Adam
Ballif
Adam Ballif teaches clarinet at Brigham Young University–Idaho.
His website, www.adamballif.com, is an
excellent example of a professional website, with his biography, audio samples
of performances, and materials for his BYU-I students. It also has high-quality
general clarinet resources including an annotated repertoire list and
information on clarinet conferences and festivals. Ballif’s site is the home of
the “ClariNotes” newsletter, a one-page publication with clarinet tips
and exercises, as well as a blog covering pedagogical topics. Another
interesting and useful feature is “Ballif Beats,” custom-made click tracks for
repertoire that is difficult to practice with an ordinary metronome. Several
are available for download, including the second movement of the Bernstein Sonata
and several works by Eric Mandat.
Anne
Bell's ABC
Anne Bell is a clarinetist and educator and the creator of ABC (Anne
Bell’s Clarinet) at anne-bell.woodwind.org, which has been in operation since
1998. Bell’s site includes very comprehensive and carefully categorized link
lists, pointing clarinetists toward resources related to all aspects of the
clarinet and clarinet playing: repertoire, recordings, history, education,
acoustics and more. If you are looking for clarinet-related information, try
Bell’s site for a meticulously curated collection of high-quality links.
Clarineat
Sean Perrin’s website clarineat.com is the home of the Clarineat
podcast, a fascinating interview show featuring clarinetist guests like Martin
Fröst, Harry Sparnaay and Michael Norsworthy, plus inventors, composers,
entrepreneurs and other people involved in the clarinet world. The website is
the place to listen to the show or find subscription links. The site also
includes web-only content like product reviews, discussion forums and an online
store selling many of the products mentioned on the podcast. Be sure to sign up
for the email newsletter to be eligible to win giveaways like products reviewed
on the site and signed copies of guests’ CDs.
Audition
Cafe
Orchestral auditions and vacancies are often announced through
social media sites such as Facebook’s public group “Clarinet Jobs,” but another
great resource for current listings of open auditions is at
www.auditioncafe.org. Here postings from orchestras stretching across four
continents are conveniently listed by instrument and easy to search. Each job
opening contains links to separate webpages that give dates, deadlines, and
other pertinent audition information. Don’t forget to check out the site’s
audition tips section where viewers can read Richie Hawley’s article on “Your
Next Audition,” which breaks down the audition preparation process into five
stages, or listen to Ricardo Morales’s expert advice in his YouTube video on
how to prepare for an audition. Even a short video by actor Bryan Cranston, who
plays the lead character on the hit TV drama “Breaking Bad,” has good advice
for musicians pursuing the orchestral audition circuit.
Sean
Osborn
With an extensive personal website at www.osbornmusic.com,
clarinetist Sean Osborn has created a site that highlights not only his career
as a soloist, teacher and composer, but also provides valuable resources to
both educators and performers. His educational links are worth looking into as
his lengthy articles on improving technique and legato fingers are very insightful.
In the orchestral guide link, Osborn presents mini-master classes written on
commonly requested orchestral audition excerpts taken from a paper he wrote on
teaching and performing excerpts. Viewers can access the entire 60-page paper
or go to individual entries listed alphabetically by composer and excerpt. He
covers topics such as phrasing, fingerings, tips and general background
information on each piece, lending his expertise as an orchestral player to the
reader. All of the master class entries contain links to YouTube videos of
Osborn playing snippets of the excerpts. For the entire gamut of Osborn’s
videos, visit his YouTube channel at SeanOsborn.
Bulletproof
Musician
Applicable to all types of musicians at all levels, Noa Kageyama’s
website www.bulletproofmusician.com is a
wonderful resource for interesting articles and research on performance
methods. As a violinist and performance psychologist on the faculty at
Juilliard, Kageyama frequently posts his own articles on topics pertaining to
practice techniques and learning processes, including mental strategies
musicians can use to overcome lulls or setbacks in their own practicing.
Addressing and analyzing commonly shared issues and obstacles faced by all
musicians, Kageyama’s writings are enjoyable to read and can help any
clarinetist become a better and more confident player.
Stay tuned for more useful and interesting
clarinet content on the web, as well as an upcoming series of columns on
building your own online presence! As we shift content to the International Clarinet Association's webpage, clarinet.org, you can now access Clarinet Cache electronic columns directly on "The Clarinet Online" component at clarinet.org/tco/.
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