December 23rd, 2008 1:15 am
Standing and Playing the Clarinet
Most of your solo performing in front of an audience will be done standing up, so part of your practice time should be spent in this position as well so that it is as comfortable as sitting when playing.
Stand with feet slightly apart roughly 12″ so that you have a rock solid base. It is is generally accepted in the conducting world as well that the feet should not move during the performance. Any movement should now be done with the upper torso. This leaves you a lot of freedom with side to side motion and some pivoting backwards and forwards without seeming to lurch around the performance area like an untrained seal.
The same rules apply as the sitting version regarding locking the clarinet into the upper body area and not letting it move independantly. The clarinet, head, arms, shoulders, and the whole upper torso area must move as a whole unit in the same direction at the same time.