Friday, January 11, 2008

Two Books to Recommend

I've got two books for you aspiring clarinet players out there. These are both books that I use in my own teaching. Of course, I did not discover them on my own. I noticed that Bob Listokin used them at one point or another, so I took a look at them.

"A Tune a Day for Clarinet" by C. Paul Herfurth and Hugh M. Stuart

This one is great for starting students out from the very beginning. Although it takes a bit long to get into the upper register, it approaches musical concepts in a very clear way. The tunes are fantastic as well. Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn, Christmas carols, and others are all represented. Right now, I have an 8 year playing out of this book. I'm able to let her approach new lessons (and new notes, fingerings, and rhythms) without having to explain it all first. She's able come in the next week having learned much of the material herself. It's great for teaching her how to teach herself.


"60 Rambles for Clarinet" by Leon Lester

These are short (40ish measures long) etudes with a clear emphasis on learning to play lyrically. There's not a lot of quick technical work, but each piece focuses on one particular issue: triplets/duplets, staccato, changing keys, etc. I've found that most students who can play from the lowest E to the C above the staff can get quite a bit from these. Not every etude need be played, but there's alot of good and interesting material. (Beware: The titles of the etudes are frequently pure cheez whiz.)

There, I've done my musically useful deed for the day.

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

ok, so i've learned all the pieces in these 2 books. heard any berio lately?

2/04/2008 07:35:00 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home