posts

Practicing with a pianist and learning how your part fits with the piano is vital for successful performances. This is especially true when you are memorizing a concerto. However, it isn’t always practical to have access to a live pianist for the amount of practice hours required for preparing to perform from memory. Over the years, I have used MIDI Files and SmartMusic for practicing with accompaniments. These are effective tools for practice, especially when the piece maintains a consistent tempo. Works such as the Debussy Rhapsody and many others, which are full of tempo changes and require a great deal of sensitivity, are more difficult to practice with computer accompaniments.

I had the opportunity to visit the Conn-Selmer headquarters in Elkhart, Indiana. It was a fantastic day to meet the people at Conn-Selmer and see how the beginning clarinets are manufactured at the Factory there in Elkhart, and to try out the latest professional line clarinets from Selmer Paris.

MIDI files have been around since the 1980s for creating synthesized music. Technology changes so often, yet it is remarkable how MIDI files are still around and useful today. For clarinetists, MIDI files can be a wonderful practice tool for working with accompaniments. SmartMusic is great, but requires a subscription and doesn’t always have the clarinet literature needed. I recently found a wonderful website, MUSIX4ME, containing a significant collection of MIDI files of clarinet accompaniments. They are all free to download. Here is how to use them with GarageBand for practicing and memorizing music.

After teaching with Zoom for over a year now, I think I have figured out my ideal setup. I wanted a setup that would allow me to quickly do the following:

• Use breakout rooms
• Share my screen for slides and demonstrations
• Record music examples for sharing into the chat
• Allow me to see all of the class in gallery view, and have the chat visible, as well as the participant list.

The ICA (International Clarinet Association) held an online virtual conference last month called Plays On. I enjoyed listening to and learning from all of the excellent sessions. Here are my notes from the sessions I was able to attend. The ICA also unveiled a new and improved website. Thank you to Jessica Harrie and Jenny Maclay for their tremendous work on organizing and hosting each of the sessions. If you missed a session, you can access all of this great content on ICA TV, through the ICA YouTube Channel.