Thoughts from an Orchestral Clarinetist, Soloist, Teacher
I just responded to a question/problem with gasping for air, posted on the Clarinet Bboard on www.woodwind.org.
The problem:
To my knowledge, I have never had trouble with breath support or with air speed. I think my tone is decent and full, and I can play fff easily when required. … I have plenty of air [...]
Hello all you lovable Jeanjean fans, all 3 of you- me, my clarinet and… well, maybe just 2. My cat doesn’t like Jeanjean much.
I am still committed to learning (hopefully mastering) all 18 etudes from Paul Jeanjean’s Book of 18 in the next year. I officially began this process Oct 1, even though I’ve dabbled [...]
I strongly recommend all wind players read The Structures and Movement of Breathing by Barbara Conable and James Jordan.
Though written as A Primer for Choirs and Choruses, it is invaluable as a guide to any wind player wanting to improve their breathing skills.
It is a concise book, which in a mere 40 or so [...]
The breathing cycle is a beautiful and complex mechanism, which when used consciously in a natural way, gives us immense control over our phrasing, tone, pitch control and dynamics. Used unnaturally, problems arise such as shortness of breath, excessive nerves, hyper-ventilation while playing, fatigue and the numerous symptoms of those misuses in our playing; erratic [...]
I always meet interesting people during vacation visits to my father. While visiting him in S.C. over Christmas, he took me to the golf driving range so he could hit a few balls to enjoy the mild weather.
We had a bite to eat at the public snack bar. Several folks knew him, not [...]