"LI'I Darlin" Neal Hefti. Jazz clarinet

Also practising singing out the note names instead of la la ing. seems to help me with recognising the notes quicker. Especially the new notes I am learning.
Does that make sense?

Makes perfect sense. Sounds like you've made a lot of progress.

Good morning Barry

some weeks I am firing on all cylinders and the next I feel like I have hit a brick wall.
"slowly slowly catchee monkey" I guess.

Still its fun and yes, I have progressed since those early days when, I wasn't sure I had done the right thing buying a Clarinet. .
Colchester was a turning point for me, meeting you guy's, taking in the atmosphere and listening to the music.

I believe Colchester is happening again next year, and all being well I'll be there for it

Me to, as you know its just down the road from me.
They wrote and asked me if I wanted to be on their mailing list, so they should let me know.
Look forward to that.

Cool : I think details usually get announced around about February. Wonder who'll be doing the masterclass this year?

Havent a clue, but I must admitt I did enjoy them. will you be taking Part again?

Hopefully, yes : I'll certainly apply to take part in the masterclass anyway

Look forward to that Barry

Concert band: Pastime with Good Company (the Philip Sparke arrangement - 2nd clarinet)
Jazz band: Blues Machine, Birdland, Georgia on my Mind, Heard it through the Grapevine.

Today I've been practising the 1st clarinet part of Dance Movements ready for band tonight. When I say practising, I mean I've been doing the odd 15mins here and there when pupils haven't turned up! I've played it before, about 4 years ago, but am having to re-learn every single bit of it!

And how're you getting on with it? Love the solo bit but don't get to play it - do you?? It's when all the semiquavers start bottom of 2nd page (complete with all the sharps) that's tricky. That's what I need to work on now. The bottom hal of the 3rd page used to get me too a year or two ago but I can do that now You new to this piece or done it before?

Me: not played since Tuesday. On Monday after band my lip was so sore it was stinging Problem extending further down from lip than usual too. Might have been playing the new bass clari reed last week and some quite intensive practise too. Giving myself a couple of days to get past this as no point making it worse is there?

Ended up working late tonight so I didn't get home in time to do any practice, which is irritating because it means I won't get my minimum 3 evenings mid-week in this week.

I'm supposed to be practising playing subtone, learning Solar in the 6 keys I didn't learn it in the previous fortnight, starting on working up some scale patterns and doing rhythmic displacement exercises with a particular focus on the and of 3.

Making sure I can play my York recital pieces. I have a rehearsal with bohemian on Friday...

today I have been practicing for the school musical...my list of instruments keeps increasing the closer I get to the show, and I can't play it all yet as it is... now I think I'm doing flute, bit of picc, descant and sop recorders...achieved by dabbling mainly in reed 1, but some of reed 2 as well...

4 or 5 weeks to go, getting evermore stressed as each day passes!

I'm just off to do some more work on the slow movement of the Mozart quintet. Those upward demisemiquaver runs in the middle... my teacher says they should be like strings of pearls. I know what she means but they just won't come together - the strings have broken and the pearls are all over the place!

Pearls before swine?

j

Such a fun piece :-) Played it for the can't remember how manyth time last year in a programme of Sparke's music which included the version of Pastime others are also referring to in this thread.

Dawn - the Christmas music didn't come out last night so didn't get chance to look at that bit for you.

This evening has been dedicated to the 1st alto sax part for American in Paris......just 1 bit that really isn't under the fingers way too many leger lines and sharps, would be ok on clarinet but needs more work on sax.

Moving on now to a new set of clarinet music, after the recital on Saturday

So, I'm having a go at cracking the Copland sonata and concerto, the Sparke concerto, the Thomas Dunhill Phantasy suite, the Malcolm Arnold Sonatina, the four Characteristic pieces by Hurlstone, and Weber's 2nd clari concerto. I have the Saint-Saens sonata on standby...

I love the Sparke concerto especially the first movement. At the moment I'm practising the Sutermeister Capriccio as my teacher has given me this to work on

Not played the Sutermeister for years, it is a good work though...

