"Beyond Clarke" by Kevin Woods

[Dayton]

I started playing out of Clarke’s “Technical Studies” in sixth grade. That is a hugely useful and important book, of course, but after years of playing from it I found that my practice was growing stale. I started looking for alternatives that offered the same (or more!) value than Clarke’s studies, but helped keep me engaged.

Recently, I came across “Beyond Clarke” by Kevin Woods. If you are interested in supplementing your Clarke studies with different, challenging material, this is a book worth checking out.

“Beyond Clarke” is a fresh set of 10 challenging technical studies (75 pages), some with variations, with an etude at the end of each study. There are a few studies that are reminiscent of a Clarke studies, but this is a book of new material, not variations on Clarke's original. The exercises are written with accidentals, vice key signatures, and generally do not stay in a single key or mode. You really have to focus on what you are playing, particularly as you learn the patterns.

No pedal tones and the written exercises top out at around C/D above the staff. The intervals are generally close. I don’t recall anything bigger than a sixth. The span of each exercise varies, but most are within an octave or so. I’d say that anyone at the intermediate level or above should be able to handle them.

The book is available on qPress (https://qpress.ca/product/beyond-clarke-10-technical-exercises-for-the-21st-century/). It is well worth checking out. I have no affiliation with Kevin Woods or with qPress aside from being a customer. Just wanted to share this in case some of you find it useful.

Happy practicing!