That's Nice - Now, Play it Again.

We're always searching for that definitive - we'll, everything - recordings, phrasing, musical genus, technique - I find that sometimes on this quest, we verge off that path a bit (OR A LOT) and end up in the briar bushes, picking thorns out of every which body part.

My current playlist for the Mozart Concerto is Jon Manasse, Sabine Meyer, Reginald Kell, and Marcellus.

I like this concept of hearing something new and fresh when it comes to the Mozart. The Mozart can be like playing scales, we tend to just DO IT, and not think about the musical value of, yes I'm going to say it, scales. The Mozart, I think, perpetuates that stagnant playing especially if we're not careful about getting out of the notes and playing the music.

Lets liven it up a bit!!! Recordings are my best source for a fresh, new, and sometimes crazy look on works. And even better, if I just sit down in complete silence and study/sing all the parts of the score and solo to really development my own voice - it's a miraculous breakthrough! It's meticulous and I need to approach my studies like this more.

No doubt some teachers would disagree with my methods - but, then again, there are some really awfully teachers teaching people how to play the clarinet (this frightens me, by the way). That's beside the point, however, I'm old enough to know concepts of tone - I know the sound I want - not Reginald Kell's.

See, I'm removing thorns again - stupid ADD.

The impetus for writing this blog is that, on my shuffle playlist of Mozart recordings, Reginald Kell popped on. I smiled, actually, I think I giggled. At first listen, I couldn't help but notice his inconsistent vibrato.

I kept imagining someone grabbing his shoulders, while he's playing, and shaking him violently to make the vibrato. Wouldn't that be a spectacle at the Kennedy or Lincoln Center!

Something sparked my interest and I went back and listened again - stripping the "nuances" he is so fond of and simply listened to the music. Listening for his melodic development, treatment of the line - I wanted to hear how he sings. And though his tone can be compared to that of a clarinet made of Campbell's Soup Cans - his concept of phrase is really quite spectacular. I really am just sort of giddy over his eloquent sensitivty to the ebbs and flows, dissonances and consonances of the music. His music making is just something else. But - conceptually his tone - is different.

You have to get passed that fluff and allow the bias, that we as

clarinetists today harbor, to disappear. Just because it's different, just because it's not what you'd do - doesn't always mean that they're a bad musician, or stupid, or awful, or gay, or what-have-you.

There are other criteria which makes one a bad musician - like CLOSE MINDEDNESS.

I just got so excited about listening to this recording, weird, I KNOW! But I just saw it in a completely different light. Many years, I've sort of scorned such playing - but, it's something very new to me now.

I mean - I'm not going to go off and play with vibrato or switch to strength two reeds on a plastic see-through mouthpiece with a tin foil ligature (all though, that would be funny!) It's the music man! It's beautiful how we can create all these different and exciting stylistic ideas and concepts!!!

It's just hard to get passed Kell's vibrato and bright tone....

I can't WAIT to practice today!!!

Tune for Intonation

My "ode" to Josh Oxford.

I can't say that I'm a pitch nazi - but - I do like playing in tune. I wonder sometimes, and really wonder, if others pay as much attention to their own pitch. I can't count the number of times Josh and I have argued over the pedagogical study and development of intonation - how one should approach it, when it should be introduced into ones lesson, etc. etc. Or, even on a much deeper level, how intonation can shape a phrase - like, playing something slightly under the pitch. And by that, I mean outside of conventional harmonic treatment i.e. playing the third "xyz" flat so it coincides with the major chord...blah blah blah.

You get the idea.

We're talking about playing entire phrases slightly flat or sharp to change the timbre, mood, and indication of a phrase. It's a fascinating concept, and one I wish I had more time to study and research.

One day...when I'm done with "conventional" schooling. BUT...

Ones idea and concept of pitch is, I believe, contingent upon ones ability as a musician. Developing your ear is just as essential and important as developing your technique or legato or...anything. I find that the older I get, and the more aware of the pitch tendencies of my instrument, the more horrendously annoyed I become when others take such a reckless approach to their intonation.

How important is it to know the tendencies of your instrument? UHM...REAL IMPORTANT. How will my horn play when it's completely cold or after I've been playing for an hour...two hours. These are important things to know, especially as a performer and even more so as an orchestral player.

And please don't think that, while I'm on my soap box, I play perfectly in tune 'cause that's false. I struggle with it just as much as others, I worry about it, and many times stress about it - because I know for me it's what makes or breaks a performance. It's really hard to get passed bad intonation - especially when it's egregious.

A lot of this is boiling to the top because of my ensemble playing lately. We walk into rehearsal, tune at A-440, half way through rehearsal we're at A-442 and sometimes, I swear I'm playing at A-444 when I leave. I CAN BITE BUT SO MUCH!!!!

I accept this, I understand this, and have learned to adjust to the tendencies of the said ensemble.

Sometimes I really do wonder what teachers teach their students about intonation. How do they approach it? I don't think a majority of a students lesson should be focused on intonation, but I do think that students should be taught how to identify when and how they're out of tune. A tuner is just as important as a metronome. On the flip side of that, a student has to use the tuner as a guide - not a know all, be all.

Nothing really sparked this annoyance. Well, that's a lie, I'm just choosing to be judicious about what my impetuous was for this blog.

My tangent has gone on long enough - I need my energy to scream at the medical staff at the student health in the morning...a blog...for another day.

Happy PITCH MATCHING and music making!

Musicians are K-RAZY.

You know that adage, "Work hard, play harder." Man...is that not the truth or what? I can't imagine a group of individuals that work as hard as musicians. We are constantly being scrutinized, judged, forced to work in EXTREMELY stressful situations - and many of us do it with a smile!

Conservatory life is no different. Let me tell you. Particularly when you start seeing a trend within the practice rooms - the same people from 8am-12, and from 4-1

am - you learn what rooms to avoid because you know that annoying trumpet player loves these XYZ rooms which are closely connected. Or, when that good looking such-and-such player is practicing in their usual room.

A tangent. Sorry.

We're CRAZY.

Well, we really do play hard. Sometimes, I think we forget ourselves and when we let loose - we forget that others are around. Thankfully, we have each other, and we can always trust our fellow musicians in knowing that, If I get crazy...it's more than likely, you're tailing my tracks and following suit.

What a weekend!

I'm working on a Nielsen Clarinet Concerto Post - with some interesting analysis that I've done and a few article clippings and research I've found here and there.

Cheers and happy music making!!!