I Used to Play Clarinet

Description

Clarinet in Bb — If you ever played the clarinet before, you know what a joy it is to participate actively in makingmusic. That is exactly what this book is about. I have designed the book to include a wide varietyof songs in many different styles, with the main idea being to have fun making music. Additionally,I Used To Play Clarinet contains many exercises for the adult musician to re-learn skills that mayhave been learned many years ago. It begins with a review of important aspects of music theoryand notation, followed by warm-ups, scales and exercises that re-introduce you to playing theinstrument and that help you build your “chops” back up. The techniques covered are basic toplaying the music included in this volume. The pieces in the book cover a broad range of stylesand are generally familiar to most people who have been involved in listening to music throughthe years. I also hope that the songs in this book will rekindle some fond old memories of playingyour instrument and reignite your desire to play music again, just for the fun of it.Practice the long tones and daily warm-ups on pp. 8–9 a little bit every day to build the staminanecessary to perform the music. Work on one of the scales and some of the technical exerciseson pp. 10–17 a little each day as well. Then turn to one of the pieces you would like to play andtry reading it. Take it slowly at first; don’t get frustrated if it doesn’t come easily. It will taketime to relearn and to retrain the muscles to do what you once did. You should also listen to thepieces and play along with the track that is played by a clarinet and piano and, in some cases,other accompaniment instruments. This will provide you with a model for getting your tone back.When you become sure of yourself, you can try playing with the accompaniment track withoutthe melody.I Used To Play Clarinet is not a beginner’s book. If you are new to playing an instrument, Isuggest that you obtain a beginner’s book and a teacher. After you have mastered the basics, youcan then come back to the material in this book.Remember to take it slowly, have fun and enjoy making music! I Used to Play is a new series for adults looking to get back into playing their instruments of yesteryear, and will help jumpstart their memory and comfort with music. Its #1 goal is to get people re-acquainted with their instrument(s) by not only reviewing theory and technique with etudes, but also providing them with types of music they want to play, like pop, jazz, and classical tunes. Each book includes downloadable MP3 files of complete performances of most songs, plus accompaniment-only play-along versions. Downloadble PDFs of piano parts for practice or performance opportunities are also included. It's just the push former players need to fall back in love with their instruments again!