We have now had 4 rehearsals in preparation for our next Orchestra concert. I had to miss one of them due to work so have only had 3 but still plenty of time to get a feel for the new programme.
So what are we playing?
1. Bizet - L'Arlesienne Suite No 1.
A piece forever associated in my mind with school assemblies. Every Thursday our school orchestra would play for assembly. They accompanied the hymns and then played an exit piece as we filed out of the hall. I am sure they must have played other music but it did feel like the only piece they ever played was the Prelude from this suite. In honesty, I don't really mind it and I quite like Carillon - there are some lovely sections shared by the oboe and flute.
2. Peter Warlock - Capriol Suite
We haven't attempted all the movements of this yet. It does seem fairly straight forward to play though there are some very discordant parts. I am undecided on whether I like this or not!
3. Schumann Symphony No 1
This wasn't our first choice for the Symphony, apparently we were meant to be doing a Max Bruch one but the parts were just too expenstive for us to either buy or hire. This one is nice enough. We haven't tried the second movement yet but the other movements are very playable and generally pleasant. I rather like the Scherzo/ trio section.
4. Rossini - The Thievish Magpie.
I think elsewhere it is translated as The Thieving Magpie but my score says "Thievish" which is a much more evocative word. This is, for the oboe, the hardest of the pieces we are playing. It is fast and requires a lot of stamina to get through. There are some awkward, quick, triplet figures that I'm struggling to get my fingers around. Fortunately mainly lost in a tutti section so not so prominent. There are some other more exposed twiddly bits that will require some dedicated practice before March too. This is good fun to play though and is one that most of the audience should know.
Our concert is not 'til March so we should have plenty of time to lick these into shape.
For a bit of interest in the meantime, I've also been asked to play 3rd oboe with another local orchestra when they do Shostakovich Symphony no 4 in January. This is the same orchestra that I did Mahler 3 and The Rite of Spring with earlier in the year. First rehearsal for this will be on Monday with a full day of rehearsal a week before the concert. I'm looking forward to doing something this challenging again. Should be fun.
Monday 10 December 2012
Monday 26 November 2012
A perfect lesson in reedmaking
I've been doing a lot of reedmaking practice this week. I've had a week off work, the weather has been too poor to go out so it's been the perfect opportunity. I also had a reedmaking lesson with my teacher this week which gave me lots of new things to try and think about.
I have to admit that I was feeling quite pleased with myself at the start of the lesson. Before my last reedmaking lesson I didn't even really know how to tie on a reed, and now I can pretty consistently make reeds that are playable. I wouldn't necessarily play them in public but I can manage a practice session on them. Surely it was only matter of tweaking them a bit to get that final refinement. I was beginning to think that reedmaking wasn't really as difficult as people made out. Which just goes to show that ignorance really is bliss.
Needless to say that this attitude didn't last long. My teacher wasn't as impressed as I was by my reeds. The tips are raggedy and to get round that I am clipping them too short, my scrape isn't long enough, some of them are overbound and my knife technique needs work. My knife also needed sharpening.
She did say that they seemd to be bound on well and the scraping was generally quite smooth and even, for a beginner. She even said that they played much better than she would have expected.
The lesson itself felt a bit uncomfortable at the time as I was being pushed out of my "comfort zone" and trying to do things differently but, in retrospect, it was actually a perfect lesson and I came out of it with three important things:
1. The bar set higher, no longer is it enough just to make a reed that plays. My understanding of what I am aiming to do is increased.
2. Specific things that I need to change/ practice in order to improve. We looked in detail at my scraping technique, and where it was going wrong.
3. Confirmation that I am making progress had been made even if it was slower than I would like.
I suppose it reminded me, again, that feeling a little bit uncomfortable in lessons is a good thing because it means I'm being pushed and that feeling frustrated that my actual playing, or reedmaking, doesn't match up to what I want it to be is also a good thing because that is what drives my practice.
So over this week I have sorted through my reeds and ruthlessly put aside those not up to standard. I've been using those as scraping practice. I have been practicing my scraping technique, cutting the reeds, scraping the tip, cutting the reed, scraping the tip - trying to avoid damaging the corners by keeping my knife parallel to the reed, not pressing down too hard, keeping my thumb behind the blade as a pivot not on top, doing small movemnets not large sweeps, moving up the reed to the corners and then moving my knife along so I don't just use one part of the blade. I've also been sharpening my knife. Having made lots of space in my reed box, I've started filling it up again by tying on another 7 to see if I can make some better ones.
I have to admit that I was feeling quite pleased with myself at the start of the lesson. Before my last reedmaking lesson I didn't even really know how to tie on a reed, and now I can pretty consistently make reeds that are playable. I wouldn't necessarily play them in public but I can manage a practice session on them. Surely it was only matter of tweaking them a bit to get that final refinement. I was beginning to think that reedmaking wasn't really as difficult as people made out. Which just goes to show that ignorance really is bliss.
Needless to say that this attitude didn't last long. My teacher wasn't as impressed as I was by my reeds. The tips are raggedy and to get round that I am clipping them too short, my scrape isn't long enough, some of them are overbound and my knife technique needs work. My knife also needed sharpening.
She did say that they seemd to be bound on well and the scraping was generally quite smooth and even, for a beginner. She even said that they played much better than she would have expected.
The lesson itself felt a bit uncomfortable at the time as I was being pushed out of my "comfort zone" and trying to do things differently but, in retrospect, it was actually a perfect lesson and I came out of it with three important things:
1. The bar set higher, no longer is it enough just to make a reed that plays. My understanding of what I am aiming to do is increased.
2. Specific things that I need to change/ practice in order to improve. We looked in detail at my scraping technique, and where it was going wrong.
3. Confirmation that I am making progress had been made even if it was slower than I would like.
I suppose it reminded me, again, that feeling a little bit uncomfortable in lessons is a good thing because it means I'm being pushed and that feeling frustrated that my actual playing, or reedmaking, doesn't match up to what I want it to be is also a good thing because that is what drives my practice.
So over this week I have sorted through my reeds and ruthlessly put aside those not up to standard. I've been using those as scraping practice. I have been practicing my scraping technique, cutting the reeds, scraping the tip, cutting the reed, scraping the tip - trying to avoid damaging the corners by keeping my knife parallel to the reed, not pressing down too hard, keeping my thumb behind the blade as a pivot not on top, doing small movemnets not large sweeps, moving up the reed to the corners and then moving my knife along so I don't just use one part of the blade. I've also been sharpening my knife. Having made lots of space in my reed box, I've started filling it up again by tying on another 7 to see if I can make some better ones.
Thursday 22 November 2012
Practice update
I've really enjoyed having this week off work while staying at home. The weather has been horrible so we haven't been able to get out too much - so I've had lots of time for practising and thinking about practice.
The two double reed days, and my lessons have focussed my mind very much on technique and I've found myself spending more and more time on this. I am still working through my flute technique books and I've found that I am improving both my articulation and finger facility. I am now moving my focus back to vibrato, tone and control. Spending more time on long notes, improving resonance, shaping the dynamics. I need to spend a lot more time on this.
I am working in Ferling studies again in my lessons. I usually have a fast and a slow one to work on. Some of these I first looked at 2 years ago. When I first looked at these I found the slow ones pretty straight forward and spent all my practice time trying to get the fast ones under my fingers. It is amazing how much more difficult the slow studies have become in the last 2 years. I'm now finding that I can spend all my alloted time on just a few bars of the slow study. I am trusting that this is a sign of my awareness of details increasing rather than my playing deteriorating.
I'm still working on the Vivaldi Sonata in C minor - so far just the first and second movements. Again, trying to get the control and smoothness required for the first movement is really tricky. The second movement is coming along too though some of the notes are not quite in place yet.
No other "official" pieces at the moment but, as it is my week off, I've been having some fun going back over the Mozart Oboe Quartet - trying to get those semi quaver sections a bit quicker, and I've also been having a look at the Arnold Sonatina 3rd movement which will be a labour of love to get anywhere close to speed. It is fun to play though.
The two double reed days, and my lessons have focussed my mind very much on technique and I've found myself spending more and more time on this. I am still working through my flute technique books and I've found that I am improving both my articulation and finger facility. I am now moving my focus back to vibrato, tone and control. Spending more time on long notes, improving resonance, shaping the dynamics. I need to spend a lot more time on this.
