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John Kurokawa
United States
Registrace 6. 11. 2013
Welcome to my channel! Please visit frequently for new videos to help YOU get better at the clarinet! Also, please enjoy my videos of live performances. Thanks for watching!
Miura- Clover Fantasy for Clarinet Quartet, I- Dance of Dawn
APOLOGIES FOR THE AUDIO QUALITY!
I ran into technical issues that I did not anticipate- like forgetting to plug my microphone in. 😖Nonetheless, I hope the music and performance is strong enough to convey the essence of the music. Please enjoy this movement from Miura's Clover Fantasy for Clarinet Quartet by the Prestige Clarinet Quartet from our performance at ClarinetFest in Dublin 2024!
#clarinet #clarinetquartet #classicalmusic #clarinetist
I ran into technical issues that I did not anticipate- like forgetting to plug my microphone in. 😖Nonetheless, I hope the music and performance is strong enough to convey the essence of the music. Please enjoy this movement from Miura's Clover Fantasy for Clarinet Quartet by the Prestige Clarinet Quartet from our performance at ClarinetFest in Dublin 2024!
#clarinet #clarinetquartet #classicalmusic #clarinetist
zhlédnutí: 227
Video
Brotons- Cinc Petites Peces for Clarinet Quartet, IV- Vals burlesco
zhlédnutí 114Před dnem
APOLOGIES FOR THE AUDIO QUALITY! I ran into technical issues that I did not anticipate- like forgetting to plug my microphone in. Nonetheless, I hope the music and performance is strong enough to convey the essence of the music. Please enjoy this movement from Brotons' Cinc Petites Peces for Clarinet Quartet by the Prestige Clarinet Quartet from our performance at ClarinetFest in Dublin 2024! ...
Tozzola- Carmelo for clarinet and bass clarinet
zhlédnutí 385Před 21 dnem
Please enjoy our performance of Tozzola’s Carmelo for clarinet and bass clarinet from ClarinetFest in Dublin, 2024! Clarinet- John Kurokawa Bass Clarinet- Anthony Costa #clarinet #bassclarinet #classicalmusic
ICA Update and Performance!
zhlédnutí 392Před 21 dnem
Hi everyone! I’m at the International Clarinet Association Clarinetfest this week to perform with my clarinet quartet, the Prestige Clarinet Quartet and wanted to give you an update. Are any of you in Dublin this week? I’ll look forward to giving you a full update when I return. #clarinet #classicalmusic #clarinetist
I Need a New Ligature, Part 2
zhlédnutí 1,1KPřed měsícem
The clarinet ligature hunt continues! In this video I'll be trying several new fabric or leather ligatures in my collection. Check out Part 1: czcams.com/video/3ZNV1PnE4NQ/video.htmlsi=iDqjuWmSfNucYfLj Chapters: 0:00 Introduction 2:50 Requirements of a good ligature 4:00 Ligature 1 5:43 Ligature 2 7:23 Ligature 3 8:50 Ligature 4 10:19 Ligature 5 12:10 Ligature 6 Items seen or mentioned in the v...
Vandoren BD2 Review!
zhlédnutí 1,7KPřed měsícem
In this video, we'll take a detailed look at the Vandoren BD2 soprano clarinet mouthpiece. #clarinet #classicalmusic Links to items mentioned in the video: Video on handmade vs. machine made mouthpieces: czcams.com/video/s2901ba2tXg/video.htmlsi=eFytyhhx2mwbmWvE Vandoren BD2 mouthpiece: a.co/d/0hlbEF6p Wodkowski mouthpieces: ramonwodkowski.com Timestamps: 0:00- Introduction 1:54- Unboxing 5:00-...
The Best High Note Fingerings for the Clarinet
zhlédnutí 1,5KPřed 5 měsíci
Looking for some good alternate high note fingerings on the clarinet? You're in the right place! As always, thank you everyone for watching. Books mentioned in the video: Clarinet Fingerings by Tom Ridenour: www.rclarinetproducts.com/fingering-book The Clarinet and Clarinet Playing by David Pino: a.co/d/ht2DGTW
OMEA (Ohio) 2025 Clarinet Audition Etudes (Voxman Selected Studies 17 & 34)
zhlédnutí 1,4KPřed 5 měsíci
Looking for complete performances of page 17 and 34 from the Voxman Selected Studies for the OMEA All State auditions AND tips to make them perfect? You're in the right place! Because this is a long video, here are the time stamps so you can use what you need. Best of luck to everyone on their auditions! 0:00- Introduction 0:56- G Minor Etude, Page 17 2:23- G Minor Etude Practice Tips 9:23- E M...
