Saturday, 16 March 2013

Amazing - new (important to me) skill

It has up till now been a great source of frustration : not being able to communicate with people whilst playing the clarinet.

Now I find that I can.

Up till now, I had resigned myself to the concept that I was trapped whilst playing my clarinet : my mouth and both hands were otherwise occupied. Singers accompanying themselves on a guitar must feel the same.

You try to signal by raising the eyebrows, smiling with your eyes. What else can you do? Waggle your ears - takes enormous skill and practise, I imagine? Stamp your foot, lift a leg and wave it around - not a commonly accepted form of greeting.

Yet this morning oh the Market, I cracked it. Without realising  it, I was waving; wow. It must have been that I was getting such a lot of positive feedback from my playing , particularly from excited young children. Yes, amazingly I found myself waving. The fingers of my right hand had broken away to wave vigorously : they found they weren't- for a few moments - needed. Only the thumb of that hand to hold the clarinet up.

So in the future I hope to develop this highly valued trick. True it puts about eight notes out of reach but with skill I can adjust the notes I choose to play leaving me free to . . .  wave  . . . and play. Watch out in future - if you don't get a wave it could be that :

1. I hate your guts and choose to ignore you.
2. Haven't spotted you.
3. Can't manage a wave - needing more practice at demanding trick.

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