7 tips for clarinetists from David Campbell
David Campbell is one of today’s greatest clarinetists and teachers... and for a good reason. David Campbell is internationally recognised as one of Britain's finest musicians and was described by the doyen of British clarinetists, Jack Brymer, as "the finest player of his generation". His teaching technique focuses on details and on breaking clarinet pieces into smaller bricks to make the learning process more accessible to students. Here at Play with a Pro, we aim to bring the right tools to clarinet students and to help them find their own “voice”. So, if you feel a bit stuck, then maybe Campbell’s advice and experience can help you out with new and fresh perspective.
You can watch the full interview here.
1.How would you advise students to practice?
I think that in general you must practice in a very efficient way and an hour well spent is actually much better than 3 or 4 hours with the television on, for example. I think using your time very wisely is the key to it. Obviously if you are learning new things like changing your embouchure, your tonguing technique or you are learning a new piece of repertoire, it will take much more than an hour a day. It’s dependent on forward planning, because if you are asked to play a concerto next year, you don’t leave it until 2 weeks before the event to start learning it. I think that with the average requirements, most people should practice around two hours a day and if they can do 3, that is even better.
“There is a necessity to keep the body trained”
There is a necessity to keep the body trained. I think we are very reluctant as players to keep the technical side up together. We sort of mature as musicians, then we might have much more serious thoughts about the Brahms sonata or something, but actually the physical thing of keeping your fingers active is very,very important so whatever amount you have to allocate in a day, half should be on technique and the other half should be on enjoying the music.
Some Test User | at Sept. 13, 2018, 12:14 p.m.
There is a necessity to keep the body trained. I think we are very reluctant as players to keep the technical side up together. We sort of mature as musicians, then we might have much more serious thoughts about the Brahms sonata or something, but actually the physical thing of keeping your fingers active is very,very important so whatever amount you have to allocate in a day, half should be on technique and the other half should be on enjoying the music.