#MusicMonday Technique

Every morning I've been doing my scale exercises. That seems a little obvious for some but everyone has their own routine that works well for them. I've been working with the Baermann Scale Studies for years but finally got a routine that works for me that I can get through all the exercises in a reasonable amount of time. For those unfamiliar with the Baermann (sometimes spelled Baerman) Complete Method for Clarinet the scale section has a good majority of the forms of scales, arpeggios and exercises that you could need. Now I've been practicing sections to make sure I can cover everything including the studies at the back of the book, which until recently has always been too much to cover in one practice session. 

For instance today was G major and e minor day. So I practice all the scales, arpeggios, returning scales etc. in G major and e minor. In addition to those I have divided the octave study, articulation, and triplet studies into 12 manageable chunks so they don't get left out. 

I have divided my practice into what works for me but if you would like some suggestions take a moment to check out what Jennifer Maclay decided to do for her Baermann Bootcamp.

If it is too daunting for you to take on that much technique practice right now check out the Klose Daily Scale book. It condenses scales into smaller exercises. Just like traditional physical exercise the key is to start.