Tone work should usually start off your practice session.  It allows you to warm up, use air correctly before working on technical or musical aspects, and get mentally prepared for your practice session.  Here’s a list of Clarinet tone exercises that I’ve picked up over the years and a Saxophone version will follow shortly (but, feel free to reference “Ramon Ricker Overtone Exercises” in the meantime).

PDF of Clarinet Tone Exercises

It’s pretty self explanatory, but I’ll take you through it. The first field listed is “Instrument”, that’s mainly for anyone who is a multi-instrumentalist and is juggling multiple practice schedules, in which case, a practice log is almost necessary to track of everything. The next is the date for the beginning of that week. Below that field are the goals for that week. This will help you keep track of your progress from week to week. You write down what you and your teacher have decided you’ll work on for the week. The table is a breakdown of time spent on each category and total time per day. That’s it.

This table is simple on purpose. You want to spend as little time as possible ‘book-keeping’ and as much time as you can practicing. Remember, this is for you, not for someone else (so no need to lie). It’s a way for you to objectively evaluate where you’re at, how to set goals, how to proceed with your practice routine, and the results of those efforts.

I’ve included a link to Word document so that people can open it on their machine and edit it as need be:

Practice Log in a Word Document (.doc)

Is it because of the number of reed options?

Is it because of artist endorsements?  To boil it down, Rico seems to have more jazz and a fair amount of Bass Clarinetists while Vandoren more classical and definitely more Clarinetists.

Is it because of reed consistency?  Ask anyone that plays Vandoren and they’ll probably tell you that their reeds aren’t the exact same from reed to reed.  In fact, reeds are inconsistent in every brand.  Some vary more than others, but the brand and sizing are estimates; you’re going to find pure consistency issues with just about any brand.  And, if musicians work on their reeds, does that mean the reed manufacturer is good or does it mean that the musician is a good “reed-tweeker”?

Is it innovation?  Rico has just come out with a huge series of products trying to regain their name.  For example: the Rico Ligature, the Rico Cap (almost a Brilhart mouthpiece cap reissue), the H-Ligature (a throw back of the old Harrison ligatures), and the ReedVitalizer humidity packs.  Even if someone uses Vandoren reeds, a lot of times they’re using a Rico ReedVitalizer along with their reed regiment, NOT a blue Vandoren reed holder with a “humidity control” that makes your reeds moldy.

Is it quality of cane?  I can name at least 5 brands that age their cane longer, use more choice cane, and have higher quality control than Rico or Vandoren (Gonzales, Riggotti, Roberto’s, Alexander, Daniel’s).

Is it because Rico (kind of) doesn’t make mouthpieces?  Well, they certainly have not delved into the world of mouthpieces yet.  However, they do have a neck strap that people tend to like.

I guess my big point here is that I find this debate ridiculous (which is why I ironically continued it on this blog).  You use what works.  If a Rico Grand Concert gets you a better sound than a Vandoren 56 Rue Lepic, fine.  Yes, you can take facts about the reed manufacturing process to help in the selection, but the second that someone uses brand recognition to make that decision for them, they’re not thinking about sound.  And, isn’t sound really all we should care about?

It looks simple, but let me explain how to play this. You can’t just set a metronome and count. If you’re going to internalize these subdivisions, you have to keep time and rhythm in two different ways – you can’t just use your foot. First, set your metronome on quarter note equals 40. Now, clap along with the metronome; your hands are now keeping the time. Then, you’re going to say the rhythm (the part that’s written on the staff) while you continue to clap the time along with the metronome. Repeat this for at least a couple of minutes checking that you’re not rushing or dragging and get use to going from groups of nines all the way back to quarter notes to notice how changing the subdivision feels. To solidify this, switch the time and rhythm. Keep the time with your mouth by saying “1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, etc…” and clap the rhythm. For some of you the first way will be more difficult, for others, the second will. Here’s an audio clip of this being played with wood block keeping the quarter note pulse and snare drum keeping the rhythm:

Above & Beyond: To make this more interesting you can use drumsticks and a drum pad. Time in one hand, rhythm in the other, then switch. This will show you two things 1) how truly accurate you have to be with rhythm to keep time well and 2) how keeping accurate rhythm will later help you keep time well.

7/2/11 – Smith’s Olde Bar (Atlanta), music starts at 8 PM

• Cover: $8
• 21+
• 1578 Piedmont Road Northeast
  Atlanta, GA 30324-5232
• (404) 875-1522
• RSVP on facebook

4/8/11 – Studio 281 (Atlanta), 9 PM & 11 PM

• Cover: $10
• All Ages
• 281 Peters St. SW
  Atlanta, GA 30313
• (404) 524-7247
• RSVP via FB
• Featuring: Jared Lanham, Jon Strength, Madoka Oshima, Ben Whetherford

4/16/11 – JavaMonkey (Decatur), 8 PM – 11 PM

• No Cover
• All Ages
• 425 Church St
  Decatur, Georgia
• (404) 378-5002
• RSVP via FB
• Featuring: Tauseef Anam, Eric Maples, Jon Strength, Madoka Oshima

2011 All-State Winners:

2010 UGA Middle School Band Festival (MidFest):

2011 UGA High School Band Festival (JanFest):

2011 All-State & 2010 District Honor Band Finalists:

Joshua Redman Master Class 1

Joshua Redman Master Class 2

Joshua Redman in Concert

AllAboutJazz.com – this is a staple of the jazz community.  This has anything and everything, far too much for me to list in fact.  Definitely take advantage of the daily free mp3, check out the articles, and look at the CD release dates.  This site really helps you keep track of what’s going on in the jazz world.  This is also related to at least one Podcast, The Jazz Session.

