Friday, July 03, 2009

Clarinet

I had my second clarinet lesson yesterday evening and my teacher told me that I'd made progress, so my daily practice is clearly paying off. I can now play both parts of Duet for Clarinet and Duck simultaneously. Previously I could only play Duck Solo with Long Silences. I still get the silences but not as many.

When I manage the occasional good note, or even a succession of good notes, I get a real sense of achievement.

15 COMMENTS:

Barrie said...

Good for you. I've always wanted to learn the flute. But....I don't think I'd make time for practice!

Ms Scarlet said...

Oh good for you! The fingering technique is not unlike the saxophone but the embouchure is completely different... and the sax has a neck strap - I think this makes it easier.
Practice every day and you'll be playing Moon River in no time.
Sx

fairyhedgehog said...

Barrie: I'm just doing 15 minutes a day. I don't think it's the amount as much as the regularity that counts.

Scarlet-Blue: I didn't know you played the sax. I'm beginning to wonder if that would have been a better option but it's too late to think about that now.

Whirlochre said...

Here's hoping you make the full Bilk...

Bevie said...

Congratulations. So happy for you. Music is one of the great joys there are to experience in this world.

platypuspower said...

I know how to play the piano and the guzheng and the trumpet, but i dislike playing the trumpet. it gave me bronchitis. and 15 minutes is seriously not enough for each day if you want to master an instrument, i usually do 45 minutes to 1 hour each day if i don't have urgent matters. i've abandoned playing the trumpet now, since it was only in my very short stint in the band in primary school that i played it.

writtenwyrdd said...

I played flute and piccolo for years and tried to pick up the sax. The problem was they only had a huge baritone sax and those suckers are heavy! So I quit. But the thing I noticed about a reed instrument is that embreshure (sp) is the key. Fingering a sax was almost exactly like a flute; but what you do with your tongue, lips and teeth is critical to getting a note instead of a honk or pththththththtzzz sound.

I figure that once you get that mastered, the rest will follow for you. Have fun learning!

fairyhedgehog said...

Whirl: I'm nearly there. Very nearly.

Bevie: Thank you!

platypuspower: I think it depends on a lot of things. My teacher said that I'd made progress so for me fifteen minutes a day seems to be working. I'm guessing I'll up the amount once I start managing to play tunes.

I haven't heard of the guzheng.

writtenwyrdd: You're right about the embouchure (I'm not sure of the spelling either). It's very easy to change the mouth shape, or move the mouthpiece a millimetre in or out, or bit down and shut off the air completely!

At least the reading music bit isn't hard because of playing the recorder but covering the holes is tricky too.

I will get there though.

Wolverine said...

It sounds like your doing very well. Do you think soon you would be able to put up on your blog you playing the clarinet?

fairyhedgehog said...

Wolverine: Not for a while, I think!

Sarah Laurenson said...

Sounds great, FHH! Keep up the good work.

And thanks for the reminder of what word I was looking for last time (embouchure), SB! It's been such a long time since Jr. High School.

fairyhedgehog said...

Sarah: I think the other way to spell embouchure is rictus.

Lisa said...

Wow - you can play two songs in just 2 lessons?
I've taken a bit of piano lessons and a bit of guitar - I couldn't tune the guitar/piano to save my life - just couldn't tell - very frustrating.

Lisa said...

do you play other instruments? what prompted you to learn the clarinet?

fairyhedgehog said...

Lisa: I loved the recorder when I was in my teens. (We would never have afforded a clarinet at the time.) Unfortunately my family didn't share my enthusiasm.

I got a guitar when I went to uni - it was the fashionable thing to do. My Beloved taught me to play chords and I can strum and sing but with my voice that's not really satisfactory. I never learnt to play classical guitar and I'm not sure I really want to.

I've thought for a long time that I wish I'd learned a woodwind instrument like the clarinet and then it came to me, "why keep on regretting it? Why not just go for it?" So I did.

Thanks for your encouragement. I'm coming on slowly and I know if I stick at it I'll reach a level of competence that satisfies me.

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