I am working in Ferling studies again in my lessons. I usually have a fast and a slow one to work on. Some of these I first looked at 2 years ago. When I first looked at these I found the slow ones pretty straight forward and spent all my practice time trying to get the fast ones under my fingers. It is amazing how much more difficult the slow studies have become in the last 2 years. I'm now finding that I can spend all my alloted time on just a few bars of the slow study. I am trusting that this is a sign of my awareness of details increasing rather than my playing deteriorating.
I'm still working on the Vivaldi Sonata in C minor - so far just the first and second movements. Again, trying to get the control and smoothness required for the first movement is really tricky. The second movement is coming along too though some of the notes are not quite in place yet.
No other "official" pieces at the moment but, as it is my week off, I've been having some fun going back over the Mozart Oboe Quartet - trying to get those semi quaver sections a bit quicker, and I've also been having a look at the Arnold Sonatina 3rd movement which will be a labour of love to get anywhere close to speed. It is fun to play though.
Tuesday 20 November 2012
Double reed days are like buses....
...you wait three years for one and then two turn up at the same time. Well, not quite the same time but a mere fortnight apart. The RNCM have previously run Woodwind weekends which have been pretty good. The last one was in 2010. This is the first time they have done a Double Reed Event, as far as I know. Although it was a full weekend of events I could only go to the Sunday due to Orchestra commitments on Saturday.
The first concert was by Gareth Hulse (oboe) and Meyrick Alexander (bassoon). It was quite early in the morning so it seems a little unkind to be critical. Gareth Hulse did play beautifully but I felt a little underwhelmed by his performance, he had his head buried in his music and I didn't find the pieces particularly memorable. However, the bassoon pieces were a different story, it probably helped that MA gave a little introduction to each piece which put it into context and helped engage the audience but his playing was also breathtakingly good.
I went to the lunch time concert which was put on by first year students at the college. There were three wind ensemble pieces - two of which were incredibly modern and included lots of multiphonics which I still find quite weird to listen to, the third was a lovely Haydn wind serenade which I enjoyed immensely.
In the afternoon I watched two masterclasses, one lead by Jacques Tys (from the Paris Conservatoire) and the other by Gareth Hulse. All the players appeared to be students from the college, or maybe other colleges - we were given no information on their background, or their names or indeed the names of the pieces they were playing. However, Jacques Tys was really quite inspirational. He was very engaging and commented on a wide range of issues from posture to tone to intonation to interpretation. He talked a lot about using the resonance in your head to help intonation and how you should adjust your soft palate to place higher notes as you do when singing. He also talked about directing the air through the note and the phrase so that you always know whether you are moving towards or away from the peak of the phrase. Gareth Hulse focussed more on interpretation of the specific pieces, though, again, many comments on shaping phrases and notes.
There were a number of very good trade stands there, though having had a splurge earlier this month there wasn't much I needed to buy. I did spend a very enjoyable hour or so trying different Cor Anglais models. I managed to resist buying one (for now) but I have a much better idea of which makes I prefer. It turns out my dream Cor is a Howarth S5. It was worth going just for that I think. I was a disappointed that the bass oboe was packed away before I managed to get a go.
Overall it was a very different event to the Big Double Reed Day at Guildhall and, in fact, to the last Woodwind Weekend at RNCM. Both of these events invited everybody to participate, they gave opportunities to ask questions and to join in with ensembles and workshops. By contrast, this event invited all but the chosen few to observe only. As an attendee it seemed as if very little thought or imagination had gone into planning the event. They went down the easy (lazy?) route of concerts and masterclasses only. What about something on reed making - drop in clinics or Q&A? What about a few workshops on technique or repertoire or ensemble playing or extended techniques? Why not give the opportunity for people to play together? Rather than just 6 masterclasses -why not theme them on different techniques, periods of music, or group them by ability and invite more people to participate? Or at least tell people which pieces are going to be played at each one? While it was quite an enjoyable day, it really wouldn't have taken much effort to make it a really good one and I came away thinking they could, and should have done a whole lot better.
The first concert was by Gareth Hulse (oboe) and Meyrick Alexander (bassoon). It was quite early in the morning so it seems a little unkind to be critical. Gareth Hulse did play beautifully but I felt a little underwhelmed by his performance, he had his head buried in his music and I didn't find the pieces particularly memorable. However, the bassoon pieces were a different story, it probably helped that MA gave a little introduction to each piece which put it into context and helped engage the audience but his playing was also breathtakingly good.
I went to the lunch time concert which was put on by first year students at the college. There were three wind ensemble pieces - two of which were incredibly modern and included lots of multiphonics which I still find quite weird to listen to, the third was a lovely Haydn wind serenade which I enjoyed immensely.
In the afternoon I watched two masterclasses, one lead by Jacques Tys (from the Paris Conservatoire) and the other by Gareth Hulse. All the players appeared to be students from the college, or maybe other colleges - we were given no information on their background, or their names or indeed the names of the pieces they were playing. However, Jacques Tys was really quite inspirational. He was very engaging and commented on a wide range of issues from posture to tone to intonation to interpretation. He talked a lot about using the resonance in your head to help intonation and how you should adjust your soft palate to place higher notes as you do when singing. He also talked about directing the air through the note and the phrase so that you always know whether you are moving towards or away from the peak of the phrase. Gareth Hulse focussed more on interpretation of the specific pieces, though, again, many comments on shaping phrases and notes.
There were a number of very good trade stands there, though having had a splurge earlier this month there wasn't much I needed to buy. I did spend a very enjoyable hour or so trying different Cor Anglais models. I managed to resist buying one (for now) but I have a much better idea of which makes I prefer. It turns out my dream Cor is a Howarth S5. It was worth going just for that I think. I was a disappointed that the bass oboe was packed away before I managed to get a go.
Overall it was a very different event to the Big Double Reed Day at Guildhall and, in fact, to the last Woodwind Weekend at RNCM. Both of these events invited everybody to participate, they gave opportunities to ask questions and to join in with ensembles and workshops. By contrast, this event invited all but the chosen few to observe only. As an attendee it seemed as if very little thought or imagination had gone into planning the event. They went down the easy (lazy?) route of concerts and masterclasses only. What about something on reed making - drop in clinics or Q&A? What about a few workshops on technique or repertoire or ensemble playing or extended techniques? Why not give the opportunity for people to play together? Rather than just 6 masterclasses -why not theme them on different techniques, periods of music, or group them by ability and invite more people to participate? Or at least tell people which pieces are going to be played at each one? While it was quite an enjoyable day, it really wouldn't have taken much effort to make it a really good one and I came away thinking they could, and should have done a whole lot better.
Sunday 11 November 2012
Winter Concert
Yesterday was day one of a very Double Reedy Weekend as it was Orchestra Concert Day. We only do 3 main concerts a year so it is quite a big deal which takes up the whole day as there is a final rehearsal in the afternoon before the final performance in the evening.
As I've probably mentioned before we are an unauditioned, "all comers welcome", amateur community orchestra with a wide range of playing ability. So it is a challenge to bring it all together to make it sound good on the night. I think the standard of the orchestra as a whole has improved even in the 3 years I've been involved and every programme feels like "the hardest we've done yet". There was some very tricky woodwind sections in this one - especially for the flutes in the Vltava and for everybody in the Debussy. But I think we pulled it off again (flutes did brilliantly). I was rather worried on Tuesday as it was sounding quite ropey in places, but some determined practising seemed to have gone in over the last 3 days and it sounded rather good last night. I was very proud of how we played and feel lucky to have the opportunity to be part of it. There really is nothing like playing music with other people.
I absolutely loved this programme, there is usually at least one piece per concert that I've felt ambivalent about, but this time I wouldn't have dropped anything. I had some really lovely oboe bits to play, and I absolutely loved having the opportunity to play the Unfinished Symphony which is an amazing piece of music. Special mention must go to our cellists who played spine tinglingly well in the opening. Just beautiful.
Oh and I also won a box of chocolates in the raffle!
I actually feel quite sad that we are leaving these pieces behind and moving on to the next programme (yet to be announced)
Today I am off to a double reed day at the RNCM. More on that later in the week.
