Repertoire Considerations
    Bennett Reimer, the esteemed American music educator, suggested four characteristics to determine the quality of a composition including craftsmanship, sensitivity, authenticity, and imagination. These concepts are particularly helpful when selecting repertoire. Directors should also consider musical concepts, styles, eras, and composers from diverse backgrounds. While Reimer suggested these qualities as barometers for evaluating music, each has an additional application to directors in translating music through physical gestures from the podium to the ensemble.
    Craftsmanship demands that directors exhibit dexterity in posture, patterns, and gestures. Sensitivity requires that directors consider the emotional depth of the work and the range of feeling within the music. Directors demonstrate authenticity through the physical gesture and movement in the temporal and expressive plane. A director demonstrates imagination by interpreting emotions of the work with gestures and movements that compliment. Conducting is simply inviting the ensemble to realize the artistic intent that the composer has infused into the repertoire.

The Director’s Posture
    The posture of the director influences the ability to communicate the music. With the proper posture, the conductor expresses confidence in the players and full awareness of what the score demands (regardless of the level of the piece). Players have limited time to look up to the conductor for tempo, cues, and expression. Directors who maintain an upright and open posture are better able to provide the clarity, insight, and reminders in those brief moments when the players are observing the conductor. An upper body that is free, open and relaxed may provide the best posture for communicating to the ensemble.
    The face is at the apex of any director’s posture. Facial expressions should reflect the music’s character (sensitivity). Many esteemed conductors suggest practicing gestures in front of a mirror. As a gesture becomes more natural to the director, there is a stronger association and connection to the character of the music. The appropriate facial gestures complement and enhance the movements made by the hands as the music progresses (authenticity).

The Baton and Hand Gestures
    The baton becomes an integral partner in expressing and shaping the music, including the character of the first downbeat, adjustments to articulation, and even an invitation to grow the expressive contrast of the ensemble in a given passage (craftsmanship). Directors should use their baton as often as possible. In matters of sensitivity, the baton combines with facial expressions to establish a thoughtful first gesture that begins the music. Directors should insist that the ensemble respond to both the temporal and expressive dimensions established through the baton and facial expression used.
    While the baton hand (right) is primarily responsible for coordinating time across the ensemble, the off-hand (left) has different responsibilities. These include providing cues, shaping dynamics, and showing releases for sections. Gestures and cues should help to communicate and coordinate the efforts of the ensemble.
    To a further point, gestures and cues by the left hand communicate to other sections that something important has occurred, they should listen for it, and they should prepare for their future entrance or release. The other hand is critical for working with the face and inviting expressive response from the ensemble (imagination). Although some might think that the baton hand maintains time, directors should remind their ensemble that all players are responsible for keeping time throughout a piece. The director simply coordinates events that happen throughout the temporal dimension with the baton and off-hand.
    Directors may identify points when a mirrored pattern is necessary, but this movement should be used sparingly. The players in the ensemble have upward peripheral vision to notice changes in the conducting plane while still looking at their music. Directors should be aware that repeated use of mirroring will limit an ensemble’s
ability to react to cues and gestures (sensitivity). When the bulk of the conducting uses mirrored hands, the communication of the music can grow stagnant. By reserving the off-hand for cues, gestures, and shaping, players will notice its entrance into the plane and recognize the reminder for expression or entry that it provides.

Appropriate Cues
    Directors provide cues to the ensemble through one of three ways, akin to greeting someone at a social event. At points, a person might greet a friend with a simple head nod. So, to can the director cue a section through the use of a simple head nod or use of eye contact. As another person makes an appearance, the host of the event might greet them with a handshake or fist bump. In a similar way during a more active section of the music, the baton hand might provide a cue for a section to enter. The host might greet another attendee at the event with a warm embrace to convey elation upon seeing them. This idea is similar to the off-hand inviting a section of the ensemble to return to the sound canvas in a key section of the music.