AtlantaJazz.info – Site that is dedicated to jazz in Atlanta.

Bob Reynolds Blog & Lessons – Bob is a saxophonist that is fast becoming a household name.  He’s just released his second of two albums as a leader, but has performed and recorded with such artists as John Mayer, Richard Bona, & Guy Sebastian to name only a few.  Make sure to sign up for his e-mail list and keep an eye out for the Stablemates forum currently in beta testing and expected to launch sometime… soon.

Casa Valdez Studios – GREAT jazz blog.  David Valdez really has some superb resources on this site.  He’s been maintaining this blog for years and has provided excellent information.  From harmonic exercises, live bootlegs, new jazz language, reed prep, and master classes, David’s blog is filled with great jazz gems.

Christian Howes Blog – This New York-based violinist shows an insight into the NYC music scene.  There’s some heated debate on this site which is both eye-grabbing and informative, but overall I think you get a feel for Christian Howes and the daily workings of a NYC musician.

FluteWorld.com – Not really a blog per say, but it’s a great resource for music, equipment, flute competitions, etc.

Jaleel Shaw’s Blog – This is a cool look into the life of a young, incredibly talented, and TOURING JAZZ saxophonist. Jaleel, along with being part of Roy Haynes’ and Dave Holland’s bands, and the Count Basie Big band, has his own group with the likes of Lage Lund, Aaron Parks, Aaron Goldberg, Joe Martin, Ben Williams, Otis Brown III, etc. So, yeah, this is a pretty cool blog.

IWasDoingAlright.com – Atlanta Jazz out the wahzoo.  Maintained by a local trumpet, their are excellent resources on here for what’s going on in the Atlanta scene, jazz time, ear training, trumpet specific material, practice

JazzBariSax.com – Do you like Jazz? Do you like the Baritone saxophone?  If you answered yes to either of these questions then this site is for you.  This is one of my favorites.  JBS discusses anything and everything related to Bari sax.  Not only that, but this site points to some great resources on top of all the information provided on the site.

Jazz Corner – This is a site dedicated to, you guessed, just Jazz.  It has sections for all different types of people, arrangers, instrumentalists, vocalists, and a hefty forum.  It has another feature called their “Jukebox” which lists and plays all sorts of contemporary artists.

JazzOnTheTube.com – Jazz videos out the yin yang!

Jazz Video Guy – The JVG provides a series of phenomenal jazz performances, artist interviews, and master classes.  In addition there is a ton of them.  You can also take a look at his YouTube channel.

JoeAllard.org – This is an organization started by some Joe Allard alum.  They talk about their experiences, Joe’s teaching methods, and even Joe as a person.  There’s lots of helpful info in getting insights into Joe Allard’s methods on tone production and practicing.

NextBop.com – Just recently found this.  It’s an

interesting take on your usual music blog.  They work with featured artists, keep you up to date on their projects, give you insights into their development.  I know, I know, that sounds pretty usual, BUT, you have to see the artists that they feature.  There are some of the best known on there, but the majority are somewhat unknown outside of the New York scene (at least that’s my take).  The people they name, big or small, are ALL some of the baddest musicians around.  CHECK IT OUT!

Pat Neaude Blog – A little difficult to get a sense of all the resources on this blog, but dig through chronologically and you find that Pat has some cool posts.  Saxophonist, radio announcer, resident of Albany.

Rico Reeds Blog – Written by woodwind player (saxophonist ) Tim Price, Tim offers up a myriad of information on tone, career knowledge, practice habits, and a host of other topics.  He takes you through step-by-step and is incredibly active on the blog-o-sphere.

SOTW – Sax On The Web Forum.  Everything Saxophone from here to kingdom come.

UncensoredInterview.com – I’ve got a couple of interviews from this site on my blog already, but they’ve got some great interviews from a myriad of artists, jazz and otherwise.

Urge2Burge – This site is filled with many, many live recordings.  There’s stuff there for one and all.

WoodwindForum.com – This forum is a little confusing to navigate at first, but is a great resource for all woodwind players, but especially doublers.  The community is very welcoming and so far, unlike a lot of blogs, is filled mostly with people that are working to keep it that way.  Enjoy!

In the video, there’s about 20 seconds of what you might expect.  Then, at 26″, Bob lays out this jaw-dropping line.  I was transcribing it and thought that I’d share with everyone to see what they thought.  I’ve annotated what’s going on theory wise.  Hope you like it and leave your comments down below.