Programme for Winter Concert 2012:
Mozart - Magic Flute overture
Schubert - Unfinished Symphony
Rossini- Barber of Seville
Smetana - Vltava (arrangement)
Debussy - Petite Suite (arrangement)
As I've probably mentioned before we are an unauditioned, "all comers welcome", amateur community orchestra with a wide range of playing ability. So it is a challenge to bring it all together to make it sound good on the night. I think the standard of the orchestra as a whole has improved even in the 3 years I've been involved and every programme feels like "the hardest we've done yet". There was some very tricky woodwind sections in this one - especially for the flutes in the Vltava and for everybody in the Debussy. But I think we pulled it off again (flutes did brilliantly). I was rather worried on Tuesday as it was sounding quite ropey in places, but some determined practising seemed to have gone in over the last 3 days and it sounded rather good last night. I was very proud of how we played and feel lucky to have the opportunity to be part of it. There really is nothing like playing music with other people.
I absolutely loved this programme, there is usually at least one piece per concert that I've felt ambivalent about, but this time I wouldn't have dropped anything. I had some really lovely oboe bits to play, and I absolutely loved having the opportunity to play the Unfinished Symphony which is an amazing piece of music. Special mention must go to our cellists who played spine tinglingly well in the opening. Just beautiful.
Oh and I also won a box of chocolates in the raffle!
I actually feel quite sad that we are leaving these pieces behind and moving on to the next programme (yet to be announced)
Today I am off to a double reed day at the RNCM. More on that later in the week.
Programme for Winter Concert 2012:
Mozart - Magic Flute overture
Schubert - Unfinished Symphony
Rossini- Barber of Seville
Smetana - Vltava (arrangement)
Debussy - Petite Suite (arrangement)
Saturday 10 November 2012
Reed making update
This week seems to have been incredibly busy - no time for blogging, practice took priority!I have been inspired to kick start my reed making again since the Double Reed making. I had stalled a bit since summer. I have been making more of an effort to play on my own reeds while practising and have been a little more ruthless with the reeds that I couldn't get to work. I picked up a lovely craft case from Hobby Craft to store things in and a beautiful new reed case from Crowthers. It has been very handy to be able to easily transport everything I need from one room to another so I can still be sociable while tying on.
The reeds in the box are all my own handiwork - there are three that I've been playing on with another 4 ready to start blowing in to test and another 4 just able to crow. Fortunately room for another 12 on the other side of the box so will be tying on another 2 soon. Here's a closer look.
I've found the Making Oboe Reeds DVD really helpful and I like the systematic approach to where and how much to scrape off. They seem to be improving but I still have a long way to go.
I've found the Making Oboe Reeds DVD really helpful and I like the systematic approach to where and how much to scrape off. They seem to be improving but I still have a long way to go.
Sunday 4 November 2012
A reminder of Summer
Wednesday 31 October 2012
Coming in on time and being supportive
Orchestra practice last night gave me the opportunity to think about a couple of points that came up at the Masterclass on Sunday.
The first was around maintaining pitch with support rather than embouchure. This is something that I know in theory but in practice, when my support muscles tire my embouchure takes over and either sends me sharp or strangles the tone or usually both. Support is a difficult thing to teach and to learn because you can't look inside someone else and see exactly which muscles are being used, and support really comes from what my Pilates teacher called the "deeper abdominals". Like Pilates, it takes time to work out which muscles to use and what it feels like when they are engaged, and also, like Pilates, it is very easy for the "wrong muscles" to take over when the right muscles are tired. Last night I realised that when I tire, or try too hard, my big abdominals kick in to take over. They do very little except constrict my breathing. This is probably why I end up having problems taking quick breaths and expelling air efficiently towards the end of a piece or when I am feeling nervous. I don't do Pilates now as the class clashes with orchestra but I think I need to start doing some of the exercises again to build stamina into the right muscles.
The second point was on making good entries. The tutor picked up a couple of us in the class for making our entries late because we weren't ready in time. In the practice room, playing unaccompanied, this is something that I am usually completely oblivious too. It doesn't matter when the first note starts. But when playing with a pianist or orchestra it really does. I decided to just notice how I did last night and was pretty horrified to find that the majority of the time I was either still taking a breath when my note started or trying to get the reed to start speaking. A nice clean entry was the exception rather than the rule. This is something I really need to work on . I need to get into the habit of getting ready and taking my breath a beat or two earlier so that all I need to do is release the sound. I think I sometimes get so fixated on counting the bars and worrying about when to come in that I almost forget to actually come in! I also need to do some work on knowing my reed so I can judge exactly how much air is required to start that sound in a controlled way. I think maybe some work with the metronome - focussing on starting the sound exactly on the beat will help. Next week will hopefully be better.
The first was around maintaining pitch with support rather than embouchure. This is something that I know in theory but in practice, when my support muscles tire my embouchure takes over and either sends me sharp or strangles the tone or usually both. Support is a difficult thing to teach and to learn because you can't look inside someone else and see exactly which muscles are being used, and support really comes from what my Pilates teacher called the "deeper abdominals". Like Pilates, it takes time to work out which muscles to use and what it feels like when they are engaged, and also, like Pilates, it is very easy for the "wrong muscles" to take over when the right muscles are tired. Last night I realised that when I tire, or try too hard, my big abdominals kick in to take over. They do very little except constrict my breathing. This is probably why I end up having problems taking quick breaths and expelling air efficiently towards the end of a piece or when I am feeling nervous. I don't do Pilates now as the class clashes with orchestra but I think I need to start doing some of the exercises again to build stamina into the right muscles.
The second point was on making good entries. The tutor picked up a couple of us in the class for making our entries late because we weren't ready in time. In the practice room, playing unaccompanied, this is something that I am usually completely oblivious too. It doesn't matter when the first note starts. But when playing with a pianist or orchestra it really does. I decided to just notice how I did last night and was pretty horrified to find that the majority of the time I was either still taking a breath when my note started or trying to get the reed to start speaking. A nice clean entry was the exception rather than the rule. This is something I really need to work on . I need to get into the habit of getting ready and taking my breath a beat or two earlier so that all I need to do is release the sound. I think I sometimes get so fixated on counting the bars and worrying about when to come in that I almost forget to actually come in! I also need to do some work on knowing my reed so I can judge exactly how much air is required to start that sound in a controlled way. I think maybe some work with the metronome - focussing on starting the sound exactly on the beat will help. Next week will hopefully be better.
Tuesday 30 October 2012
The Big Double Reed Day 2012
I have had a great weekend in London which, on Sunday, included "The Big Double Reed Day" at the London Guildhall.
The "double reedness" actually began on Saturday with a trip to Howarth's to buy some new music and a few other bits. It always feels like a visit to Aladdin's Cave, with so many treasures to look at and browse through. In the circumstances I was quite restrained but I picked up some music recommended by my teacher and a book called "techniques in Oboe playing". I knew that there would be more temptation the following day.
Sunday was quite an early start due to planned engineering work on the Tube. I was very grateful for the clock's changing as leaving the house at 7:30 still only got me at the venue for 9:15am and I was straight into the reed making class.
The classes were run with small groups as tutorials and the 90 minutes allocated whizzed by so quickly that we didn't even get round to doing any actual scraping. We did have a very good discussion about common problems of reedmaking, where to get supplies, how to sharpen knives, using a micrometer to select cane, first things to check on a problematic reed, tips on scraping technique, how to manage reeds and when to give up on a reed. I suppose the key thing that I came away with is that there isn't one correct way to make reeds and everybody's reeds will be slightly different. The only way to learn is to actually make them, play on them and find out what works best for you. The other tip was to try and be as consistent as possible and, if you want to change something, change just one thing at a time. It has given me a push to start doing more reedmaking and to make a determined effort to use my reeds more rather than relying on my teacher.
The next class was an opportunity to try out a Cor Anglais. I have wanted a Cor for ages but have managed to put it off so far. I was worried that as soon as I tried one that I would fall in love with it and want one straight away. I was correct! The session was lead by a professional oboist/ Cor player and, again, it was a very small group so was run as an informal tutorial. We all had the option to have a go and the tutor had bought some music for us to try if we wanted (the New World Symphony of course!). In between she talked about the differences between the oboe and Cor, reeds, the repertoire of the Cor and her experiences of playing both. One thing that took me by surprise when I played was that someone else in the class immediately complimented me on my vibrato. I have struggled hugely with vibrato on the oboe and, only last week, I began drafting a blog about it so I was quite taken by surprise that it just turned up quite naturally on the Cor. I think it is probably due to higher airflow required. So it seems like the way to fix that problem I just need to buy a Cor, work on that and then hope it transfers to the oboe. Well, that seems a reasonable enough justification to me for buying one. ;-)
Lunch was an opportunity to have a look around the trade stalls and spend some more money - I bought a new reed case for all the reeds that I will be making, a reed making DVD that I have had my eye on for a while, a CD of Malcolm Arnold Chamber music (which included the Sonatina and Fantasy that my teacher had asked me to pick up) and another bobbin of reed thread which I don't really need but was a lovely colour!