Conducting Patterns
    Patterns can be repetitive, and unintentionally restrictive. Each phrase differs in its temporal and expressive dimensions. It is important for conductors to adjust patterns accordingly to convey music’s true identity. The field of the conducting plane is where the pattern resides and communicates the music. The pattern must be clear (craftsmanship), distinct (sensitivity and imagination), and appropriate (authenticity). Directors need to adjust their patterns in a responsive fashion to communicate with their ensemble and bring about the best possible recreation of the music.

* * *

    While these thoughts on conducting are not exhaustive, they offer a point of departure for a larger conversation about communication from the podium for directors. Directors may not have considerable time in their daily schedule to analyze their own conducting to compare with the thoughts and suggestions in this overview. Directors might consider sharing a brief video recording of their own conducting with a trusted peer for critique and commentary. While self-evaluation is difficult for many directors, it may be helpful to collaborate with another director who shares a similar teaching context and compare conducting techniques. Conducting is just one part of successful teaching in instrumental music, and similar to discussion on rehearsal techniques or studio pedagogy, it only improves through sustained conversation and self-analysis.   

Reference Material
Reimer, Bennett. “Criteria for Quality in Music.” Aesthetics and Arts Education, edited by Ralph A. Smith and Alan Simpson, University of Illinois Press, 1991, pp. 330–338.

The post A Composer on Conducting appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

1. Have a practice goal
    Before you start practicing, be sure to have a goal. Avoid aimless and mindless practicing which can produce little to no results. Know exactly what you want to achieve in a certain amount of time. Do you need to learn the notes in specific sections? Is there a goal tempo you want to reach? Do you want to improve your rhythmic accuracy or intonation? Whatever it is, recognize what you want to conquer and write it down before beginning the practice session. This will help you gain clarity and focus on what you want to achieve and allow you to accomplish it more quickly.

2. Start early in the day
    Get your warm-up done before the busyness of the day takes over. Practicing early in the morning provides a feeling of accomplishment and creates momentum for the rest of the day. If something comes up later that prevents you from practicing further, you will already have completed some of your planned work.

3. Make a schedule
    Schedule practice time and commit to it as if it is a class. Write it in a calendar and practice at the same time each day. This builds in consistency and creates a strong habit. By following a daily schedule, you establish a routine that becomes easier over time. A useful technique for when you feel uninspired about practicing is to start with just ten minutes and then see how you feel. Usually once you get past the hurdle of getting started, you will enjoy playing and find it easier to keep going.

4. Put electronics away
    One of the simplest ways to have a focused practice session is to eliminate external distractions. This means keeping electronics turned off and out of sight. Putting electronics in a different place prevents the temptation of answering just one text or checking social media.

5. Keep a practice log
    A practice journal allows you to track progress over time as well as expose unbalanced and inconsistent practice habits. The best way to know if you are improving is to write down what you worked on during each practice session.      Be specific and include essential information such as the title of the piece or etude, measure numbers, and tempo. Write down your starting tempo. When you are finished, log the tempo that you were able to maintain cleanly, accurately, and consistently. This will make it easier for you to pick up where you left off when you practice the next day.

6. Set a Timer
    This is one of the best ways to stay focused on a task. Pick a specific amount of time to work on a particular section, perhaps 10 or 15 minutes. Be ready to go with instrument, music, tuner, metronome, and pencil out before setting the timer. Once the timer goes off, stop and move on to the next practice goal. This process allows you to focus on specific sections and prevents aimless practice of easy sections. It also reveals how wisely you are using your time.

7. Divide and Conquer
    Mark your piece into sections and rotate them daily so that you are not always starting at the beginning. It is often beneficial to start with the most difficult section and work outward. Separate not only your music into manageable sections, but your practice time as well. Give balanced attention to tone studies, technique, etudes, repertoire, and sightreading. Remember to write down what you want to work on in each practice block.

8. Repetition and the Rule of 7
    The Rule of 7 is a great way to see immediate improvement. The most important part of the process is to start playing slow and controlled while using a metronome. Play a passage seven times cleanly and accurately. If you make a mistake, then you go back to zero. If you find yourself continually making mistakes, slow the metronome down and begin again. Once you can play a short section seven times cleanly, accurately, and with good tone, move the metronome up three clicks and repeat the process. Be patient with your practice and avoid practicing sections too fast or with mistakes. Your confidence will build with each accurate and clean repetition. Trust the process and focus on one detail at a time.