Rhapsody in Blue Clarinet Solo Guide!
zhlédnutí 2,4KPřed 6 měsíci
Rhapsody in Blue Clarinet Solo Guide!
College Audition Tips for Clarinet (or any other instrument!)
zhlédnutí 1,8KPřed 7 měsíci
College Audition Tips for Clarinet (or any other instrument!)
Handcrafted vs Machine Made Clarinet Mouthpieces!
zhlédnutí 3,4KPřed 7 měsíci
Handcrafted vs Machine Made Clarinet Mouthpieces!
Productive Practice Tips for Clarinet!
zhlédnutí 2,6KPřed 7 měsíci
Productive Practice Tips for Clarinet!
Wood Stone (Ishimori) Clarinet Reeds- Unboxing and First Impressions!
zhlédnutí 2,9KPřed 8 měsíci
Wood Stone (Ishimori) Clarinet Reeds- Unboxing and First Impressions!
Queen of the Night for Eb clarinet and Bb Clarinet!
zhlédnutí 1,5KPřed 8 měsíci
Queen of the Night for Eb clarinet and Bb Clarinet!
Winter and Cold Weather Clarinet Care!
zhlédnutí 1,6KPřed 8 měsíci
Winter and Cold Weather Clarinet Care!
Find Your Ultimate Clarinet Sound, Part I
zhlédnutí 5KPřed 8 měsíci
Find Your Ultimate Clarinet Sound, Part I
Control Your Nerves for a GREAT Clarinet Performance!
zhlédnutí 1,8KPřed 9 měsíci
Control Your Nerves for a GREAT Clarinet Performance!
Clarinet Embouchure Essentials- Five Embouchure Myths Debunked!
zhlédnutí 10KPřed 10 měsíci
Clarinet Embouchure Essentials- Five Embouchure Myths Debunked!
Clarinet Tip Tuesday- Tips for achieving a beautiful legato on the clarinet!
zhlédnutí 1,8KPřed 10 měsíci
Clarinet Tip Tuesday- Tips for achieving a beautiful legato on the clarinet!
Bach- Badinerie, arr. P. Struck; John Kurokawa, clarinet
zhlédnutí 712Před 11 měsíci
Bach- Badinerie, arr. P. Struck; John Kurokawa, clarinet
Telemann, Concerto à 4- Allegro, arr. Raymond Vun Kannon
zhlédnutí 202Před 11 měsíci
Telemann, Concerto à 4- Allegro, arr. Raymond Vun Kannon
Bach- Fugue in G minor, arr. David Schorr; John Kurokawa, clarinet
zhlédnutí 537Před 11 měsíci
Bach- Fugue in G minor, arr. David Schorr; John Kurokawa, clarinet
Clarinet Tip Tuesday- Different Rhythms in Your Practice!
zhlédnutí 663Před 11 měsíci
Clarinet Tip Tuesday- Different Rhythms in Your Practice!
Nice sound! On both- but I can understand how you mean about the BD. Did you try the BD5 and 4? I have those, and like them at the moment. BD4 has the biggest opening. It works with strength 2,5-3. Harder is impossible for my style and emboushyre
I usually use around 8 out of 10 in a box with maybe 1-2 concert quality ones. If you know how to work on reeds you can use most of them that is if the quality is there. That's at least my experience playing Vandoren V-12 for over 25 years.
I’m an Eb clarinetist and I’m recently practicing III Concerto by O. Navarro, which contains Bb and Eb solo parts. When I practice only with Eb clarinet it sounds all well and good. But when I’m going through the whole piece and switch from Bb to Eb, I can’t even play a satisfying long note. I was shocked bc I just got my brand new buffet Tosca Eb clarinet half year ago, and I’ve had a lot of doubling experiences with clarinets and even saxophones. I realized doubling when playing a concerto is much harder than in wind band. That’s why I found this video and I hope it helps.
i'm a freshman and REALLY want to try All-State I'd say I'm at like a Sophmore or Junior level tbh but I'm TERRIFIED. I play clarinet are there any tips?? ESPECIALLY for fast tempos, sixteenth notes and all that stuff
I can certainly understand your plight. Everyone can get intimidated by difficult pieces of music. A few suggestions: 1. Study privately with a good teacher. They can help you break down difficult passages and provide helpful suggestions and practice strategies. 2. Practice fast passages SLOWLY- 10 times slow, one time fast! 3. Use a metronome. 4. Be patient and be kind to yourself! I have a video on appraoching fast passages: czcams.com/video/MYnOfmIaB4E/video.htmlsi=SsOd7_bkRbLuJfrw I hope this helps!