After lunch was an hour long oboe concert which seemed to have a huge variety of repertoire, styles and instrumnets - with oboe, baroque oboe, Cor anglais and oboe d'amore all included.
The afternoon session was a 2 hour long performance workshop. Again the group was quite small with only about 12 of us. Everybody that wanted to was given the opportunity to play a piece and have some feedback. There was a variety of standards from someone who had only started playing in January right through to someone doing a Masters in Oboe performance. But everybody was very supportive and encouraging. I played Chansonette by Harty and don't think I embarrassed myself too much, there were lots of things to think about through this so they will probably come out in other blog posts. I thought the tutor had a good balance of comments which were directly about the piece and which were more general to help us all benefit rather than it being focussed on the person playing. We finished off the session by having a go at a two oboe Concerto by Albinoni with about 4 people per part with the piano. It just about worked and was great fun.
There was a massed ensemeble rehearsal and concert at the end but I decided to miss that. I was completely exhausted by this point and as the rehearsal started it did look as if there were plenty of people there and it seemd to be aimed more at the children and parents.
So overall a very enjoyable, if tiring, day. I loved the informality and the small group feel to all the sessions. The tutors were all incredibly encouraging, helpful, down to earth and incredibly knowledgeable. I feel inspired to make more reeds and develop my playing. Hopefully I'll be back for more next year...
The "double reedness" actually began on Saturday with a trip to Howarth's to buy some new music and a few other bits. It always feels like a visit to Aladdin's Cave, with so many treasures to look at and browse through. In the circumstances I was quite restrained but I picked up some music recommended by my teacher and a book called "techniques in Oboe playing". I knew that there would be more temptation the following day.
Sunday was quite an early start due to planned engineering work on the Tube. I was very grateful for the clock's changing as leaving the house at 7:30 still only got me at the venue for 9:15am and I was straight into the reed making class.
The classes were run with small groups as tutorials and the 90 minutes allocated whizzed by so quickly that we didn't even get round to doing any actual scraping. We did have a very good discussion about common problems of reedmaking, where to get supplies, how to sharpen knives, using a micrometer to select cane, first things to check on a problematic reed, tips on scraping technique, how to manage reeds and when to give up on a reed. I suppose the key thing that I came away with is that there isn't one correct way to make reeds and everybody's reeds will be slightly different. The only way to learn is to actually make them, play on them and find out what works best for you. The other tip was to try and be as consistent as possible and, if you want to change something, change just one thing at a time. It has given me a push to start doing more reedmaking and to make a determined effort to use my reeds more rather than relying on my teacher.
The next class was an opportunity to try out a Cor Anglais. I have wanted a Cor for ages but have managed to put it off so far. I was worried that as soon as I tried one that I would fall in love with it and want one straight away. I was correct! The session was lead by a professional oboist/ Cor player and, again, it was a very small group so was run as an informal tutorial. We all had the option to have a go and the tutor had bought some music for us to try if we wanted (the New World Symphony of course!). In between she talked about the differences between the oboe and Cor, reeds, the repertoire of the Cor and her experiences of playing both. One thing that took me by surprise when I played was that someone else in the class immediately complimented me on my vibrato. I have struggled hugely with vibrato on the oboe and, only last week, I began drafting a blog about it so I was quite taken by surprise that it just turned up quite naturally on the Cor. I think it is probably due to higher airflow required. So it seems like the way to fix that problem I just need to buy a Cor, work on that and then hope it transfers to the oboe. Well, that seems a reasonable enough justification to me for buying one. ;-)
Lunch was an opportunity to have a look around the trade stalls and spend some more money - I bought a new reed case for all the reeds that I will be making, a reed making DVD that I have had my eye on for a while, a CD of Malcolm Arnold Chamber music (which included the Sonatina and Fantasy that my teacher had asked me to pick up) and another bobbin of reed thread which I don't really need but was a lovely colour!
After lunch was an hour long oboe concert which seemed to have a huge variety of repertoire, styles and instrumnets - with oboe, baroque oboe, Cor anglais and oboe d'amore all included.
The afternoon session was a 2 hour long performance workshop. Again the group was quite small with only about 12 of us. Everybody that wanted to was given the opportunity to play a piece and have some feedback. There was a variety of standards from someone who had only started playing in January right through to someone doing a Masters in Oboe performance. But everybody was very supportive and encouraging. I played Chansonette by Harty and don't think I embarrassed myself too much, there were lots of things to think about through this so they will probably come out in other blog posts. I thought the tutor had a good balance of comments which were directly about the piece and which were more general to help us all benefit rather than it being focussed on the person playing. We finished off the session by having a go at a two oboe Concerto by Albinoni with about 4 people per part with the piano. It just about worked and was great fun.
There was a massed ensemeble rehearsal and concert at the end but I decided to miss that. I was completely exhausted by this point and as the rehearsal started it did look as if there were plenty of people there and it seemd to be aimed more at the children and parents.
So overall a very enjoyable, if tiring, day. I loved the informality and the small group feel to all the sessions. The tutors were all incredibly encouraging, helpful, down to earth and incredibly knowledgeable. I feel inspired to make more reeds and develop my playing. Hopefully I'll be back for more next year...
Wednesday 24 October 2012
Remembering lessons
I had a really good lesson on Monday which has prompted some thoughts about how to make sure that progress made in the lesson is retained when I get home. It is easy when lessons are about more concrete things such as the fingering for A, but no easy when it is on more abstract things.
.
Monday's lesson was mostly spent on phrasing (again), shaping both individual notes and phrases. I felt like I made a step forward in being able to do what my teacher was demonstrating and it did actually feel slightly different. But the difficulty is always being able to replicate that when I get home. This time I got my oboe out as soon as I got home but already some of the subtlety was lost and I couldn't quite recapture what I'd managed to do. I'm hoping that trying to maintain a clearer idea in my mind of how I want a phrase to sound will eventually allow me to stumble on it again this week. But it is so easy for that idea to morph into what I actually play and I lose sight of what I am aiming for. I guess all I can hope for is to make 2 steps forward in a lesson but only take 1 step back when I have to practice on my own...
I am also beginning to realise how important it is to have a clear idea of the sound you are aiming for in your head. This is important in terms of the phrasing and shaping but I'm also finding it with tone quality, intonation and vibrato. I find my tone improves immensely as soon as my oboe teacher has demonstrated something to me, and I find myself trying to match the sound that she makes. The trick is to have the sound in my head and try to match that.
Most of my practice this week is focussed on Chansonette by Harty which I may, or may not, have the opportunity to play in a masterclass at the Double Reed Day on Sunday. I will find out on the day.
.
Monday's lesson was mostly spent on phrasing (again), shaping both individual notes and phrases. I felt like I made a step forward in being able to do what my teacher was demonstrating and it did actually feel slightly different. But the difficulty is always being able to replicate that when I get home. This time I got my oboe out as soon as I got home but already some of the subtlety was lost and I couldn't quite recapture what I'd managed to do. I'm hoping that trying to maintain a clearer idea in my mind of how I want a phrase to sound will eventually allow me to stumble on it again this week. But it is so easy for that idea to morph into what I actually play and I lose sight of what I am aiming for. I guess all I can hope for is to make 2 steps forward in a lesson but only take 1 step back when I have to practice on my own...
I am also beginning to realise how important it is to have a clear idea of the sound you are aiming for in your head. This is important in terms of the phrasing and shaping but I'm also finding it with tone quality, intonation and vibrato. I find my tone improves immensely as soon as my oboe teacher has demonstrated something to me, and I find myself trying to match the sound that she makes. The trick is to have the sound in my head and try to match that.