9. Listening to recordings
    Create a space in which you can sit down without any distractions and listen with your music and score in front of you. Have a pencil ready and make notes about what the performers are doing with each phrase. Listen to at least three different professional recordings and be observant not only to your part but to the overall ensemble. Note the similarities and differences of musical interpretation, tempos, and styles.

Courtesy of Oberlin Conservatory by Yevhen Gulenko

10. Record Yourself
    This is a great tool to provide instant feedback and help identify problems quickly. It can become overwhelming and frustrating while learning a work, however, so don’t try to record the whole piece. Play just a few measures and pick one thing to listen to at a time such as rhythm, time, phrasing, breathing, dynamics, pitch, etc. If you are unhappy with what you hear, try to correct it, and record again. This process will be slow at first, but it becomes quicker as time goes on.
    Try these tips to focus your practicing. They will help you get the most out of your sessions, especially when time is limited. 

The post Tips for Focused and Efficient Practicing appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

Getting Started
    Determine the length of the sectional. If you schedule an hour, plan to use the entire hour. If you release students early, parents may be upset that their student is floating around school after hours on their own. Consistency offers the best results for student, parents, and yourself.
    Decide whether sectionals will be offered once a week or every other week. Stick to the plan no matter what. If you have a well-planned curriculum, weekly sectionals offer the greatest benefits, especially if your district has directors with different areas of expertise, such as specialists in brass, woodwinds, percussion, violin/viola and cello/bass. If this is the case, two sectionals may be scheduled on the same day. (Since reed making is a specialized topic, try to hire an oboist and bassoonist to conduct these weekly classes.) If there is only one teacher for the entire program, then schedule sectionals before and after the school day. A typical week for a band program might look like the chart below.
 
Planning a Curriculum
    If you are a middle school director, check to be sure the students have completed Books 1, 2, and 3 of the band method book series. As an applied music teacher, I have noticed that most programs complete books 1 and 2 and move on to sheet music. Unfortunately for many instruments, book 3 teaches the higher and lower fingerings which are needed to progress into more advanced sheet music. Without instruction and drill on these fingerings, students use odd fingerings when in high school which can severely affect the intonation of the group. So, start by finishing books 2 and 3 before proceeding with a diverse curriculum.

Objectives
    A well-run sectional has several objectives. The first is to improve the playing of the individual and then to learn to blend as a section of like instruments. The final goal is to learn and polish the marching band or concert band repertoire.
    Plan the hour using a format students can use when practicing at home during the week. In essence you are teaching them how and what to practice using modern chunking and rhythm techniques. Rather than requiring a certain number of practice minutes, the results will be stronger if students are given simple and direct instructions on what to practice. Once students have completed the list, they are done. This teaches efficiency in practice which is a skill professional musicians use all the time. Some students will complete the template in a shorter time than others. With repetition they learn to focus and concentrate, and the overall results are stronger.

Part 1: Warmup
(Suggestions for all except percussion)
    For all wind instruments, the first step in warming up is to get the air flowing. Rather than going into a lengthy discussion on how the lungs and intercostal muscles work, concentrate on the exhale rather than the inhale. Arnold Jacobs was correct – if you can sing it in your head, the brain will figure out how to accomplish it.

Add-A-Beat
    One of my favorite exercises is to ask students to extend their legs in front of them while sitting. When playing in this position, explain that this is as tight as the abdomen should be. Set the metronome on quarter note = 60 and blow one note (concert F perhaps) for one beat and then rest a beat. On each repetition increase the length of the note by one pulse followed by a quarter rest until the note is blown for 12 or 16 beats. For younger students (middle school) a good objective is eight counts. High school students should easily be able to play for 16 counts.
    Remind them that the objective is to have a clean attack, even air for the duration, and an attractive note ending. When playing the ending, keep the vocal folds separated so the glottis does not close making a glottal stop sound. To teach what the glottal stop feels and sounds like have students say “uh/oh.” The glottal stop occurs between the two words in the vocal folds. Another way to teach this placement is to have students swallow. Swallowing occurs in the same location. All the muscles used in swallowing should be relaxed when playing.
    To check the accuracy of an attack, have students begin a note with the tuner. If the needle is still, then the attack is good. If the needle suddenly moves to the right or goes to the sharp side of the pitch, the attack needs to be examined. To remedy a sharp producing attack, have them practice breath or HAH attacks and then mimic the air usage.

