Hello Martin,
while I was in the orchestra we had a bassoonist, just sitting between my place
& the conductor, so I had him in my eyes all the time. He was swiveling back &
forth all the time, nearly standing up at the shortest bassoon solo, swinging
his wooden tool like a windshield cleaner.
I asked him to reduce his movements a bit but received nasty answers, I tried
it again several times always polite off course. No result at all.
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So I started the nasty way. Listen carefully about the woodwinditis cure:
When he had a solo & started moving (it was terrible distracting), I just
flustered: "That´s the nerves only ! Just the nerves !" - "What ? What ?" he
replied angrily. "Yes, just the nerves !" - He was cured instantly. And I could
read the music on my music stand much better, as the music stand did not
move around.
Try it with your clarinet player also.
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The "woodwinditis" is a result of playing down nervosity mixed with an extreme
egocentrism ("I must show the audience, it is ME, playing that solo !"). What a
poor guy, if he needs that to catch attention. It is much better , - so I feel
-, if the beautiful playing catches the attention. But I have to say, that this
bassoon fellow was a very good player, even egocentric.
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Am 02.04.2011 um 16:08 schrieb M Bender:
> Help!
>
> There is a member of the woodwind section [clarinet] in our orchestra who
> suffers from a very severe case of 'woodwind-itis', to the point where his
> spasmodic movements are throwing off the entire wind section.
>
> During a rehearsal for an upcoming performance of Mendelssohn's Midsummer
> Night's Dream, he actually took his left hand from his instrument and began
> conducting from his seat, as he was swaying back and forth. This occurred
> during the Nocturne, and unfortunately, I sit right behind the clarinet
> section. I'd rather not have two conductors to look at; one is quite enough!
>
> In the Overture, at the moment of the donkey calls, he partially rises in his
> seat, in time with the 'braying donkey'... which was admittedly sort of funny
> at the first rehearsal, but, frankly has become annoying as hell.
>
> Other members of the orchestra have commented about this, but no one seems to
> be able to offer a workable solution to curtail these contortions. He's a
> good player and all, but, alas, it's getting ridiculous. I can only imagine
> what this must look like from the audience's perspective-- this twitching,
> bobbing up-and-down, buffoon-like clarinetist. All he needs is the red nose
> and the Bozo the Clown hair...
>
> Short of firing the guy, I'd appreciate any hints on how this affliction
> might be remedied.
>
> Cheers,
> martin bender
>
> "All great things are decided not by machines or gadgets, but by willpower;
> whoever has it will finally prevail." Winston Churchill
>
>
>
>
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