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Andy Firth - Frequently Asked Questions.Where were you born and when? 9th March, 1966 in Pt. Augusta, South Australia. Is your family musical too? My Father was a good clarinet & saxophone player, my brother is a fantastic rock guitarist and song writer and my sister did Jazz ballet and danced well. My Grandfathers were both accomplished musicians too. Are you married and do you have any children? Yes I am married. My wife’s name is Liz and she is a wonderful clarinetist/cellist. Liz works as a music specialist in woodwind & educational products. NSW. We don’t have children yet but we two beautiful cocker spaniels called JAZZ & BE BOP. Where do you live? We live in Newcastle, NSW, Australia about 2 hours North of Sydney.
When did you start playing? I taught myself the clarinet about age 5 being inspired by watching my Dad playing along to Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw records. I took up the saxophone at age 10 and taught myself to play Yakkety Sax along with the Boots Randolph recording before I turned 11. At 12 I started taking clarinet lessons from a wonderful teacher and friend of the family, Bernie Williamson. By the age of 14 I was working as a professional musician around South Australia. When was your first public performance and what did you play? My first public performance was probably at a Railway Christmas party with Ron Till. I would have been about 9 years old. My first memorable performance was of Woody Herman’s “Golden Wedding” for a pantomime production when I was 11 years old. (see gallery). I remember having memorized it and could hit the top “A” at the end without too much effort. At the age of thirteen I played a wonderful Jack Wiard clarinet feature from a Ray Price Quintet recording of “Along the road to Gundagai” on a South Australian TV show for Kids called “Just for kids.” What brands do you play and use? I only play instruments and use products that I believe are the best I can find. I play Buffet R13 Greenline and grenadilla clarinets, Keilwerth SX90R saxophones, a 1955 Conn curved soprano,Trevor J James flutes (Cantabile), Rico Evolution clarinet reeds and Jazz select sax reeds, size 3 on clarinet and 2H on saxes. I use BG Revelation ligatures and accessories and Lomax/Meyer mouthpieces-Lomax “Andy Firth Jazz Model” on clarinet and Lomax "Firth Magic" on alto. A metal Meyer 8J and Otto Link 6* hard rubber on tenor. An Otto Link 6* on soprano, Meyer 5 on baritone and Lomax classic on bass clarinet. I also use a Casio PS-20 piano and Korg synthesizers. I am a fanatical Mac computer user-G5 2 gig dual in the studio and G4 17” powerbook for composing "on the move". Pro-tools 002 recording software, SmartMusic software: Finale 2005 for all music scoring and publishing, SmartMusic for my teaching, Apple Logic for sequencing. What is you favourite music? I don’t really have one. I love playing anything and everything. If I had to pick a style though, well then Jazz would win hands down. I enjoy playing classical music, but I usually find jazz more challenging and satisfying especially because of the improvisational nature of it. I detest Rap music (not the music itself, just the vocal part).
Do you teach? YES!!!! I love teaching and I can’t imagine myself not involved in education in one form or another as it is a fundamental and essential part of who I am and what I believe in. I view teaching not as another gig but as an honour and obligation that I must fulfill. I teach privately in Newcastle but I have visited, and continue to visit numerous schools and Universities in my capacity as Australian endorsee and woodwind specialist educator for Buffet, Keilwerth and Rico products. I’ve been teaching for over 20 years now and hold a Degree in Music performance and a Diploma of Education. Do you still practice? Yes of course but not as much or in the same way I did when I was younger. From the age of 5 to 20 years old I was doing about 5-7 hours a day 6 days a week. At about 21 years old I was working at such a high level and so frequently that I found that I didn’t have time to do much more than long notes, my scales and arpeggios and maybe a quick study or two. Now I do most of my practice in my head away from my instruments. I’m constantly thinking about performing, improvising, arranging and composing so when I need to play or create something I just do it. Who are your favourite musicians and composers that you listen to? Far too many to list them all, but briefly; Do you have any hobbies? Not really because music is so much of my life there’s not much room left for anything else. I do love messing around with Mac computers, recording, bike riding, spending time with my dogs and of course pottering around fixing up the garden and our 1915 cottage with my wife liz.
I want to be a great player and performer so what advice can you give me? Your full potential is locked away in your heart and mind. It’s always been there and it was a gift from God and your parents. Exactly what that gift is and how it manifests itself is in your hands and control. If you want to be a great clarinetist, trumpeter, singer, guitarist or whatever your heart desires, you must focus on this image with every fibre of your being. Visualise this person that you want to become every second of your day and work with a single-minded purpose towards being them. Don’t ever stop believing that you can be that person one day, no matter what life throws at you. Work on setting up a strategic plan; a list of qualities, realistic goals and above all mentors and people that can help you achieve this. If you have a question for Andy or would like to book Andy, please contact us and we’ll reply as soon as we can. |
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