Clarinet Practice

Let's pretend - just for a minute:

You and I have a flight to catch and must get to the airport. We have two choices (don’t worry, this is an easy one):

1. Get in a car going in the right direction and drive the speed limit, +/- a few miles per hour.

2. Get in a car and drive in the wrong direction as fast as we can.

Which one are you choosing? Remember, the objective is to get to the airport—not have a joyride.

There’s no magic in it, right? You get in the car and do sensible things to reach your intended outcome (getting on the airplane/getting to your destination). If it were up to me, I’d also get a nice coffee, put on some great music, and have an engaging conversation with my travel companion (at this point, for me, that’s my radiant 7 year old daughter).

Essentially, I would take the most efficient path and have a great time doing it.

Pro tip for better clarinet practice: learning the clarinet follows the same schematic.

In over 30 years of teaching the clarinet, the most common problem I see is that people reach a certain point in their abilities, plateau, get frustrated, and wonder why they can’t make any more improvements.

They are driving in the wrong direction…with the best of intentions.

Here are a couple of very common things I hear: 

“I am not getting better as fast as I want to”

“I was getting better until a few months ago and the progress stopped”

“I just can’t (fill in specific challenge here)”

I’ve had hundreds of adults come to me with some version of, if not exactly, the same story…

I’ve never spoken about it publicly—the first time I ever became aware of this story, I was living it.

I’m leaving certain information out—discretion and all…

I was what you would call “young and talented.” If you don’t believe me, just ask my mom. I could have gone to school to study music anywhere I wanted. I went to college ready to take on the world, believing I was on an inevitable journey to greatness. Even at that, I also recognized that I needed to earn any success that came my way.

I did my part.

I practiced eight hours a day.

Every day.

For two years!

When I checked in with myself after these two years, I was stunned at what I found. I didn’t sound like I wanted to. I didn’t sound like I thought I deserved to sound. 

I did everything I was told to get better at the clarinet. I practiced more than anyone else. I did everything my teacher told me to do. 

How did things go so far wrong?

Two things really: 1) the teaching was done with a different goal in mind than what I wanted for myself (and I may suggest it was generally pedagogically suspicious) 2) At the time, i hadan inability to assess the usefulness and trajectory of what was being taught to me.

I simply did what my teacher told me to. It turned out that my teacher steered me away from where I wanted to go. 

I didn’t have any help learning how to practice effectively. I wasn’t being directed toward the musical and clarinet ideas that would get me to where I wanted to be. I wasn’t being taught things that would successfully translate into more skill development. In short, I was being led down a path that was wrong for me.

I realized that maybe I had just spent eight hours a day, alone in a room for two years, and I was further away from my goals than when I started.

Had I really just spent the past two years driving:

1 .in the wrong direction

2. in the fastest car I could find

Yes, I did!

What did I do?

I quit. (Seriously, I quit for about a year. I worked at a hotel, hung out with my dog, went to museums, and did other things a young person in Southern California might do.)

Love saves the day!

I was in love with a girl. She was going to college just a few hours away (by car) from where I lived. I went to visit her about six months after I quit playing the clarinet.

The moment I arrived, I saw a flyer on the wall. It was Jazz Week at the college. Chris Vadala (Chuck Mangione’s woodwind player at the time) was giving a masterclass. It started in 15 minutes.

I was overjoyed with my good luck and went to the masterclass immediately. I hung on every word.

Halfway through the masterclass I realized…I don’t play the clarinet anymore.

(Cue record scratch.)

Here’s the true love story. I realized that even though I was disappointed by the results of the past two years, my love for playing the clarinet was still alive. When I acted on instinct, things became clear; I was not done playing the clarinet.

Next Steps for improvement:

I found a teacher who helped me not only repair what had gone wrong but also set me on the right trajectory toward my goal. Those foundational techniques, processes, and systems became the cornerstone of the Clarinet Ninja Dojo all of these years later. However, there’s even more to the Clarinet Ninja Dojo than just what I learned from this one transformative teacher. I was fortunate to go on and study clarinet, (and to a lesser degree) saxophone, and flute with luminaries. Translating the best of those disciplines is another component that makes the Dojo different from what you will find elsewhere. 

My invitation to you is to consider this:

Where does your trajectory have you headed? Is it where you want to go?

Are your challenges the same as they were a month ago, a year ago, or are they evolving at a rapid rate?

Do you feel the foundational skills you have are helping you achieve your current challenge?

Do you feel like you have plateaued in your learning with the clarinet?

Is there a specific component of clarinet playing that has you frustrated? (free advice - all the components of clarinet playing are connected. The connections are direct and immediately impactful OR they are less direct and impactful. In either case, they can be difficult to recognize on your own. The teachers main job is to help direct your attention to where it needs to be and give you the pathway to develop the skills you need)

I would love to hear what you think. 

Please take 30 seconds or a minute to comment and let me in on what has you interested/frustrated/delighted/irritated about the clarinet. I would love to know about you and the clarinet!