Most of my practice this week is focussed on Chansonette by Harty which I may, or may not, have the opportunity to play in a masterclass at the Double Reed Day on Sunday. I will find out on the day.
Friday 19 October 2012
Don't move to the next thing till you can do the first thing..
I've changed my approach to technical exercises after reading "Effortless Mastery" by Kenny Werner. The book as a whole didn't really live up to it's spiel but there were a couple of interesting ideas. The one that has stuck with me is summed up as "don't move on to the next thing before you've mastered the first thing". It depends on the definition of mastered I suppose, but I know that I have a tendency to push on when I've "kind of" got something rather than have "really got" something. I also know that I can whizz through my scales every day but there are some mistakes that I make more often than not but I am not very disciplined in stopping to sort them out.
The principle should really be familiar to me - it's exactly the same principle my Pilates instructor drilled into us every week: 2 reps done correctly will do you more good than 100 done incorrectly. His example was spending 5 minutes on a bar or line of a technical exercise but mastering it before moving on to the next one, even if it takes 20 years to get through the book you will be a better player than if you whizzed through 40 technique books in that time but never mastered any of them!
So I am still working through my flute technique books, but a lot more slowly - trying to get them right (especially the finger work outs!). Even taking it a line at a time, being able to play it reliably at a predetermined metronome speed before looking at the next one is really helping. I am able to notice irregularities and problem areas and I am beginnning to see an improvement already. I'm also less concerned about trying to get through the book - if it takes 20 years, then so be it, I'll just take it a line at at time!
The principle should really be familiar to me - it's exactly the same principle my Pilates instructor drilled into us every week: 2 reps done correctly will do you more good than 100 done incorrectly. His example was spending 5 minutes on a bar or line of a technical exercise but mastering it before moving on to the next one, even if it takes 20 years to get through the book you will be a better player than if you whizzed through 40 technique books in that time but never mastered any of them!
So I am still working through my flute technique books, but a lot more slowly - trying to get them right (especially the finger work outs!). Even taking it a line at a time, being able to play it reliably at a predetermined metronome speed before looking at the next one is really helping. I am able to notice irregularities and problem areas and I am beginnning to see an improvement already. I'm also less concerned about trying to get through the book - if it takes 20 years, then so be it, I'll just take it a line at at time!
Wednesday 17 October 2012
Preparing for a masterclass
A good lesson yesterday. I bought a new reed which usually makes my tone go all over the place - but it wasn't as bad as it sometimes is. We spent most of the lesson working on Chansonette by Harty. I am going to a Double Reed day in London in 10 days or so and I've, foolishly maybe, applied to play in one of the masterclasses. It will be good for me, I'm sure. I haven't had confirmation so don't know whether I will be able to play or who will take it. If I play I will play Chansonette. As the name suggests it is very lyrical and melodic. The notes are reasonably straight forward - a couple of little twiddles over the break that still sound a bit stilted, a couple of rapid runs up the scale. There is a lot to work on with phrasing, subtle rubato and use of vibrato. I think for the next couple of week's practice I'd like to take a couple of technical difficulties from the piece to use as exercises as well as working on the overall phrasing and interpretation of the piece.
The first is around tone in my top A and B - these are quite awkward notes on the oboe. They use the side octave key and have a tendency to sound quite thin compared to notes in the lower register. It would be good to make these ring out a bit more with a fuller tone, I'd also like to be a bit more secure in the intonation. So I think long notes on the A, going down the chromatic scale going back to the A each time (A, G#, A, G, A, F# etc) very slowly with my tuner focusing on tone and tuning.
Secondly I need to work on vibrato. There are a couple of phrases that really need vibrato to come out on the long notes so I'd like to pull these out as specific vibrato exercises, trying different numbers of pulses, keeping vibrato going as notes change etc.
The other thing I would like to do is see if I can have a session with a pianist. I've never played this with an accompanist and I don't know if I want the first time to be in front of people. I'll try and sort that out tonight.
I am hoping that performance nerves won't affect me too much this time, it isn't really a performance anyway more a work in progress. I feel quite confident on the notes and I have two good reeds. I don't know how many people will be there but they will all be players of similar standard so should be supportive. I'm hoping it will be very useful!
The first is around tone in my top A and B - these are quite awkward notes on the oboe. They use the side octave key and have a tendency to sound quite thin compared to notes in the lower register. It would be good to make these ring out a bit more with a fuller tone, I'd also like to be a bit more secure in the intonation. So I think long notes on the A, going down the chromatic scale going back to the A each time (A, G#, A, G, A, F# etc) very slowly with my tuner focusing on tone and tuning.
Secondly I need to work on vibrato. There are a couple of phrases that really need vibrato to come out on the long notes so I'd like to pull these out as specific vibrato exercises, trying different numbers of pulses, keeping vibrato going as notes change etc.
The other thing I would like to do is see if I can have a session with a pianist. I've never played this with an accompanist and I don't know if I want the first time to be in front of people. I'll try and sort that out tonight.
I am hoping that performance nerves won't affect me too much this time, it isn't really a performance anyway more a work in progress. I feel quite confident on the notes and I have two good reeds. I don't know how many people will be there but they will all be players of similar standard so should be supportive. I'm hoping it will be very useful!
Monday 15 October 2012
Going with the flow
One of the realities of being an adult learner is that sometimes life just gets in the way. Whether it is work or family, friendships. I don't want to use this as an excuse for not practising for trivial reasons but some times other things are just more important.
I've had one of those weeks this week - a number of days I just had to let practice slide.
A couple of weeks ago it was quite the opposite. I had the house to myself all weekend and managed to fit in at least 3 additional hours of practice in.
The odd thing is that, after my heavy practice week, I played absolutely terribly at my lesson and after a couple of days off this week I feel like I'm playing much better. So it seems that less practice improves my playing more....very zen, but I don't think it is that simple, maybe worth reflecting on what's happening.
1. I think I am now reaping the benefits of my high practice week. I think there is a little bit of a time lag between practice and full benefits seen. IT takes time for things to be organised by the brain and for muscles to readapt to high use.
2. Rest between practices does seem to help consolidate things. I think this is similar to the "keeping fit" model where you need to have days off rest between exercise sessions to get the full benefit.
3. Linked to number 2 really, but a high practice load is really tiring on the muscles and fatigue doesn't lead to good playing.
4. I have higher expectations of myself when I have practised more which makes me play badly. I've been reading a book called "Effortless Mastery" which makes the point that the more we care about the outcome, the more we "try", the more tense we become and the worse we play. I know this is true for me - tension and anxiety are more likely to sabotage my playing than anything else. How to deal with this is probably another topic entirely.
So, in terms of going forward what can I learn:
- it's important to have times of rest as well as times with lots of practice.
- lots of practice will reap benefits long term even if it initially seems to get worse
- just go with the flow and do what you can do without worrying too much or feeling guilty about not having enough time for practice. Just don't give up.
I've had one of those weeks this week - a number of days I just had to let practice slide.
A couple of weeks ago it was quite the opposite. I had the house to myself all weekend and managed to fit in at least 3 additional hours of practice in.
The odd thing is that, after my heavy practice week, I played absolutely terribly at my lesson and after a couple of days off this week I feel like I'm playing much better. So it seems that less practice improves my playing more....very zen, but I don't think it is that simple, maybe worth reflecting on what's happening.
1. I think I am now reaping the benefits of my high practice week. I think there is a little bit of a time lag between practice and full benefits seen. IT takes time for things to be organised by the brain and for muscles to readapt to high use.
2. Rest between practices does seem to help consolidate things. I think this is similar to the "keeping fit" model where you need to have days off rest between exercise sessions to get the full benefit.
3. Linked to number 2 really, but a high practice load is really tiring on the muscles and fatigue doesn't lead to good playing.
4. I have higher expectations of myself when I have practised more which makes me play badly. I've been reading a book called "Effortless Mastery" which makes the point that the more we care about the outcome, the more we "try", the more tense we become and the worse we play. I know this is true for me - tension and anxiety are more likely to sabotage my playing than anything else. How to deal with this is probably another topic entirely.
So, in terms of going forward what can I learn:
- it's important to have times of rest as well as times with lots of practice.
- lots of practice will reap benefits long term even if it initially seems to get worse
- just go with the flow and do what you can do without worrying too much or feeling guilty about not having enough time for practice. Just don't give up.
