For every musician, practising properly and diligently is important for improving technical abilities and musicality, and for fully developing that creative talent. Consider these tips for learning to properly practise the clarinet to develop technical dexterity and musicality.
Before beginning to practise, remember these wind instrument playing rules: maintain good posture by sitting on the edge of your seat, with your back straight and legs uncrossed; always breathe through your mouth, not your nose, into your diaphragm, not your lungs, and blow out steadily; and do not puff your cheeks.
Clarinet Scales and Arpeggios
It may sound like a boring way to practise, but playing scales and arpeggios helps a clarinet player learn to use their fingers more precisely, whether going from one note to the next, or jumping over several tones. Learning several different scales helps a clarinetist get used to several different keys and adjust to key changes in pieces of music.
A beginner’s book will include scales, warm-ups and simple melodies which are all useful for practising scales and arpeggios. Advancing clarinet method books will help a clarinetist continue to develop skills with similar scales, warm-ups and accompanying solo pieces.
When practising with these books, begin with the scale and warm-up. Play the scale over and over until it is practically memorized. Play the warm-up until you can play it perfectly. Then move on to the accompanying piece. Refer to a clarinet fingering chart for difficult notes.
Clarinet Method Book Music Pieces
When perfecting scales and warm-ups, begin by playing them slowly, concentrating on each note. Play them gradually faster as they become easier for you. With this method, scales are eventually memorized, and more difficult parts of warm-ups become easy.
When it comes to playing the solo pieces in your clarinet method book, try a similar approach as you took to scales and warm-ups. On your first sight-read, play through the piece slowly, and try not to stop when it becomes difficult, but move through each note until the end of the piece.
When playing through the piece again for repeated practise, break it into sections and play them over individually. This method will help section off more difficult passages in the music. Be sure to go over each section slowly, paying close attention to proper notes and rhythms. Go over difficult passages as many times as you have to until notes and rhythms are correct.
Piece each section back together as you play slowly through the music. When proper notes and rhythms are in place, it is easier to focus more on dynamics and develop musicality. It also becomes easier to gradually bring your playing up to the piece’s proper tempo.
Try coupling this “technical” practise with the practise of playing long tones to develop good clarinet sound. And remember to practise regularly. It is with time, diligent practise and proper practising methods that clarinet playing becomes a well-honed skill.
Michelle Wright - Michelle is an avid reader and writer, with a focus on book, film and music reviews, gluten free recipes, and fiction writing "how-tos."
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