinet is not an instrument; it’s an evil influence. And we know how evil draws an easy crowd.