Wednesday 3 October 2012
Orchestra progress
We are a few weeks into orchestra rehearsals for our Autumn Concert now. I am really enjoying the music we are playing at the moment so thought it was worth a reflection on how things are going.
1. Debussy Petite Suite - this is 4 movements arranged for orchestra, it was original written as a piano duet. Our clarinettist commented that his part contained a note that he "had never played in public before". The oboe part suffers from similar difficulties- it goes from a bottom B all the way up to a top F#. I have played top F# in my Grade 8 exam as part of a scale but I've never had to play it in public as part of a piece but I'm trying to treat it as any other note and hope it comes out OK. From an oboe point of view this is the trickiest of the pieces we are playing - high notes, awkward note changes requiring alternative fingering, tempo changes and complex rhythms. Having said that, I really like it as a piece of music which makes it less of a chore to work on. Hopefully will come together on the night.
2. Smetena - Vltava (an arrangement). This is a well known piece, even though I wouldn't have known what it was called. Our arrangement includes all the well known themes though is abridged and a little simplified though the flautists may argue that point. The oboe part is generally fun to play and the Peasant's Wedding section is a real ear worm that just seems to loop around my head incessently.
3. Mozart - the Magic Flute. Another well known piece that is coming together very nicely. There are some really lovely exchanges between the oboe and flute that I am enjoying playing.
4. Schubert - Unfinished Symphony. I love this piece of music and there are some gorgeous oboe solo bits in both movements. There is one rather fiendish run of demi semi quavers in the second movement - fortunately not very exposed, they are coming together though.
I find it encouraging to notice in rehearsals how I can now better manage things that were so difficult when I first joined. I am much more confident now in coming in at the right time after multiple bars of rest, being able to pick up again if I momentarily lose my place, having the stamina to play through longer phrases and pieces. I think this year I've managed to move on from worrying about playing the right notes at the right time with roughly the right dynamic to think about how I play the notes, how I manage the micro dynamics and phrasing, how I finish the note, making sure I don't cut short the last note (one of my teacher's repeated reminders last year, I think I've finally got it!) etc. It is nice to feel like I am building skills and improving.
1. Debussy Petite Suite - this is 4 movements arranged for orchestra, it was original written as a piano duet. Our clarinettist commented that his part contained a note that he "had never played in public before". The oboe part suffers from similar difficulties- it goes from a bottom B all the way up to a top F#. I have played top F# in my Grade 8 exam as part of a scale but I've never had to play it in public as part of a piece but I'm trying to treat it as any other note and hope it comes out OK. From an oboe point of view this is the trickiest of the pieces we are playing - high notes, awkward note changes requiring alternative fingering, tempo changes and complex rhythms. Having said that, I really like it as a piece of music which makes it less of a chore to work on. Hopefully will come together on the night.
2. Smetena - Vltava (an arrangement). This is a well known piece, even though I wouldn't have known what it was called. Our arrangement includes all the well known themes though is abridged and a little simplified though the flautists may argue that point. The oboe part is generally fun to play and the Peasant's Wedding section is a real ear worm that just seems to loop around my head incessently.
3. Mozart - the Magic Flute. Another well known piece that is coming together very nicely. There are some really lovely exchanges between the oboe and flute that I am enjoying playing.
4. Schubert - Unfinished Symphony. I love this piece of music and there are some gorgeous oboe solo bits in both movements. There is one rather fiendish run of demi semi quavers in the second movement - fortunately not very exposed, they are coming together though.
I find it encouraging to notice in rehearsals how I can now better manage things that were so difficult when I first joined. I am much more confident now in coming in at the right time after multiple bars of rest, being able to pick up again if I momentarily lose my place, having the stamina to play through longer phrases and pieces. I think this year I've managed to move on from worrying about playing the right notes at the right time with roughly the right dynamic to think about how I play the notes, how I manage the micro dynamics and phrasing, how I finish the note, making sure I don't cut short the last note (one of my teacher's repeated reminders last year, I think I've finally got it!) etc. It is nice to feel like I am building skills and improving.
Monday 1 October 2012
Getting out of a rut
I've been feeling recently that I've plateaued a little bit in playing. I seem to be treading water a little bit and even maybe going backwards.
Part of my crisis of confidence was the Telemann no 7 which I have really been struggling with. I just couldn't seem to get my fingers to do what they were supposed to do. But I finally realised that the reason I was struggling is that it is a difficult piece to play! It isn't that I'm getting worse at all. It may seem an obvious point but most of the pieces that I've played recently have been difficult due to stamina, tone, breathing and phrasing issues and it is a while since I've played something that I've struggled to get under my fingers. So I need to stop worrying and just keep ploughing on. It will get there eventually.
However it has made me think about my practice, and especially my technical practice, which has slipped into a bit of rut. It's too easy to do the same thing everyday without thinking too much about it and I had reached the point where it wasn't getting any better. So this weekend I've had a rethink and found some new exercises which will challenge me in different ways. I've gone back to my roots as a flautist and dug out my Trevor Wye Practice Books, a different instrument but so many of the exercises are relevant. There is too much to do everyday but some of the ones that I'm finding useful are:
1. Vibrato - beyond pulses on the scale. I like that this book explains the next step which is simple tunes with a focus on keeping the vibrato going as the note changes and through quavers so that the pulses begin to become independent from finger movement.
2. Technique - pages of very concentrated exercises based on scale patterns making sure that each finger movement gets practised.
3. Expressive scales - I love these scale exercises which focus on having an intense and beautiful tone and include different dynamics with crescendos and diminuendos to widen dynamic range.
4. Articulation - a simple basic exercise with a multitude of different rhythms/ articulations to use. The first exercise is to play it in all keys without any tongueing but just using the diaphragm to give a loud, fast, short note. I could certainly feel it even after the first 3 keys so it must be doing some good.
Hopefully this will help me get back on track.
Part of my crisis of confidence was the Telemann no 7 which I have really been struggling with. I just couldn't seem to get my fingers to do what they were supposed to do. But I finally realised that the reason I was struggling is that it is a difficult piece to play! It isn't that I'm getting worse at all. It may seem an obvious point but most of the pieces that I've played recently have been difficult due to stamina, tone, breathing and phrasing issues and it is a while since I've played something that I've struggled to get under my fingers. So I need to stop worrying and just keep ploughing on. It will get there eventually.
However it has made me think about my practice, and especially my technical practice, which has slipped into a bit of rut. It's too easy to do the same thing everyday without thinking too much about it and I had reached the point where it wasn't getting any better. So this weekend I've had a rethink and found some new exercises which will challenge me in different ways. I've gone back to my roots as a flautist and dug out my Trevor Wye Practice Books, a different instrument but so many of the exercises are relevant. There is too much to do everyday but some of the ones that I'm finding useful are:
1. Vibrato - beyond pulses on the scale. I like that this book explains the next step which is simple tunes with a focus on keeping the vibrato going as the note changes and through quavers so that the pulses begin to become independent from finger movement.
2. Technique - pages of very concentrated exercises based on scale patterns making sure that each finger movement gets practised.
3. Expressive scales - I love these scale exercises which focus on having an intense and beautiful tone and include different dynamics with crescendos and diminuendos to widen dynamic range.
4. Articulation - a simple basic exercise with a multitude of different rhythms/ articulations to use. The first exercise is to play it in all keys without any tongueing but just using the diaphragm to give a loud, fast, short note. I could certainly feel it even after the first 3 keys so it must be doing some good.
Hopefully this will help me get back on track.
Thursday 20 September 2012
Why study music?
Yesterday was not really a good day and I arrived at my lesson feeling rather fraught and frazzled. I was not really in the frame of mind for learning. We pressed on anyway.... through a slow Ferling study that needed quietness and calmness and controlled breathing, onto the Hindemith second movement with long, sweeping slow phrases followed by a chance to really go for it with fortissimos and accented notes. Then a sense of spaciousness and elegance with the start of Telemann's Fantasia no 7.
By the end of the lesson I felt like a different person and was ready to face "real life" again.
On a forum that I read, someone recently posed the question "Why Study Music?"
For me, this is why: it soothes my soul.
By the end of the lesson I felt like a different person and was ready to face "real life" again.
On a forum that I read, someone recently posed the question "Why Study Music?"
For me, this is why: it soothes my soul.