Harmonics and Wiggles
    Once the air is moving, work on embouchure flexibility and strength. For flutes place the right-hand on the barrel and finger a G5. Then with this fingering slur, overblowing to D6 and back down to G5, then to G4 and back up to G5. This exercise may be repeated on the chromatic notes between G5 and C#6.
    For other woodwinds, practicing wiggles (slurring while wiggling the two notes of an interval back and forth a few times) not only works embou-chure flexibility, but the wiggles exercise coordinates the timing of the fingers. For example, try FGFGF rest, FAFAF rest, FBbFBbF rest and conclude on FCFCF rest. Working the intervals up to the perfect fifth offers the most benefit because the small intervals are the ones most frequently used in melodic writing.

Scales
    There are many ways to approach scales but I have had success with the following two. First is teaching scales by tetrachords. A tetrachord is a group of four notes with the first and the last notes being a perfect fourth. The tetrachord used for this exercise is constructed of the intervals whole step, whole step, half step. Combining two of these tetrachords makes a major scale. The tetrachords of the sharp side of the circle of fifths are the first four notes of a major scale or the following:

    CDEF
    GABC
    DEF#G
    ABC#D
    EF#G#A
    BC#D#E

    If you visualize a circle of fifths, C major is located in the same position as 12:00. G is at 1:00, D is at 2:00, and so on. To construct a scale, play 12:00 (C tetrachord) with 1:00 (G tetrachord). Then 1:00 and 2:00 etc.
    Create a handout with all 12 tetrachords written with letters. Have students play each tetrachord slurred five to ten times. They should experiment playing in all octaves. Once students are familiar with each tetrachord and can play it quickly, start putting them together. Soon everyone will know 12 major scales. Often this can be accomplished in about an hour’s time.
    The other method for teaching scales is a more traditional approach. Using all 12 keys, play the first three notes of each scale up and down slurred. Once students can do this, play the first five notes of each scale up and down slurred, and finally all eight notes of the scale up and down slurred. Encourage accuracy, increasing the tempo from one week to the next.
    The general goal is for each section of the band to be able to play by memory all 12 major scales, two octaves slurred. Then begin adding various articulation patterns into the practice session. When I was teaching at Brigham Young University-Idaho, the wind ensemble was invited to play at the music educators’ dinner at the IMEA convention. I had been teaching sectionals for the wind ensemble director, and several months earlier I had suggested a goal for the entire band to play all 12 major scales, two octaves in unison by memory. I got the surprise of my life when they came on stage at IMEA, sat down, and played all 12 major scales by memory in unison. When they started their warmup, the music educators were still talking, but as they progressed around the circle of fifths the room became quiet in amazement. At the end of the scale cycle, the audience of directors gave a standing ovation. Someone at my table said, “This must be the only band in Idaho that can play all their scales.” This scale work paid off not only in the technique of the ensemble but in tone production and intonation.

Triads
    For triads, focus on major, minor, and diminished as these are the ones most used in the literature that bands play. I prefer to work one octave, in triplets, (135-853-1) first until all 12 keys are known. Start with the major triads illustrating on a white board that all the notes of the triad will be line, line, line or space, space, space. From the major arpeggio, flat the third for minor, and then flat the third and the fifth for the diminished. Eventually expand to two octaves.

Rhythm Drill
    Select a key of the week. You may go around the circle of fifths, or select a key from a challenging passage in the band repertoire. Play a one octave ascending scale with a different rhythm on each scale step. First in simple meter, then compound. These eight rhythms are the most commonly used. (From The Flute Scale Book by Patricia George and Phyllis Avidan Louke, Presser.)

