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In This Issue April 17, 2013
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- A Note From Michelle Anderson - Hello!
- Free Training - How your body position affects sound, and how to improve it
- Michelle Recommends - A classic etude book for intermediate level players
- Clarinet Is Easy - Step-by-step video lessons to help you improve your clarinet playing and save you a lot of time and frustration
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A Note from Michelle Anderson
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Hello Everyone!
I have been having a fantastic spring time. It seems like everything is in bloom here in Vancouver at this time of year. I have enjoyed many performances with various orchestras this past month. I am also very excited about my next set of clarinet videos and lessons that I am currently preparing. These always take longer than I expect, but it is tremendous fun to gather a bunch of great ideas together into one place. If you have any suggestions, or clarinet-related questions, please let me know. I always appreciate input from all of you in the Clarinet Mentors community.
I have been enjoying the sunshine and flowers here in town, and the fantastic spring snowshoeing that our local mountains provide. I think we are always better musicians if we are healthy in mind and body! For me, my little mountain excursions help fuel the body so that I can perform better.
If you are new to the Clarinet Mentors community, I welcome you to this newsletter. It comes out every two weeks, usually on Wednesdays, and contains some of my favorite clarinet pointers and ideas for you.
Enjoy your clarinet this week, and thanks for being a part of my community!
Free Training - An Easy Method to Check Your Posture
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Do You Know What People Mean When They Say "Good Posture" (for clarinet)?
Would You Like To Release Tension In Your Body?
Most people know that good posture is a good idea when we play a musical instrument. Sometimes we just don't have a great system for checking to see if we actually do have the best posture when we play. In this issue's training video, I will show you two things related to the best playing position for clarinet. One is a concrete way to think about and improve your posture so that you are allowing your blowing muscles to most easily do their job (which is to provide your clarinet with a fast and steady airstream). The second thing (at about 4'12") is where we DO want strength in our body, and where we want RELAXATION. (Most of us do not do this very well...)
I am experimenting with some new recording technics. I know that some of you on certain Windows systems have found the audio on my videos to be quite soft. I would love to hear how it works on this video. It is on a completely new recording system. Frankly, I think I overdid the volume, but at least you can hear it! As I tweak the technical end, I expect my I might just about have the balance correct on my next video! If you have found my video sound to be too soft in previous videos, please let me know how this one works on your system.
At anytime you can add your comments and questions to the YouTube comments section below the video. I enjoy hearing from you, and I do check in to answer those comments a couple of times a week.
Click on the image above to view this video. I have more videos currently in production. If there are topics that you would like help with, please send me some suggestions. If you are on Facebook, you can post your comments at: http://www.facebook.com/ClarinetMentors
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Michelle Recommends - Melodious and Progressive Studies - Book 1 - edited by David Hite
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Melodious and Progressive Studies, edited by David Hite, is a very good classically-based étude book for intermediate level players. There is a nice balance of slower studies, and faster, more technical ones. I find that there are some nice, expressive, melodies within these studies. I usually recommend this book to my students after about two years of playing. It has become a "classic" in clarinet literature as a good all-around study tool.
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Clarinet Is Easy - Your Step-by-Step Beginner Course - Now Available! (Also enjoyed by many intermediate level players)
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How To Solve Your Common Clarinet Frustrations and Play Clarinet More Easily
I firmly believe that if anyone has the "recipe" for how to play clarinet, things are really relatively easy to do. Most of our frustrations come from inadvertently learning bad habits along the way. With that in mind, I have created for you a 10-lesson comprehensive course for beginners (and self-taught intermediate players) that gives you the tools to truly learn the clarinet easily, while avoiding all of the most common frustrations that can plague us. I believe that these lessons can save you hours of grief by giving you the best practise systems that have worked for hundreds of clarinetists. The lessons have great content, and are presented in a video format so that you can watch them again and again. If you would like to play with more ease and have a clear understanding of the fundamentals of clarinet playing, you can get more information on the Clarinet Is Easy course here (including some free preview videos):
If you are curious about this, you can also try the first lesson with a 100% Money-Back Guarantee. If it is not the right style for you, you get your tuition refunded, no problem.
Michelle Anderson, the founder of Clarinet Mentors, is a professional clarinetist and teacher who currently lives in Vancouver BC. Her professional career spans 30 years and she currently plays regularly with the Vancouver Opera Orchestra, the Pacific Symphonic Wind Ensemble and the West Coast Chamber Music series. She has performed with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the CBC Vancouver Orchestra, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet Touring Orchestra and many other groups. Michelle currently specializes in teaching adults to play clarinet more easily and quickly through online resources, and conducts the Vancouver Clarinet Choir.
Thanks for reading this biweekly newsletter.
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Helping you to find success on your instrument with sound teaching techniques, and useful learning systems.
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