Thursday 6 September 2012
Term finally begins
The new term is now underway. I was more than a little excited about starting orchestra again, and finding out what we would be playing for the next concert. Everyone is usually a little rusty at the first rehearsal of the year, and also a little over excited. There is a lot of catching up to do. I have kept playing over the summer so thought I'd find it easy to get back into it. In some respects that was true, but I particularly noticed that my playing had become much quieter over the summer. I think it is the practice room effect - what sounds loud when I am playing at home suddenly seems very quiet indeed when I am in a large rehearsal room playing along with a full orchestra. Hopefully that will remedy itself over the next few weeks.
The music for this session will be enjoyable:
Debussy - Petite Suite (which I think has some nice oboe bits in)
Mozart - Magic Flute Overture
Smetana - Vltava (a simpler arrangement of the original)
We are also going to be doing a Symphony but we will get the music for that next week.
I also had my first lesson of the term. We spent time on Luft Study 23, Telemann 4 and Orientale - all of which I was working on over summer.
for next time I will start working on Telemann Fantasia number 7, Luft Study 24, Ferling Study 41.
Also continue Orientale focussing on phrasing, rubato, expression and we will look at the Hindemith.
Next lesson will be in 2 weeks time.
The music for this session will be enjoyable:
Debussy - Petite Suite (which I think has some nice oboe bits in)
Mozart - Magic Flute Overture
Smetana - Vltava (a simpler arrangement of the original)
We are also going to be doing a Symphony but we will get the music for that next week.
I also had my first lesson of the term. We spent time on Luft Study 23, Telemann 4 and Orientale - all of which I was working on over summer.
for next time I will start working on Telemann Fantasia number 7, Luft Study 24, Ferling Study 41.
Also continue Orientale focussing on phrasing, rubato, expression and we will look at the Hindemith.
Next lesson will be in 2 weeks time.
Thursday 30 August 2012
Looking forward and looking back
Summer is nearly over and in less than a week the new term will be begin. Despite having no real connection with schools anymore - the academic year still exerts its influence. Everything seems to stop over July and August. Life steps down a gear - though work still continues at usual it just becomes harder to get anything done. August is my least favourite month.
But September is something else. I love September. A chill comes into the air, Autumn clothes are dug out, life begins to pick up again. After the lethargy of the "summer" I feel a new energy to embark on new projects and get back to all my usual activities. Orchestra begins next Tuesday with my first oboe lesson the day after. A new term, a new academic year, a new start. I already have my new practice book, am wondering what music we will be playing in our first Orchestra concert and have started browsing June Emerson wondering what music my teacher may suggest we work on this term.
This week I've booked myself on two courses for next year. One is a day's reed making course, the other a weekend wind ensemble playing course. They are both months off but I am already excited. Later this year there is a double reed day that I am hoping to go to, and in February an annual wind play day which is always lots of fun.
Summer practice has been reasonably productive though. At the start of the summer I wrote a list of old repertoire that I wanted to play through. I have come to the end of that list now - some pieces I lingered over for a few days (Marcello and Cimerosa concertos, Britten Metamorphoses, Poulenc Sonata), for others one play through was sufficient (Meyer Rustical Miniatures, Schumann Romances). I also played through the Ferling Studies that I studied in my first year of lessons. I've played through some of the Luft studies too.
I've managed a little bit of reed making - not as much as I maybe should have done but I have managed to do 3 or so practice sessions on reeds that I have made myself. A small step in the right direction.
I think I've improved on the pieces that my teacher asked me to look at:
Telemann Fantasia No 4 - I think I am just beginning now to really get to grips with the second movement. It has been a struggle - but finally it is paying off. A few more days will hopefully make this even more secure.
Harty - Orientale. There are some timing bits here that I can't fathom but the rest of it is coming together reasonably. Though need to work on the cadenza runs a little this week.
Hindemith Sonata Mvt 2 - this has really grown on me. I have been playing this along to a recording in the last couple of weeks. It isn't something I often do but in this case it has really helped in understanding the music. Playing with the piano accompaniment has made a number of things click into place.
Luft Study 23 - notes are fairly secure and have been working on playing through, breathing, phrasing.
Luft 24 - well, I wasn't asked to look at this, but I have done and it is sounding OK now.
Scales are becoming more engrained, I've worked on playing extended major scales (tonic to highest note on instrument, down to lowest and back to tonic) and playing major scales in 3rds. They are beginning to be more fluent now.
I think my tuning and vibrato has also improved over the last few weeks when I've been able to put in very consistent practice.
What will this year bring? No exams to focus on this time, but I am looking forward to improving all aspects of my playing by exploring lots of new repertoire. I would like to focus on learning to make reeds so that I can more self reliant in that departmnet. I would also love to buy a Cor Anglais at some point. Let's see what the year brings.
But September is something else. I love September. A chill comes into the air, Autumn clothes are dug out, life begins to pick up again. After the lethargy of the "summer" I feel a new energy to embark on new projects and get back to all my usual activities. Orchestra begins next Tuesday with my first oboe lesson the day after. A new term, a new academic year, a new start. I already have my new practice book, am wondering what music we will be playing in our first Orchestra concert and have started browsing June Emerson wondering what music my teacher may suggest we work on this term.
This week I've booked myself on two courses for next year. One is a day's reed making course, the other a weekend wind ensemble playing course. They are both months off but I am already excited. Later this year there is a double reed day that I am hoping to go to, and in February an annual wind play day which is always lots of fun.
Summer practice has been reasonably productive though. At the start of the summer I wrote a list of old repertoire that I wanted to play through. I have come to the end of that list now - some pieces I lingered over for a few days (Marcello and Cimerosa concertos, Britten Metamorphoses, Poulenc Sonata), for others one play through was sufficient (Meyer Rustical Miniatures, Schumann Romances). I also played through the Ferling Studies that I studied in my first year of lessons. I've played through some of the Luft studies too.
I've managed a little bit of reed making - not as much as I maybe should have done but I have managed to do 3 or so practice sessions on reeds that I have made myself. A small step in the right direction.
I think I've improved on the pieces that my teacher asked me to look at:
Telemann Fantasia No 4 - I think I am just beginning now to really get to grips with the second movement. It has been a struggle - but finally it is paying off. A few more days will hopefully make this even more secure.
Harty - Orientale. There are some timing bits here that I can't fathom but the rest of it is coming together reasonably. Though need to work on the cadenza runs a little this week.
Hindemith Sonata Mvt 2 - this has really grown on me. I have been playing this along to a recording in the last couple of weeks. It isn't something I often do but in this case it has really helped in understanding the music. Playing with the piano accompaniment has made a number of things click into place.
Luft Study 23 - notes are fairly secure and have been working on playing through, breathing, phrasing.
Luft 24 - well, I wasn't asked to look at this, but I have done and it is sounding OK now.
Scales are becoming more engrained, I've worked on playing extended major scales (tonic to highest note on instrument, down to lowest and back to tonic) and playing major scales in 3rds. They are beginning to be more fluent now.
I think my tuning and vibrato has also improved over the last few weeks when I've been able to put in very consistent practice.
What will this year bring? No exams to focus on this time, but I am looking forward to improving all aspects of my playing by exploring lots of new repertoire. I would like to focus on learning to make reeds so that I can more self reliant in that departmnet. I would also love to buy a Cor Anglais at some point. Let's see what the year brings.
Wednesday 22 August 2012
Filming myself
In a bid to bring some variety to my practise sessions over the long summer break I've been playing with technology a little bit.
I found some recordings I'd made of myself playing about 2 or 3 years ago. They weren't that great so I thought I'd do some more to see whether I'd improved. I did my earliest recordings using the film feature on my digital camera so I've initially done a couple more of these - one of my playing the first movement of the Poulenc sonata and one of Arethusa. Both of these were pieces I played for my Grade 8.
It's fair to say that the tone in both of them sounds pretty terrible but I think this is as much due to the limitiations of the equipment as my actual playing. It is hard to get a good recording in a room full of soft furnishings - the sound will never sound resonant or full. My camera is also not really designed to do high quality sound recording. So I am not going to worry too much about the tone quality in this case.
Positive improvements that were apparent were:
1. Posture - in my early recordings my posture was terrible and my head was bent forward all the time. The new recordings show a much more balanced posture with my head, neck and spine in much better alignment. This was the main reason I chose to video myself rather than just record. I had been quite shocked by the first video as I was completely unaware of what I was doing and since then I have consciously tried to improve how I sit.