Simple Meter

Compound Meter

Trills
    Have students play a trill that uses only one moving finger. Play this trill for 16 or more counts. Repeat until each of the fingers have been used. This exercise focuses on the saying, “If you never practice playing fast, you will never play fast.”

Articulation
    Select a note and tongue four beats of sixteenths for 8, 12, or 16 beats and rest 2 beats. Repeat 6 to 8 times. Both the trill and tonguing exercises take a little bit over a minute to practice, but the benefits are huge.

Octaves
    Have more advanced students play the lower note of an octave and then the upper note of the octave, working on the top and bottom notes of the range. Most band method books teach note reading in succession, and students have trouble jumping to the fingering of the upper or lower notes. Practicing jumping back and forth aids their technical development. For example, low high low high low rest. These could be slurred or articulated.

Vibrato
    For instruments that use vibrato, have students play staccato breath or HAH attacks, four sixteenths = MM 60. The breath or HAH attacks occur in the vocal folds. There should be no movement in the jaw, chest or abdomen. (Except for saxophones that may use a jaw vibrato). Once players can control the HAH staccatos, simply slur the HAH staccatos: HAH-AH-AH-AH. (There are more exercises and a discussion on vibrato usage in The Flute Vibrato Book, by Patricia George and Phyllis Avidan Louke, Presser.)

Part 2: Etudes
    Select an etude book appropriate for the section’s level of advancement. There are many appropriate methods on  which are available for free download. If in doubt as to what to select, get advice from a professional on that instrument.
    Etudes are best learned using the chunking practice method. To chunk, play one beat and rest a beat working through the etude. This method ensures that students know where the beats are. Then chunk by inch followed by a rest.  Chunking by inch is important because when the eye sees a grouping of notes on one line, it sees about one inch. We use groupings of numbers on many everyday items including credit cards, social security numbers, and telephone numbers. The brain sees and remembers best in recognizable chunks and patterns. In class, play the assigned etude in unison and then divide it in chunks by beat and by inch for the following week.

Part 3: Repertoire
    It is generally pretty obvious what should be practiced, but over a semester of sectionals the entire piece should be covered. Use chunking by beat and by inch techniques to aid in learning. Once something is chunked five to eight times, the information goes into long term memory. Be picky about the quality of the chunks.

Part 4: Ensemble
    Leave the rehearsal with something upbeat. Almost every instrument group has good chamber music, either original or transcriptions, that students will enjoy playing. Look for flute choir, clarinet choir, oboe/bassoon/clarinet/
horn ensemble music etc. Select a composition or two to practice in the final 10 to 15 minutes of each sectional. At the end of the term schedule a chamber music night (with pizza!) for the whole band so that each group can perform for their peers.
    Teaching sectionals is a time most directors find quite rewarding because they can go into more depth about music than in a full band rehearsal where all students must be kept occupied. If you have not made sectionals a part of your curriculum, I would encourage you to give it a try. For students who can’t afford private lessons or in locations where private study is unavailable, it is such a wonderful gift to provide for young musicians.

The post Structuring Sectionals appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

Photo courtesy of Keller Middle School

When choosing fingerings for the clarinet, I follow several principles:

Alternate Pinky Fingers
    The clarinet’s many pinky keys allow performers to play most pinky notes using either the left or right pinky (sometimes both). This contrasts with the other woodwinds where the performer usually cannot play pinky notes with either hand. Flutists, oboists, and saxophonists can only play low C with the right pinky. To this end, a chain of successive pinky notes should alternate between right and left pinkies. When playing an E major arpeggio, clarinetists should play the chalumeau E with the left pinky, then use the right pinky to play chalumeau G#.

    Similarly, with an E major scale, performers should play chalumeau E with the right pinky, then use the left pinky to play chalumeau F#, then right pinky for chalumeau G#.

    Playing consecutive pinky notes on the same hand (often called sliding in reference to the pinky’s motion from one key to another) should be avoided as it is inaccurate and almost impossible to execute cleanly at fast tempos. I often tell students, “You paid for all those keys, so you might as well use them all.”