I'm hoping to play at least some of the Sparke in recitals next year

I'd love to hear you play the Arnold sometime. It's one I'll come back to. got it as good as I can right now but one day I'll be able to play it more fluently.


Been Practising Kloze piece 4 (from he Kloze Clarinet School) - and lots of scales and technical stuff lately and the Baermann Adagio and Weber concertino - specifically the 4 most difficult runs - they're coming along!! Hopefully they'll be perfect by the time I play this in a recital...

We're not doing the solos - I mean, the whole section plays everything. I like the solo tune as well.

I played it at Easter in a holiday music course, but I was playing 1st so have had to relearn the semiquavery bit an octave down! However, the conductor has very bluntly said 'The trumpets and the oboe have the tune. They're important and you're not, so play the right rhythms quietly, the notes don't matter!'

Today, in fact, we did play that, and in jazz band we just played loads of the old favourites - including All Blues

for me Pastime is coming slowly.... It's where we get G# F# and E# all in a bar that throws me I can play most of the third page now, it's just a few bars at the bottom of the 2nd. I bet first is actually easier as the alternative fingerings up there are easier to get round.... Ah well another case of 2nd being good for me

I'll bear that in mind then for any northern recitals in 2010 Dawn

I've just got a copy of the Demnitz Elementary School for Clarinet and am finding it strangely addictive - I just can't leave it alone! Currently working through the scale studies...

I'm also practising the Baerman Tarantella from the current Grade 5 syllabus, Evening from the Grade 4, Georgia on My Mind, Fever, Bring Him Home and Moon River!

Thankyou




You know what's funny???? I was looking through my study book tonight (By the way Barry it might not be the one you mentioned the other week---- it's an orange book - 50 classical studies so I don't think it has those high note studies you mentioned) and I saw the Baerman tarantella and thought "Ooooh I remember that one. Did I do that for an exam? Wonder when I played that..... Hmmmm..... and I come on here and find out it will have been when I did my grade 5

Sounds like you had a fun evening clarijo:

I was doing scales in 3rds (majors first. Finding A and Ab and E and Eb a bit tricky and there's a couple of tricky bits at the high end in Bb and D major that need work too.

The end of the Kloze fantasia is tricky too -- kind of tripletty sections (written as appogiaturas or trills) on semiquavers, some of them high and needing alternate fingerings, THEN.... I need to slur a couple and staccato tongue a couple in each group But if it were easy I wouldn't be learning anything would I?

I really like that book : and still use it with pupils to this day.

Have a look at number 46. As well as being a fine study to look at, it was also the list C piece I used when I did my grade 8 years and years ago!

I've been busy practicing lots this week. I've been working on Kuffner - Swiss Air for Clarinet, 1st clarinet parts for Saint-Saens Organ Symphony, Bizet's Carmen and Theme from ET ready for a concert in 3 weeks and panto music for the Uni panto where I'm playing clarinet and tenor sax. Plus I've been practicing my Grade 6 flute pieces / scales

One of my favourite, favourite works ever...

When I finally prise myself away from the computer this morning I shall be practising the music for my recorder exam next week:


vanEyck "Kits Almande"
Handel Sonata in C major op 1 no 7 HWV 365
Bach Sarabande from Flute Partita BWV 1013
Matthias Maute "It's Summertime"
Alan Bullard "Top Hat Quadrille" from "Hat Box"
Gossec arr. Piers Adams "Tambourin"


Target is to play the lot through as for a performance in half an hour.

Just how high did you want to play, Dawn?!!! Number 46 has top G in it and looks like a real finger cruncher!! I'm assuming that you are aspiring to top B! Just bear in mind that some of us are still trying to get to grips with number 23....

(Thanks for PM, by the way!)

Number 46 has its moments, but it's not that bad for a grade 8 study. Number 50 is quite interesting...

There are pieces in the current grade 8 list with top As in...

Ouch!!! I have a long way to go...!

I'm currently tackling top As in a piece on my e-flat (with earplugs!). I'm practising for a concert I'm doing next week where we're playing the Mike Mower flute concerto. Brilliant piece.

Ouch!!! Top As on Eb are much shriller than on Bb!!

I think "much" is understatement!

