What are we doing and why bother?
Howling Wind Clarinet Studio has some pretty lofty goals and ideals, it's true. But, we're up to the task and hope you are too. Here's what we're aiming for:
1) Establish and nurture a lifelong love of music. At the end of the day, we are musicians. The clarinet is just one way to express yourself musically, one that we hope you'll always love. But regardless of which instrument(s) you play, we expect you to be passionate about music and the way you create it. That means you need to be concerned about more than simply playing all of the right notes. How you play those notes is just as important, if not more so. Also implicit in this philosophy is a solid understanding of rhythm, phrasing, and general music theory, all of which will be integrated into your lessons.
2) Be the best you can be. Surely not everyone is bound for Juliard and Carnegie Hall. However, careful guidance and positive reinforcement (our job) along with a good attitude and dedicated practice (your job) all go a long way towards making you the clarinetist and musician you want to be. And who knows... you might surprise yourself!
3) Master your instrument. It might sound silly, but remember who is playing who. YOU are playing the clarinet, not the other way around. Proficiency and understanding of the following elements will allow you to make the clarinet do what you want it to do:
1) Establish and nurture a lifelong love of music. At the end of the day, we are musicians. The clarinet is just one way to express yourself musically, one that we hope you'll always love. But regardless of which instrument(s) you play, we expect you to be passionate about music and the way you create it. That means you need to be concerned about more than simply playing all of the right notes. How you play those notes is just as important, if not more so. Also implicit in this philosophy is a solid understanding of rhythm, phrasing, and general music theory, all of which will be integrated into your lessons.
2) Be the best you can be. Surely not everyone is bound for Juliard and Carnegie Hall. However, careful guidance and positive reinforcement (our job) along with a good attitude and dedicated practice (your job) all go a long way towards making you the clarinetist and musician you want to be. And who knows... you might surprise yourself!
3) Master your instrument. It might sound silly, but remember who is playing who. YOU are playing the clarinet, not the other way around. Proficiency and understanding of the following elements will allow you to make the clarinet do what you want it to do:
- breathing and support
- embrochure
- tone quality
- fingering
- tonguing
- intonation