Keep Motion in One Hand
    To paraphrase Occam’s razor, the simplest solution is often the best. If a passage does not have consecutive pinky notes, I recommend choosing the hand that moves next in the passage. Taking an F major arpeggio as an example, the clarinetist could play the chalumeau F with either the left pinky or the right pinky. I would opt for the right pinky since the right-hand ring finger also has to move to go to chalumeau A.

    Using the left pinky would require both hands to move simultaneously, which invites blips between notes if the left and right hands are not perfectly synchronized. Similarly, the chalumeau E in an E minor arpeggio could be played with either the left pinky or the right pinky. I also recommend the right pinky in this situation, as the right-hand pointer and ring fingers will eventually have to move to go from chalumeau G to chalumeau B. This improves rhythmic evenness in rapid passages as the sense of tempo does not have transfer from both hands.

Use as Few Permutations as Possible
    If both hands are equal according to the previous principles, I suggest looking a few measures after to see if one fingering becomes preferable later. If so, then I recommend using the fingering that will be preferable down the road to avoid confusion over lefts and rights. In an F major scale in thirds, the first clarion C could be played with either pinky, as the performer has to move both hands to move from throat A to clarion C and down to throat Bb. However, as the second clarion C should be played by the right pinky since that keeps the motion from clarion C to clarion E in one hand, I recommend the first clarion C also be played with the right pinky.

    The hierarchy should be as follows: alternating pinky fingers takes precedence over keeping motion in one hand (sliding), while both should be prioritized over minimizing the number of finger permutations used.

Notes with Only One Option
    Compounding the issue of selecting pinky fingerings is that some notes can only be performed with either the right or left hand. Chalumeau Ab and clarion Eb can only be played with the right pinky, while chalumeau C# and clarion G# can only be played with the left pinky. Furthermore, most altissimo notes (altissimo D and higher) require the right pinky to depress the chalumeau Ab/clarion Eb key to be sufficiently high in pitch. If players encounter any of these notes in a series of consecutive pinky keys, they should mark L or R as appropriate above the note in question and alternate pinkies in the preceding notes.
    In a Bb major scale in thirds, students should play clarion C with the left pinky because it precedes a clarion Eb, which must be played with the right pinky.

    Likewise, in a Db-major broken chord, the clarion Db must be played with the right pinky because the ensuing clarion Ab must be played with the left pinky.

    In the hypothetical C major thirds with octave displacement, the clarion C would be played with the left pinky because the altissimo E requires the right pinky.

The following excerpts present numerous fingering choices.

Solo and Ensemble Repertoire
    The F# diminished arpeggio in m. 176 of Weber’s Concertino in Eb major, op. 26 is an excellent example of the importance of alternating pinky fingers.

    The clarion Eb must be played with the right pinky, meaning the following clarion C should be played with the left pinky. At the commonly printed tempo of (dotted quarter note =100), it is nearly impossible to play this passage cleanly while sliding as I have heard many students valiantly but unsuccessfully attempt in auditions and festivals.
    In mm. 138-140 from the first movement of Mozart’s Concerto in A major, K. 622, the clarinetist should exercise economy of motion by only using the right pinky for all clarion Bs and Cs.

Playing the clarion Cs in m. 139 with the right pinky means only the right hand is involved when moving to and from the clarion E. Likewise, playing the clarion Bs in m. 140 with the right pinky allows for the B-D-G-D-G motion to be contained to the right hand. While the clarion Bs in m. 138 could be played with either the right or left pinky alone, I recommend using the right pinky, as the left B lever is notorious for going out of adjustment, especially when subjected to the rigors of student handling and treatment. Since the right pinky will be used for the clarion Bs in m. 140, it is natural to use the same fingering in m. 138.
    The triplet passage in mm. 27-28 from the second movement of Schumann’s Fantasiestücke, op. 73 is another excellent example of using as few permutations of fingers as possible. The clarinetist can finger the B-C sequence in m. 27 in multiple ways. Becayse the clarion C in m. 28 must be played by the right pinky (due to the clarion Eb later in the measure), I suggest playing the earlier clarion C in m. 27 with the right pinky as well. This reduces confusion over fingerings.

