Hello on this Wednesday in December! How are you, First name / friend?
Today we're talking about the importance of zooming in and zooming out in your practicing. And, we have a special invitation for you!
When I first joined the Cincinnati Symphony (hi 👋 it's Ixi here!) I got into portrait photography - getting so serious I took professional classes and set up a darkroom in my house! I had my trusty Pentax K-1000 (and when I saved enough) got a Hasselblad (the camera that
captured the first lunar landing and Iconic photos of the earth from the moon) - and eventually set up digitally with a Canon Mark IV and various lenses good for portrait work.
Using the digital cameras, I found that focusing wasn't as easy as it seems. To get your subject sharp, as well as exposed correctly, you first had to zoom in. Get the subject in the frame, adjust the aperture, shutter speed and focus, lock it in, then zoom out to reframe the photo. It took me a while, but eventually this process became second nature.
In the practice room, most of you are great at zooming in: you take things apart, focus on one small aspect of technique, or one fingering. And yes, it's important to identify, isolate and work through micro aspects of your playing. But an essential tool for success on the clarinet is the ability to see the bigger picture and place your work in context. You gotta PLUG IT IN!
Try it yourself!
👉 In embouchure work you're thinking about what's happening in the 6 square inches of your general jaw and head. Zoom out: be sure to to think about the 6 square FEET surrounding your body! This allows the larger flow of air to support and improve the quality of wind moving through the aperture of the clarinet mouthpiece.
👉 When you isolate a tricky interval, to fine tune voicing or work out the fingering, be sure to zoom out: use the “inside out” exercise to add one note on either side of the interval in each repetition until you feel good about the whole line.
👉 You've practiced a hairy passage for 15 minutes. Zoom out: Always return to your musical intention and what you want to communicate.
👉 As you're about to step on stage you feel nervous about not making a mistake. Zoom out: Remember you're communicating ideas, and sparking delight and joy in your listeners!
Always put what you learned into practice, whether it's a fragment you just worked on for 15 minutes, a fingering, a solution, or a musical idea. You have to place it in context, and plug it in! Not only will it solidify the work, it's great for your mental health:)