Sounds great as usual! Love the Eb clarinet
Thanks so much! Thanks for watching!
Didn't know this piece. Definitely going to check it out. Thnx 👍
Glad you liked it. Thanks for watching!
Great band 👍
Thanks! Thanks for watching!
Suena genial 👏👏👏👏👏👏
Very nice.
Thanks! Thanks for listening!
This feels like something out of a James Bond or similar detective action movie. Love it!
Agreed! It was a fun quartet to work on. Too bad I forgot to plug the microphone in. 😖
Yay E flat! It's an unusually catchy piece! The performance came through; I hardly noticed the mic difference since y'all were so well balanced!
Thanks Amay! Fun, fun piece!
Wonderful!
thank you
You're welcome Thanks for watching!
yall sound amazing ! thank you for posting
Thanks for the kind words and for listening!
Hi John, thanks for the video! It’s was incredibly informative. What did you think of the ishimori?
Ishimori ligatures are wonderful. I’ll be covering those soon. Thanks for watching!
You sound great on both mouthpieces! Thanks for the video!
Thank you Julianna! I wish the playing experience for both mouthpieces was similar. Thanks for watching!
Like!
Thanks for watching!
Perfect, now for balancing, asp please
It’s coming! Thanks for watching!
Have you tried the Baroque ligatures by Charles Bay? I got one a couple days ago and I’m a big fan
Yes! With the right mouthpiece they can be quite good! However, they don’t seem to be in production any more and are unfortunately difficult to obtain. Thanks for watching!
Have you tried the Rovner Vangogh ligature?
Check out Part Two! Thanks for watching!
🎉👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
Thank you! Thanks for watching!
Bravo! Wish I were there
Thank you! Thanks for watching!
Superb Tone 😀
Thank you very much! Thanks for watching!
So pleasant to my ears! I love it. The punctuation, rhythm, sounds fitting into each other, this is a beautiful collaboration. Thanks for posting it, Mr Kurokawa!
Thanks Amay! Tony and I used to play in the same section in my orchestra and it’s always been so easy to play with him. Thanks as always for watching!
@@john.kurokawa that makes sense. You two sound great together!
You two play so well together, like extensions of each other's voices! Edit: Flying back to Chicago is quite a story! What did you do at Yamaha? I heard they're developing a new model; were you testing that? Loved this new kind of video :)
Yes! That’s coming up in a short!
@@john.kurokawa awesome! Is it a continuation of an existing bore, or something new?
Wonderful, John. What are the pedals you both are using?
Thank you! I can’t speak for Tony, but I’m using a Pageflip Butterfly with the ForScore app on my iPad. Thanks for watching!
@@john.kurokawa I didn’t know the had those. Great idea.
Hope you’re enjoying the festival. Would be good to meet in person if there’s time P. Cigleris
Absolutely! Thanks Peter!
That is a work out. Great job
Thanks 👍 Thanks for watching!
John how did I not know about this
I don’t know, but in any case, I hope you’re enjoying your summer!!!
And the winner of this comparison is the woodstone kodama II, the only one were the sound of the clarinet got spirit!
Glad you liked it! Thanks for watching!
Thanks for always sharing with us! Cool tune!
My pleasure!! Thanks for watching!
Genial 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
Thank you! Thanks for watching!
I personally use a gold Bonade ligature (from Taplin Weir, of course). Simple, effective, gold is my favorite material, and it doesn’t obliterate the wallet haha.
I have several of those and they are among my favorites- excellent choice! Thanks for watching!
This is such a beautiful exercise! I hope you can share the notation with us....
PLS NOT ME SEEING THIS AFTER REIGON ETUDES CAME OUT
Thanks for this interesting review of these different ligatures. I am currently using a Rovner Dark on a Vandoren BD5 mouthpiece, which I like very much and plays well for me, but over the past 6 months I have bought and played a couple of other ligatures with which I have had mixed results. I have a BG Duo in silver, that plays well for me with this mouthpiece, and I also bought a Rovner Versa, which I am not happy with, so I very much appreciated your take on that ligature. On top of not being particularly happy with the way that the Versa responded for me personally, I also found that if I didn't leave the flaps covering the plate on the reed side of the ligature, that if I left the ligature on my mouthpiece, even loosely, when it is stored in my case the metal plate on the Versa started leaving visible scratches/depressions in the table of my mouthpiece, which is a huge problem. I stopped using the Versa and will probably not use it again. I will be very interested to see if you try the BG Duo in your part 3 video, and if so, what you think of it. In the meantime, thank you for all of your videos! I find them to be very interesting and I enjoy them very much.