    The clarinet solo at rehearsal letter I in the final movement of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, op. 35 (below) is quite the finger-bending passage at the customary tempo of 88 to the measure (quarter note or dotted quarter note). The clarion C#s in the first two phrases should be played with the right pinky to keep the Eb-D-C#-D-E series in the right hand, while the clarion Cs in the same phrases must be played with the left pinky as they come directly after clarion Eb (which must be played with the right pinky). In the last two phrases, the performer  switches to playing the clarion C#s with the left pinky because they follow clarion Ebs, while the clarion Cs should be played with the right pinky to maintain right-hand exclusivity in the Eb-D-C-D-Eb sequence.

When Alternating Won’t Work
    Inevitably, certain combinations of pinky notes sometimes prevent alternating pinkies. In these scenarios, one option is the dreaded slide discussed earlier. I prefer to slide my pinkies from physically higher keys to lower keys and from the top of the instrument to the bottom. One of these sliding scenarios is mm. 106–111 from the first movement of Brahms’s Sonata in F minor, op. 120 no. 1.

    The clarion Eb in m. 109 must be played with the right pinky, meaning the clarion Db in m. 110 should be played with the left. The ensuing clarion Cb should then be played with the right, but the following clarion Eb in m. 111 must also be played with the right. One way out of this scenario is to slide from m. 109 to m. 110, with the right pinky sliding from the Eb key to the Db key – I mark these in my music with a thick line between noteheads.
    If the passage features a sustained pitch, it is also possible to switch pinky fingers while a note is sustaining. In the context of the previous scenario by Brahms, the performer could initiate the clarion Db in m. 110 with the left pinky as expected, quickly add the right pinky, and then release the left pinky so the key is always depressed and there is no break in the tone. While not an option in faster rhythmic values, this is certainly viable on a sustained pitch.

Conclusion
    There are many nuances that go into selecting clarinet fingerings. While much of this is up to the performer’s preferences, having a set methodology in place helps players who may not have previously reached this level of critical thinking. Combined with an awareness of all choices for pinky fingerings, these principles help clarinetists navigate technical passages with ease, allowing them to focus on making music.    

Further Reading
Guy, Larry. Hand and Finger Development for Clarinetists. Stony Point, NY: Rivernote Press, 2007.
Ormand, Fred. Fundamentals for Fine Clarinet Playing. Lawrence, KS: Fred Ormand, 2017.
Paglialonga, Phillip O. Squeak Big: Practical Fundamentals for the Successful Clarinetist. Medina, NY: Imagine Music, 2015.

The post Those Pesky Pinkies Strategies for Clarinetists appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

General Good Practice Habits
    Before attempting alternative practice techniques, a consistent practice regime is essential. Even ten or fifteen minutes of daily focused, well-planned time on the instrument will yield far better results than an hour crash-course once a week. Consistency is the key. Great progress comes from daily work outside rehearsals or private lessons.
    Small, achievable goals are the first step. For beginners, offer incentives for ten minutes of practice per day, gradually increasing the length of the sessions. Serious players seeking All-State placement and entrance to a strong collegiate music program might practice more than two hours a day, but any student practicing appropriately for at least 30 minutes, five or six days a week, should make progress.
    Note the importance of appropriate practice. Playing randomly through a method book or ensemble music produces little progress. Directors should help students set goals. Successful practice sessions include work on tone, technique, and repertoire. This can be as simple as providing an appropriate tone study, assigned scales, and repertoire. This music could be a solo, an excerpt for an upcoming playing exam, or a difficult passage in the ensemble music that needs work.
    Key tools for successful practice include a pencil for marking changes, a tuner, and a metronome. Any technical work done without a metronome wastes time. (For more on this and other basic practice strategies, see my article from the November 2017 issue of The Instrumentalist, “What Students Need to Know About Practicing.”)
    Sometimes students struggle with passages despite a solid routine and use of the metronome. Players should always turn the metronome to a slower speed if something cannot be played comfortably. They should only increase the tempo a few clicks at a time. To achieve muscle memory and comfort, time and working in small chunks is critical. However, even with well-planned practicing, some passages remain difficult. The following techniques offer help to overcome these challenges.

