Clarinet Secrets: 52 Performance Strategies for the Advanced Clarinetist - Softcover

Gingras, Michele

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0810849712 ISBN 13: 9780810849716

Publisher: Scarecrow Press, 2004

Synopsis

Written for advanced clarinetists aspiring to master their instrument and attain a higher level of artistry, Clarinet Secrets contains concepts that have been repeatedly and successfully used with students over a period of 20 years of teaching. Each strategy is explained on two facing pages with accompanying graphics, photos, and musical examples.

The advanced clarinetist who is eager to improve quickly often hits a wall on challenging techniques such as rapid tonguing and the precise control of intonation. These difficult techniques and concepts are discussed right away to assuage the anxiety students usually feel when first presented with these issues.

Techniques covered include:
·Fingering
·Memorization
·Practice strategies
·Tonal control
·Musicianship
·Using the right equipment
·Non-traditional repertoire
·Career-planning exercises

About this title

About the Author:

Michèle Gingras, Professor of Clarinet at Miami University in Ohio, is an active recitalist, author, and recording artist. She has performed as a soloist and as a member of the Miami Wind Quintet in Canada, Australia, Venezuela, Taiwan, Singapore, and throughout the U.S. and Europe. Previously, she was Principal Solo Clarinetist with the Santiago Philharmonic Orchestra (Chile).

She has recorded seven CDs—four of them as a solo artist—and has published widely. Her publications include over 75 articles in The Clarinet and other international music journals, as well as a 550-page textbook translation (Roncorp) and a musical arrangement (Presser).

She is past Secretary of the International Clarinet Association (ICA) and was named Hays Crossen Curry Distinguished Educator at Miami University in 2002. She also performs as a klezmer musician throughout the U.S. and abroad. She has a been a Visiting Artist at the Luxembourg Conservatory, the Oslo Music Academy (Norway), the Elder Conservatorium (Australia), the Simón Boliver Conservatory (Venezuela) and Indiana University. She is sponsored by Rico International.

Review:

Michèle Gingras' Clarinet Secrets deals with an incredibly wide range of tactics related to teaching and performing the clarinet and does so in an engaging and even entertaining way. The writing style is clear and to the point, never stodgy... Highly recommended. (Larry Combs, Principal Clarinet, Chicago Symphony Orchestra)

If you are a clarinetist with some experience, seeking to improve your skill, or a clarinet instructor hoping to impart some useful and timeless knowledge to your students, you will find Clarinet Secrets: 52 Performance Strategies for the Advanced Clarinetist by Michèle Gingras to be an invaluable tool. (International Musician)

This book is like a box of 52 chicken nuggets. Each clarinet secret becomes a bite-size, deliciously accompanied by audio excerpts on CD that we might call a sauce and neatly packaged in a bright, attention-grabbing cover....she delivers a marvelous collection of practical strategies that will assist advanced clarinetists and teachers to enhance their existing approach, or overcome a challenging hurdle in their development...it is a gold mine of useful strategies and approaches to a wide range of clarinet related topics. (Neil McGregor Australian Clarinet And Saxophone)

...if you only buy and read one book this year, it should be this one....This is a book that you will not want to put down, and after you have finished it you will want to reread it to rediscover all the things you missed the first time. It will be required reading for my students. (Joseph Messenger The Clarinet)

...offers accessible information and some exciting angles on issues relevant to clarinettists at the highest grades and in more advances study. With its upbeat, easy, yet paced delivery and broad scope of interest, it is an exciting attractive addition to the library. (Clarinet & Saxophone)

All serious students should read Clarinet Secrets. It establishes an important way of thinking about our instrument and consequently has the potential of saving teachers and students a lot of time. (Phillip Rehfeldt)

Although Michèle Gingras designates 'advanced' clarinetists in the sub-title to her book, there is a wealth of material in Clarinet Secrets that can benefit less accomplished clarinetists....I congratulate Michèle Gingras on a well-thought-out and handsomely-presented handbook which contains a great deal of useful advice, concepts, and ideas for clarinetists. Ideally, it should go through many printings in the future. The accompanying CD of Gingras performing clearly illustrates many of the techniques she addresses in the book. This volume should be on the reference shelves of music libraries and band rooms, and in the personal libraries of clarinet teachers and students across North America and beyond. It is a fine contribution to the study of clarinet playing in all its richness and diversity. (Canadian Winds)

About this edition

• Publisher: Scarecrow Press
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0810849712
• ISBN 13: 9780810849716
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 144