Thanks for the kind words, and thanks for watching! Part 2 will be delayed as the ClarinetFest is this coming week, but I’ll be back with more videos after that!
Great! I’ve experimented with varying extremes of break in procedures, and your process is pretty much exactly what I’ve settled on as well. More than this hadn’t yielded better results for me, and definitely not playing reeds in for at least as long as you describe has been disastrous! I can get away with more with my saxophone reeds, but not clarinet!
Glad you’ve found something that works for you! Thanks for watching!
Have you ever tried the Luyben ligatures?? I highly recommend them
Yes! I really enjoyed the older incarnations of those liguatures. I had a student who had real issues with the latest versions in terms of build quality, but that might have just been the one we ordered. Thanks for watching!
Where do you find exercises for this? I’m glad I found your channel as a 4th year clarinet player going into high school
I'll ask Jake if I can post it on my website. Thanks for watching!
@@john.kurokawa the content is great! Keep it up!
Joel was my mentor in woodwind repair, and a fantastic craftsman!! Lomax for the win!
Some of the nicest people you'll meet! Thanks for watching!
RIP JOEL 😢 💔
Thanks for the review. I've had a BD2 for a couple of weeks now. I have a range of vandoren and selmer mouthpieces but no custom jobs. I found that the mouthpiece felt more open than it actually was (like you) and especially when I compared it to a M15 and M13 lyre. For my embouchure, mouth/throat and clarinet, I didn't find the issues you described. It readily responded over the whole range and had a focused tone like the M15. I really really like it. I use vandoren 56 Ru le pic or d'addario classic reserve reeds on a full Boehm Leblanc LL clarinet.
That's really interesting. The design is radically different from the M15, and is definitely not my cup of tea, but as I've noted in many videos, everyone is different, and my review is strictly my opinion. Thanks for watching!
Have you tried Brad Behn’s adjustable barrels? I use a Silverstein ligature and just swap the barrel between A and Bb, and it works great.
I have. I I think adjustable barrels are a really interesting proposition, but I haven't found any that rival the ones that Tomoji Hirakata made for me. Thanks for watching!
Great video...!!! Of the ligatures in this video, the Rovner Van Gough checks all of my boxes. Price for this--as most Rovners--is reasonable (NO Silverstein for me as price alone is a deterrent), Rovners last for years, etc. Okay, I have used Rovners for many years, and I do have a bias. But...I have never tried the Van Gough. A suggestion for all clarinetists that have the issue of ligature caps that are too large and do not fit the case: try the Silverstein Omnicap mouthpiece cap. It fits over the tip, is not bulky, and will protect the mouthpiece and reed. I use them for all of my mouthpieces, and my only issue is that if you are not careful, they can get lost. Looking forward to more videos like this...
That’s a really good idea. I also see there are some cheap knockoff versions on Amazon. Good thing, because the Silverstein cap is quite expensive for what it is. Thanks for watching!
@@john.kurokawa: Yes there are cheaper copies of the Silverstein, but cheaper does not always equal better. YES, I am biased and spoiled... :) :) :) Seriously, always good to try.
@@davidnaden I'm only talking about the cap, lol. I have several of the knockoffs and they do just fine. They actually look identical to Silverstein's cap, but for a fraction of the price.
Excuse me for a question, when playing, should the lower lip stay on the teeth or should it be in the direction of the teeth?
In my opinion, the lower lip should be supported by the teeth, or on the teeth, as you say. I prefer a gentle smile with the lower lip and a slight frown with the upper lip. Thanks for watching!
I'm surprised how much I liked the sound of the snake-skin ligature... This is quite interesting!
Yep- it is quite interesting. Unfortunately some of my colleagues in the orchestra are rather repelled by it. 😳
@@john.kurokawa haha, that is quite unfortunate.
I definitely prefer metal ligatures but I also agree the kodama II is great. I'm also a fan of the BG super revelation.
BG does make nice ligatures- agreed! Thanks for watching!
Your videos are always great! Thank you for making them.
Glad you like them Tyler! Thanks for watching!
