Keeping Up Fundamentals
Happy August! For many of us, August means a return to school as a teacher or a student and the start of the regular concert season.
As we all prepare for auditions, ensembles, solo recitals, and more, it can be easy to bury ourselves in the notes and leave the basics of good playing to chance. I'm personally just getting over bronchitis while simultaneously preparing for the upcoming academic year. As I've slowly started practicing again, it has been tempting to dive into all the pieces on my stand and try to make up for lost time! As a result, I've been thinking a lot about how to incorporate all of the basics of good clarinet playing into my shortened (and often coughing-fit filled) practice sessions.
Though I practice E-flat clarinet regularly, especially with recording projects looming on the horizon, my first responsibility needs to be to my B-flat and A clarinets. Daily teaching, the upcoming orchestral season, and various other performances dictate that most of my warm up be done on my primary set of clarinets. It is important that I not just learn my E-flat music though - I need to maintain I high level of proficiency on the instrument itself. I'm sure many of you find yourselves in similar situations. So how do we make sure that we know our instruments when the scores pile up and we're short on time?
E-flat Clarinet Exercises for Abbreviated Warm-up Sessions
On days when I have less time than I'd like to dedicate to practice, these two exercises are some of the most common in my E-flat clarinet routine.
Exercise 1: Five Note Scale with Dynamic Changes
Uses: Breathing, Tone, Dynamics
For this particular exercise, I really focus on playing slowly and using my air. For students that are not quite ready to maintain air support at very soft dynamics, this exercise should be done starting and ending at a mezzo piano level. Repeat the exercise in an ascending F Major scale by starting on the last note of the previous set. (So the third set of this exercise would be as follows: G, A, Bb, C, D)
Try to avoid bumps in the sound as you ascend the scale by keeping the air stream consistent and using smooth finger motion. I've found this to be a fantastic alternative to basic long tones for students that have trouble focusing on one note at a time.
Exercise 2: Five and Nine Note Scale Pattern
Uses: Finger Technique, Articulation
I love doing this exercise when I need to get my fingers and embouchure ready for E-flat clarinet playing after a full day of B-flat clarinet! By working through both a five-note and nine-note version of the scales, you have the opportunity to work on tricky fingerings, and even work in alternate fingerings. The repetition of the scale also allows for a variety of articulations - you can change them to fit your particular articulation needs and skills. (For example, a student working on tonguing would probably be more successful starting with legato tonguing on the second five-note scale, rather than playing staccato.)
It is important to get a strong sound on the first note of every group. Often, our first note dictates the stability of our air and sound - I've noticed that students that don't have a strong first note frequently fight for a good sound and air support the rest of the way through a scale. Blowing through to the ninth note of the scale will also help maintain proper support, thus the tenuto marking as a reminder. Repeat this exercise by playing each scale until you reach the top of your range. If you are working on extending your altissimo, always try to go a note or two higher than you're comfortable playing in performance - just remember to maintain a good embouchure and proper air support!
Hopefully this inspires you to find some good warm-up exercises of your own! Do you have any favorites? Share with us in the comments!