Re: Klezmer clarinet lessons

[Tski1128 <Tski1128...>]

Here is a topic which I feel have I have much experience.  I get a few phone 
call a week from either young students, highschool age and younger, or older 
people, anyone over 45, and they ask if I can teach them to play Klezmer. The 
range of clarinet experience ranges from "I've never played the clarinet" to "I 
was working on the Nielson concerto in my lesson last week" and the entire 
spectrum in-between.  I have found that a vast majority of people who have 
heard 
Klezmer music, and are inspired to take up and instrument, feel that they can 
learn to play Klezmer music without learning to play the clarinet. Most will 
come in and want me to teach them a tune on the first lesson, thinking they 
can by pass a lot of practice and pedagogy, just because they feel that the 
music is somehow "easier" than classical music. On the other side, I get some 
real 
advanced clarinetists that can play a lot of notes and a lot of concertos and 
recital pieces, who are so afraid of trying to learn music that isn't written 
down that it becomes a hindrance.  I am absolutely astonished that people 
still believe that you can learn how to play any kind of music without knowing 
how that music is supposed to sound. I'm thinking of the Stravinsky piece 
"Ragtime" that he wrote with the only exposure to music being a score.  It's a 
cool 
piece, but it "ain't" ragtime, and that's Stravinsky he was a great musician.
So my advice is this if you have a clarinet student that wants to learn how 
to play Klezmer, have them buy the Naftule Brandwien King of Klezmer CD, or the 
Dave Tarras one that's in every Borders, and learn a tune from it.  Have them 
bring the CD into their lesson, check there progress, if your a good teacher 
tell them to buy it. If you're a great teacher buy it and learn one of the 
tunes yourself and then teach them how to learn the tune. Notice I didn't say 
teach them the tune! Even if you're a person that would never use this music on 
a 
gig, your ear will get better. If the student doesn't go and get a CD, 
they're not interested a teacher won't do them any good. If they do they won't 
need 
a "Klezmer" teacher until they have a few tunes under their fingers. 

Tom Puwalski, Yamaha performing Artist, Author of "The Clarinetists Guide to 
Klezmer", Former Clarinet soloist with the US Army Field Band, and Clarinetist 
with Lox&Vodka