Short-Long/Long-Short
    Occasionally, an awkward set of intervals or an oddly-notated passage leads to difficulties. A great way to work through passages that do not improve with normal good practice techniques is to change the offending section’s rhythm temporarily. I can’t explain why this technique works, but it does. The brain is tricked into learning a pattern or set of notes that it initially refused to retain in nearly all circumstances.
    The first rhythm change is quite straightforward. If the difficult passage consists only of eighth notes or sixteenth notes, practice them in a long-short-long-short pattern. For example, the written pattern looks like this:

    Have students practice the same pitches with the following pattern, observing the normal good-practice techniques for gradually increasing tempo.

    This simple change is often just enough to overcome mental blocks developed in normal practice.
    Another version of the above rhythm-change technique is to change the original straight-eighth pattern to a short-long-short-long pattern:

    This technique also works well with sixteenth patterns.

    First students can change it to the long-short-long-short pattern.

    Then, they should switch to the short-long-short-long pattern.

    While these rhythms may look overwhelming to beginners, there is no need to present them visually. Instead, model the patterns by playing or singing. Then ask students to attempt the patterns and provide feedback.
    Students can also alter frustrating triplet or compound-eighth patterns. Consider this example:

    This can be rewritten as duple eighth- and sixteenth-note patterns to practice the underlying notes.


    Of course, this strategy will not help students address evenness in triplet and compound rhythms. Only use this for students who are struggling with technique and not rhythm. The same practice rules before apply.

More Advanced Alternate Rhythms
    These rhythmic alterations will help unstick most technique problems. However, for particularly vexing rhythms, advanced students and professionals may want more options. One of the most effective hacks I use and teach changes sixteenth patterns into triplet groupings. For example, there are several alternatives for the sixteenth-note pattern.

    It can be regrouped into a variety of triplet patterns for practice purposes.

    If none of these alternative rhythms work, a final technique that often succeeds is the additive approach. With a slow metronome, play the first two notes of a line, focusing on absolute comfort. Play this on a loop until it is second nature. Then, after a few seconds of silence, loop the first three notes. Repeat this process, adding one note in the pattern at a time. This method can smooth out problems and identify the specific part of a phrase that is causing the root difficulty.

Alternative Articulation Strategies
    When articulation patterns become problematic, there are several possible culprits to investigate. First, determine whether students can comfortably play the underlying technique without the articulation pattern. If not, dial their metronomes back and slowly build the passage while slurring. Once the passage is comfortable without the articulation, they can slide the metronome to a comfortable slow tempo, and repeat the process while adding the articulations. Using alternate rhythms will aid in this process.
    This approach also alleviates the common problem of subconscious separation in the airstream. In all but the most extreme articulations (agogic and marcato accents), the tongue should do the work, with a full airstream blowing whole notes underneath.
    In cases where technique is clear and the airstream is solid but slight discrepancies or inaccuracies remain in the articulation, use alternate patterns.

    If a pattern like this stymies students, practice the following options to work around the impediment (again, with a metronome, working in small chunks from slow to the goal tempo).






    In addition, there is a final hack to improve an exasperating articulation pattern that responds to nothing else. Finger the first pitch in the pattern, with the instrument held away from the face. Then, with the fingering held down, play the note and then remove the instrument from the embouchure. Repeat this process with each pitch in the passage. This can provide an effective brain reset that allows successful use of the above techniques.

Playing the Airstream
    For enhanced musicianship in a new piece, try playing the airstream without the instrument. Blow and articulate just as you would for the music on the page, without miming fingerings. Blow a steady stream of air, let your tongue do each of the marked articulations, and change your airstream to the utmost for each dynamic. Notice whether you are accidentally breaking the airstream. Check whether the execution of the articulations and dynamics matches the music. This briefly removes technique from the equation and permits refinement of these important factors.

    Everyone is different, but every problem has a solution. Hopefully this grab-bag of techniques can serve as a jumping-off-point for solving any problem during practice. Once technique and articulations are second nature, players can get on with making meaningful, moving, beautiful music.

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