Hi everyone,

Here is the homework for this week. I hope you all enjoy your holidays; don’t forget to practice!!  See you on January 5th! :)

Aubrey:

  • Make sure to practice either in front of a full length mirror, or to put a small mirror on a music stand so you can check your finger positioning! I would say spend the majority of your practice session checking out your finger/hand positioning.
  • Here are two thorough articles on left and right hand positioning respectively:
    http://www.clarinet-now.com/clarinet-left-hand-position.html
    http://www.clarinet-now.com/clarinet-right-hand-position.html
  • Work on register slurs! Start with your low E, and work your way up chromatically. When practicing these, make sure to pay attention to the note names in association with the fingerings.
  • Continue working on C major scale. Isolate the more difficult parts, and play these notes in small groups, adding one note back at a time. (eg. B and C, and then A, B and C; G, B and C, and so on.)
  • Work through the page in the Rubank book entitled “Register Change”. Be less concerned with the rhythms, and pay more attention to the notes and making a smooth transition from the notes w/o the register key, to the notes with it.

Susan:

  • Work on your six scales over the break! Make sure not to practice more than two a day – ideally one a day is best, as it gives you more time to focus on each scale individually. Give some more thought to the tone/semi-tone major scale pattern if you’d like a brainteaser.
  • You can begin to (slowly) work the duet up to speed. Move up 5 bpm or so on the metronome when you feel comfortable. If you are struggling with the sixteenth note phrases, reduce them down to the first note in the group of sixteenths, and the last note of the phrase. Slowly add the rest of the notes back. Feel free to start practicing the other duet I gave you!
  • Continue looking at Fur Elise and Gynopedie no. 1. Remember to elongate all of your notes in the Satie piece and tongue very softly; don’t leave a lot of space (if any) in between the quarter notes (ie. legato).

Gabriel:

  • Spend some time focusing on the chromatic scale at 70 bpm, two beats per note – this will help you connect the note names to the fingerings. While practicing the chromatic scale, think of each note name while you are going through the scale! Don’t just go through the motions without making the connection between the notes and fingerings.
  • Work on your C, G and F major scales. Practice C & F two octaves, and practice G the way we talked about in our lesson – going up to high E, and then back down. If you get confused about the notes, look at the tone/semi-tone pattern I wrote out. Work these up to a quicker tempo with the metronome.
  • Keep working through the blue Rubank book and focus on some of the songs in the back. Additionally, spend a bit of time working on and reviewing your rock band music!
  • Bring a folder :)

Olive:

  • Keep practicing your Concert Bb, Eb and F scales! Make sure you can distinguish which one is which on alto (eg. concert Bb = G for us). Slowly work up the tempo, 5 bpm at a time. Make sure to really push for the lower notes, mainly C and D. Spend about 10 minutes a day on this.
  • Here are a good version of “After You’ve Gone” that will give you an idea of what the song sounds like with a singer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTkv1sWugO0 She doesn’t play the melody exactly as written, but this should give you a vibe for the song! There is a short intro, and then she comes in with the melody around :45. Remember to play the eighth notes with a more exaggerated rhythm like we were talking about today. Practice with a metronome, and really work on getting those low notes to sing.
  • It’s our lucky day!! I found a much clearer copy of the Mozart piece :) Here’s a link to the PDF: http://www.delranschools.com/UserFiles/Servers/Server_3013181/File/migration/Minuet.pdf
  • Try working the Mozart piece up to speed slowly, moving up 3-5 bpm at a time. The next step once you have all the notes and rhythms down is to add in the dynamic and articulation markings! Spend from 30-40 minutes on your two audition pieces a day.