Actually I don't mind the "noise". Not sure about the others around me It's how dead my lip is after a rehearsal that I hate! Many rizzlas will be used tomorrow I think...

I remember that from my school days! That was how I first got the relationship between major key and relative minor keys stuck in my head - I still remember a study in E minor with a key signatire of one sharp.

I've not done enough practice at all this past few weeks. I was supposed to have a lesson last week which we postponed to this week by mutual consent because I haven't done enough practice. Work is busy at the moment which means I'm not getting home until 8-9pm a couple of nights a week (and that involves making a stand and going home on time the other nights). It won't last forever, just another couple of weeks. At the moment my major concern is how to cope with next weekend - I've got a rehearsal (for small jazz group) 12-2pm Saturday, then a big band gig Saturday night (I think 2 x 1.25 hr sets), then a small group gig Sunday afternoon/evening. I'm not at all sure I've got the stamina to cope with it, so all my available practice time is concentrated on stamina practice and I still can't play Solar in 12 keys!

I played Eb for a recording of that piece a couple of years ago - it really hurt by the end. It's a fun piece - a bar or so extra for the switches to Bb would have been appreciated though!

Just got home from late shift at work today.
Very tough and busy day at work due to the strike by East London Buses.

Before I went to work today I was practicing my grade 7 pieces;

A2. Donizetti, Andante sostenuto.
B2. Tailleferre, Arabesque.
C4. Allen, Study number 58.

And (of course) scales and apeggios.

Really tough decision for grade 7 pieces as I really like nearly all the choices.

AND... I had a lesson yesterday and my teacher said she thought I could be ready for exam in March!!!
I felt nervous and scared already, just hearing those words, GULP!

Regards, Peter.

You've really pushed onwards! Best of luck with that Peter

Nothing in weeks... first lesson after 3 weeks on Wed. and I've picked up my flute like once since the last lesson.

Babybird2's flute get up and go has gotten up and gone without a trace

Are you going to give it some exercise over the weekend?

I'll admit, my flute hasn't seen much use recently. It's been mainly clarinet, saxophone and 'cello of late...

I have been thinking about ways to increase my practice time. I was reading about the 10,000 hours of practice needed for expertness in the Adult learners' forum and realised that at 1 hour a day and being already the age that I am I've got to speed up to fit it all in. So the new plan is to do 1 hour on scales, exercises and studies ( well that is if theres any time left after doing all |I want on scales) and later another hour on pieces. If I can manage that every day for a month then I'll try to fit in some more. If I can get up to 4 hours a day before arthritis sets in then I will know I've done my best. The half an hour a day on keyboard will also have to be extended to build up my skills (ha) in that department. Well theres nothing quite like a target to get me going. Just dont expect any reduction in the number of spider webs in this house.

Busy busy Clarimoo.

I really wouldn't get too hung up about the number of hours. You'll progress so much with good, focussed practice, if that takes 10,000 hours, more, or less, just enjoy the journey.

Yes, I know you are right and I am enjoying the journey. I am just becoming very aware that I've left it alll a bit late. For the first time in my life I feel that everything is pulling in the same direction and I want to go with it, I want to see how far I can go. But since I didn't start sooner I must make sure I dont dawdle too much.

Well, thinking of Dawn, I've had a look at the Malcolm Arnold Sonatina

Among other things I have some secret plotting going on for a future event.

sboha: sounds intriguing....


Well yesterday (and probably later today)..... I've been looking at some things that Oldnotes and I are doing in Scarborough in a couple of weekends time and the Finzi Bagatelles (All 5!!!! ) And you know.... ????? with a bit of practise I actually think they are doable -- Even number 5 One or two fingering bits to fathom out in that one though (where there's an altissimo E to F# trill (I think ) and then a jump up to the G ... wasn't entirely sure I was using the best fingering here.....will have a play about but ..... any hints welcome


And to top it all off some Benny Goodman pieces my teacher has given me to have a look at as I mentioned I'd like to try a bit of the jazz style too.... I've got benn's Bugle and Shivers as well as Swing Low Sweet Chariot. It's a bit confusing at times getting the swung rhthym as it's all written straight.

How do I get the jazz sound to go with it though?