Music Practice

Just a simple way of getting better in just an hours practice:

Take your music, a pencil and a recording and just sit and listen to the piece. Write down what you notice. Then play it through slowly to not mess up any rhythms and notes.

Listen to again but now listen to the background. What do you notice that another instrument is doing.

Play again taking in consideration of what that instrument was doing.

Listen again and when you play who are you playing with, who is playing with you? Is your part the most important part?

Play.

just keep doing this but looking for something different each time you listen and then play.

You could even go further steps and read up on the Composer’s history. What pieces he/she wrote before and after the piece you’re playing. Who else was writing at the time. Who influenced them. How old were they. Some historical facts on something/someone totally unrelated to the composer. These things all help you understand the piece and music whether it is a solo piece, orchestral, wind ensemble, etc.

Gerry Marsh learned this from his teacher and his teacher learned this from the Principal Trumpet years ago when he was the Principal for a long time. I forget names. haha sorry

Hope you found this helpful :]

Oscar Soria

kahleestal asked: hi =] i'm thinking about getting a new mouthpiece and wanted to know what the difference is between an open and a closed mouthpiece and why someone would choose one over the other. thanks =)

The opening of the mouthpiece affects how difficult it is to make the reed vibrate. While open mouthpieces well lead to a larger sound, they require softer reeds to be able to produce a good tone. On the other hand, closed mouthpieces sound better when paired with harder reeds and they tend to lead to a more compact, focused sound. One thing to think about is that there’s definitely more than one option for each and theres a spectrum in-between. Heres a chart from the Vandoren mouthpiece line to show you the number of options you have to choose from just in one brand. 

Hope this helps,

Lilio :D

tolaw asked: I have never played on a Bass clarinet in the 7 years I've been playing clarinet! For a symphony piece (American Salute-Gould), I am covering bassoon 2 music for the beginning, and my director wants it on bass clarinet! I know it's in the same key unlike my Eb, but is playing bass a lot different? And what size reed should I try first? Small like 2 1/2 or 3?

The embouchure for Bass Clarinet is just like Clarinet, but bigger! Make sure the corners are in and the chin is down, but make sure not the bite down on the reed. Focus the air in the same way, the tongue position inside your mouth might feel a little different thought. For reed strength I would recommend 3 or 3.5 to start out and keep the sound focused.

Hope this helps,

Lilio :D


I personally feel that the vandoren reeds are the best! I use size 3 and it’s perfect.

-Lindsey 

igarciaa asked: Hello! I am playing the first Eflat clarinet part for a piece called Hammersmith by Holst, there are some VERY exposed solo parts in the beginning that are in the lower range and I just can't seem to get a good tone on them. And also I'm having a lot of trouble with tonguing in the higher range. These are all things i don't have trouble with on Bflat, any advice?

One important factor that comes into consideration when playing the Eb Clarinet is the size of the mouthpiece. When playing the Eb, in any range, make sure the correct amount of mouthpiece is in your mouthpiece, allowing the reed to vibrate freely. You’ll have to experiment on your own and see what works best for you since it is different. In terms of tonguing, the mouthpiece will also have an effect. Because it is smaller than a Bb mouthpiece, you’ll have to tongue a different place in your mouth to have the tip of the tongue on the tip of the reed. Address these two issues and your Eb playing should improve dramatically

Hope this helps,

Lilio :D