I have a pupil that got 132 for Grade 1 clarinet. She has good tone but did use to struggle with reading lower register notes... but she is fine reading chalumeau register notes now. I separated notes from rhythmn recently and she can read rhythm really well.... but seems to have an absolute block learning to read the next register notes. She refuses to do it. She writes the equivalent chalumeau note above every higher register note. She refuses to take on board what the higher register note is called... It's really frustrating.... And i don't know how to help her.... Every now and then I make her use my copy of the music with no notes written in and she really struggles. She seems to have a block and can't accept that a G with the register key is a D.... She has learnt some scales that cross the break but she is finding them difficult as she doesn't realised that E with register key is B...
She can play the notes so nicely too... with a lovely tone and perfectly in tune.

Anyone experienced this before?
How do i deal with this?

I've had other pupils who struggle to play the notes... but not one who can play them easily (and slur across the break) but can't read the notes!!!

Not a solution but did she learn to play a lot of notes at once instead of adding them gradually and so learning one at a time and where it 'lives' on the stave?

Not easy to advise how to resolve this, but I would do everything to discourage writing the equivalent chalumeau notes in. Though necessary to know at first, you have to move onto knowing the notes themselves. Depending what tutor book she has there might be exercises in there for the clarino register. I've used Tune A Day this way in the past but there is a wealth of things. It sounds like someone who needs that more methodical approach, where others can leave the tutors earlier. Keep questioning the pupil, like 'what is this note? show me the fingering? etc.

If you want lots of lower register tunes while you sort this out, I would recommend First Repertoire by Harris and Johnson. Even the grade 3 pieces are all in the low register, and some fun pieces in there.

Sorry not to be much help.

Yes maybe..... I mess around with the next register notes before Grade 1 preparation... then we forget about them in order to do Grade 1... Then return to them post Grade 1. As she had no problems producing the notes maybe I went to fast.... The tutor book also introduces the notes 3 at a time (Clarinet Basics)....
I was thinking that maybe I should go back and just do one note at a time.... Might need a different group of pieces.
This girl is so frustrating as what she's good at she's really good at... yet she has gaps in her practising (it's erratic) and gaps in her knowledge.
I have other pupils trying desperately hard to produce the high notes in tune yet she has them under control without effort!!!



[quote name='neil.clarinet' date='Jul 13 2007, 08:37 PM' post='552211']
I've used Tune A Day this way in the past but there is a wealth of things.

If you want lots of lower register tunes while you sort this out, I would recommend First Repertoire by Harris and Johnson. Even the grade 3 pieces are all in the low register, and some fun pieces in there.


I don't have Tune a Day (only a very old one...) I use Clarinet Basics which goes too fast for this pupil right now... so thanks Neil... I will invest in this.... It might be just what she needs... She does need a methodical approach and Clarinet Basics just goes too quickly for her...
In fact I used the old Tune a Day as a child... and I have used some pieces from this with her... The only pieces she'll play at the moment.

I have First Repertoire... My Grade 3 candidate just got 136 play Spy and Contredanse.... but that pupil can read the high notes well so I don't mind her playing lower register pieces....but I want this pupil to learn to read high register notes... or she won't really be making that much progress.....

The one I was talking about was the old Tune A Day by Herfurth, and it's lesson 19 and 20. Looking at other books I have, this is definitely the most methodical one with the upper register, though I'm not sure about starting with G and F. If she can play them all though it shouldn't matter. I don't like this book as a starter but sometimes use it for specific problems a pupil is having, as it is very slow and methodical.

The other thing you can do is two octave scales reading from music. Playing from memory alone does not help matters like these.

Thank you Neil... You've been really helpful...

Make her learn the notes one by one, and then explain to her that the register key isn't for an octave, but more (or I might have got it wrong and it is less?)...

Can you get her to tell the notes to you out loud before she attempts to play, if you do this gradually with some exercises, it should become more natural for her as she gets used to the note B, then C etc.
In the Clarinet Basics there's that little piece called Kangeroo Waltz on page 37 this may help, especially if you talk the notes through first
Writing the notes as she is at present, is only going to confuse her terribly in the long run. Better she take some time now learning the proper names
I had a pupil come to me from another teacher on the mainland, and although she could play well and read the notes well, she had absolutely no idea what any of them were called, so we went back to basics and used a very similar method to the above, and hey presto! She is now a little mine of information for some of my other students

I used A Tune a Day to learn the upper register and I thought it was quite good.

Your pupil might like the exercises which relate the lower register to the upper register.

[quote name='janie37' date='Jul 14 2007, 10:11 AM' post='552367']
Can you get her to tell the notes to you out loud before she attempts to play, if you do this gradually with some exercises, it should become more natural for her as she gets used to the note B, then C etc.
In the Clarinet Basics there's that little piece called Kangeroo Waltz on page 37 this may help, especially if you talk the notes through first


I will do that tomorrow..... She can play kangaroo waltz... because it's so obvious what the next note is due to the preceding chalumeau note!!!!
I thought Yankee Doodle might be better as it only has higher register B and C.... then make her do Stage 16 of Clarinet Basics again with the Take a break etc exercises as they use one higher note at a time. I think I will go to the lesson armed with a rubber tomorrow.

It's weird how one person can struggle with something and another sail through it. I have 4 pupils at this type of standard... one struggles to read the higher notes. One struggles to produce the notes... and 2 struggle to slur over the break (breath control not good enough yet!!!!)
This is why teaching is such fun.... and when you meet a problem you've not experienced before... it's kind of fun trying to work out what the problem is and trying to work out how to solve the problem.