As a side note to my other comment, I am now a very happy owner of a set of Yamaha CSVR-ASP clarinets! I sat with Tomoji Hirakana, who went with me note by note until the entire instrument played and sounded very even, with much less resistance than my old Buffet set, and is now much more reed and mouthpiece friendly! Thought I'd let you know because you also play CSVR clarinets :)
Congratulations! Tomoji is AMAZING. You're going to love them. I think the CSVR is one of the best clarinets on the market, and I'm proud to have been one of the many consultants on that project! Enjoy!
@@john.kurokawa I absolutely love them, and he is amazing! I didn't know you were a consultant for the CSVR project, but it makes a lot of sense. I know many players who love both the CSVR and the ASP variant, as it is very flexible without leaning towards either extreme. Were you a Yamaha artist before the CSVR?
@@amay.clarinet Yes. I played the CSG models. In fact, I’m seriously considering them for my next set. David Shifrin was using them when they were new and he showed them to me when he was playing the Mozart concerto with my orchestra. I was very taken with them and haven’t looked back since. Enjoy
@@john.kurokawa awesome! Do you find the CSVR and CSVR-ASP to be that much different in how they play? I'm also curious as to your thoughts on the CSG, and what you like the most about those. I haven't had the opportunity to try either the base CSVR or the CSG models yet.
@@amay.clarinet Yes. For myself, I actually prefer the original CSVR- it's a little freer and easy for me to play. I had Tomoji put a custom low F mechanism on my A clarinet as I feel it is absolutely essential on these models. He did an amazing job- it looks almost stock. The CSG's actually have the same lower joint as the CSVR (so I'm told), but the upper joint and barrel are different. They just blow different- hard to describe. But I played them for about 10 years. Great clarinets. Extremely stable intonation and even sound. I love 'em.
Have you tried the Rovner dark? I know it's a budget model, but after comparing it to how many other ligatures (Versa, Silverstein, Vandoren optimum, and a few more) work for me, I've actually found that it actually feels better than most. It holds the reed to the mouthpiece extremely firm if I want it to (can take mouthpiece off clarinet and reed stays) and it is durable enough to last me 6 years with no signs of deterioration. I also think it looks quite nice and clean on the instrument :)
I've not- I'll have to add it to the list. Thanks for the tip and for watching!
I loved your analysis on different types of mouthpieces and how much ligatures affect them. Overall, I quite agree with your thoughts for these ligatures, both in terms of feel and sound. I'd like to add my two cents, as someone who enjoys playing 2 setups, 1) a very closed/flexible mouthpiece with a medium reed (M13 Lyre) and 2) a medium-open/"hold" mouthpiece with a medium-resistant reed, but also as a student who's not quite adjusted fully to either particular setup. I find that on the M13 Lyre and all my favorite closed tip mouthpieces, my ligature choices were based on the kind of sound and feel I was going for; a good balance of overtones, aka vibrancy in the sound, with just enough resistance to control dynamic and color. For me, that meant a metal ligature (currently a bonade inverted) works well with a 3½ blue box reed. It requires a lot of sensitivity with my air stream, embouchre, and voicing, but it allows me to sing with that balance of higher frequencies I look for in this setup. On my Kanter and other favorite open mouthpieces that emphasize the fundamental a lot more, I found myself going for a less resistant ligature that also emphasizes the fundamental a bit more, and encourages a more gentle feel and sound for the way I play these mouthpieces. The only exception I've found to this so far is the B40, where I prefer a metal ligature (Bonade non-inverted). I think this is because, despite being a relatively open facing mouthpiece, soundwise, it harkens a lot closer to the M13 Lyre and my favorite closed facing mouthpieces. This all to say, I think that someone used to one mouthpiece type or another would find the other type to be less affected by the same factors, because they are already so different. They require different physical and tonal approaches, especially when you compare mouthpieces that encourage "vibrancy" or "hold" using just your air/embouchre/voicing, and those that encourage "darkness" by biting and constricting the vibrations of the reed. My own preference is one that doesn't require biting, so I know very little about those mouthpieces that encourage it, such as the Vandoren BD and HD series. However, for the more old-school mouthpiece which are designed for minimal jaw pressure (there is still so much variation in these), I find that, regardless if it is a more fundamental emphasizing mouthpiece or overtone emphasizing mouthpiece, they are a lot more sensitive to ligature and reed changes. I think I only came to this conclusion, though, because they are what I'm used to. Fantastic video overall, as always, Mr Kurokawa!
Thanks Amay! I am certainly in agreement that different ligatures suit different mouthpieces and reeds. I haven't played the B40 a ton, but many of the B40 players I know prefer metal ligatures as well. Thanks as always for watching!
@@john.kurokawa of course! Always a pleasure.