In the IFR exercise Sun and Moon we explore the two most important harmonic environments in Western music, commonly referred to as "major" and "minor". Cristina Pérez demonstrates the exercise on the clarinet.

Remember that your goal is not merely to master the technical details but to make your own important personal discoveries. In terms of theory, the shift from major to minor is a simple one. A few of the notes move to new places and there isn’t much more to the story. On a purely technical level you’ll probably have the above exercise mastered on the first day. But the way that these changes affect your mood, and the hypnotic effect that these two environments have on the emotions in your music, is something very profound.

So I encourage you to really take your time with the above exercise. Don’t just walk through it as a technical exercise. Use it as a creative exercise. Every note you play is a challenge to bring out your best, to express something personal and beautiful. There are no unimportant notes. Don’t be satisfied with mastering the material on a technical level. The real challenge is to see what you can express with this material.