2. Embouchure is much more controlled and stable.
3. Finger changes are much smoother and more controlled. The overall line is much more legato.
Most obvious area for improvement was intonation! I know this is much improved but playing in tune really does seem to be my achilles heel. I find it much easier when playing with other people, and I can certainly hear the problems when I play it back. The issue is being able to play each note in tune as it comes out. I sometimes wonder if I'll ever be able to do this!
Since doing my recording I've been doing more practice with the tuner - on scales, arpeggios, with my pieces. Trying to play in tune and then checking against the tuner to try and train my ear rather than watching the light! I've been focussing on hearing the note in my mind before I play it! Something to keep working on.
I found some recordings I'd made of myself playing about 2 or 3 years ago. They weren't that great so I thought I'd do some more to see whether I'd improved. I did my earliest recordings using the film feature on my digital camera so I've initially done a couple more of these - one of my playing the first movement of the Poulenc sonata and one of Arethusa. Both of these were pieces I played for my Grade 8.
It's fair to say that the tone in both of them sounds pretty terrible but I think this is as much due to the limitiations of the equipment as my actual playing. It is hard to get a good recording in a room full of soft furnishings - the sound will never sound resonant or full. My camera is also not really designed to do high quality sound recording. So I am not going to worry too much about the tone quality in this case.
Positive improvements that were apparent were:
1. Posture - in my early recordings my posture was terrible and my head was bent forward all the time. The new recordings show a much more balanced posture with my head, neck and spine in much better alignment. This was the main reason I chose to video myself rather than just record. I had been quite shocked by the first video as I was completely unaware of what I was doing and since then I have consciously tried to improve how I sit.
2. Embouchure is much more controlled and stable.
3. Finger changes are much smoother and more controlled. The overall line is much more legato.
Most obvious area for improvement was intonation! I know this is much improved but playing in tune really does seem to be my achilles heel. I find it much easier when playing with other people, and I can certainly hear the problems when I play it back. The issue is being able to play each note in tune as it comes out. I sometimes wonder if I'll ever be able to do this!
Since doing my recording I've been doing more practice with the tuner - on scales, arpeggios, with my pieces. Trying to play in tune and then checking against the tuner to try and train my ear rather than watching the light! I've been focussing on hearing the note in my mind before I play it! Something to keep working on.
Thursday 16 August 2012
Trio Sonatas
The Summer seems very long and I am missing both orchestra and lessons. I am still practising and taking time to play through some old repertoire, which is fun. But for the pieces that I am practising for my next lesson I am now feeling a bit stuck. I've done what I can but I need some fresh imput and insight from my teacher. Only 3 weeks to go!
I did have a great evening's playing on Monday though when I met up with some orchestra friends for a session of Chamber Music. I love playing music with other people. There is a sort of magic that occurs when you all play together and someone manage to create something that is greater than the sum of the individual parts. Due to the make up of the group we tend to focus on Baroque Trio Sonatas - we have flute, oboe, cello and a keyboard player (with nice harpsichord sound!). We worked on two Handel Trio Sonatas which were a little challenging in both timing and harmony. There were times when you just had to trust all the parts would come together in the end (which they did). Apparently these were originally composed when Handel was 10 years old - which is quite astonishing. We spent about an hour on these two. After a break for refreshments, chat and browsing through music we tried a JS Bach one. This was originally written for violin and flute so there were a few bits I had to "adapt" but overall it sounded pretty good.
I would love to do more chamber music playing. It is challenging -when there is a small group and you are one to a part and you are sight reading, you learn quickly. You need to keep going, you need to keep count, most of all you need to hold your nerve and trust yourself. If you hesitate and doubt the whole thing falls apart. On top of all that you need to play in tune with other people, you need to blend to their sound and hoepfully match dynamics/ ornaments/ phrasing. A great fun way to improve all aspects of playing! I must do more chamber music playing.
I did have a great evening's playing on Monday though when I met up with some orchestra friends for a session of Chamber Music. I love playing music with other people. There is a sort of magic that occurs when you all play together and someone manage to create something that is greater than the sum of the individual parts. Due to the make up of the group we tend to focus on Baroque Trio Sonatas - we have flute, oboe, cello and a keyboard player (with nice harpsichord sound!). We worked on two Handel Trio Sonatas which were a little challenging in both timing and harmony. There were times when you just had to trust all the parts would come together in the end (which they did). Apparently these were originally composed when Handel was 10 years old - which is quite astonishing. We spent about an hour on these two. After a break for refreshments, chat and browsing through music we tried a JS Bach one. This was originally written for violin and flute so there were a few bits I had to "adapt" but overall it sounded pretty good.
I would love to do more chamber music playing. It is challenging -when there is a small group and you are one to a part and you are sight reading, you learn quickly. You need to keep going, you need to keep count, most of all you need to hold your nerve and trust yourself. If you hesitate and doubt the whole thing falls apart. On top of all that you need to play in tune with other people, you need to blend to their sound and hoepfully match dynamics/ ornaments/ phrasing. A great fun way to improve all aspects of playing! I must do more chamber music playing.
Monday 30 July 2012
How to manage reeds
I've been thinking a lot about reeds this weekend. I need to learn how to manage my reeds differently.
I currently buy my reeds from my teacher....they are excellent. They usually need a week or so to "blow in" but then they last for about 4-5 weeks after that. At which point I buy another one. I don't like playing on poor reeds...so I do have a tendency to use one reed until it dies, and then I get another one. The old one stays in my reedbox and then when it is finally full I will reluctantly pull apart the oldest one that I haven't played for months, finally admitting to myself that I will not use it again.
I've known for some time this system is poor and can leave me vulnerable, with no back up, for important events. I should always have 2, if not 3, reeds on the go, one being broken in, one at it's peak and one probably on the wane. I should be disciplined about keeping the rotation going. I should be practised on playing on reeds that are not so good!
I should not be so sentimental about keeping old reeds but should break them up when I know that I am not going to use them again. The old reeds currently give me a false sense of security. Having a full (playing) reed box makes me think I have options, a back up - when in reality I only have ONE reed that really works.
The problem is being compounded now that I am starting to make reeds that could work. Up till now my reed making and reed using have been two separate activities. My first attempts never made it as far as the instrument - they leaked badly, cracked, disintegrated. I am beginning to improve. My (reedmaking) reed box is becoming full of half made reeds that I don't want to break up yet as they crow and will work in my oboe - to take them forward I need to actually spend time playing them, breaking them in, assessing them, working out what I need to adjust to improve them. This kind of work doesn't fit into my system, at all, at the moment.
So I need to manage my reeds differently.
...or I could just buy a bigger reed box....
I currently buy my reeds from my teacher....they are excellent. They usually need a week or so to "blow in" but then they last for about 4-5 weeks after that. At which point I buy another one. I don't like playing on poor reeds...so I do have a tendency to use one reed until it dies, and then I get another one. The old one stays in my reedbox and then when it is finally full I will reluctantly pull apart the oldest one that I haven't played for months, finally admitting to myself that I will not use it again.
I've known for some time this system is poor and can leave me vulnerable, with no back up, for important events. I should always have 2, if not 3, reeds on the go, one being broken in, one at it's peak and one probably on the wane. I should be disciplined about keeping the rotation going. I should be practised on playing on reeds that are not so good!
I should not be so sentimental about keeping old reeds but should break them up when I know that I am not going to use them again. The old reeds currently give me a false sense of security. Having a full (playing) reed box makes me think I have options, a back up - when in reality I only have ONE reed that really works.
The problem is being compounded now that I am starting to make reeds that could work. Up till now my reed making and reed using have been two separate activities. My first attempts never made it as far as the instrument - they leaked badly, cracked, disintegrated. I am beginning to improve. My (reedmaking) reed box is becoming full of half made reeds that I don't want to break up yet as they crow and will work in my oboe - to take them forward I need to actually spend time playing them, breaking them in, assessing them, working out what I need to adjust to improve them. This kind of work doesn't fit into my system, at all, at the moment.
So I need to manage my reeds differently.
...or I could just buy a bigger reed box....
Friday 27 July 2012
Summer plans
Oboe lessons are finished for the Summer. It will be 6 weeks before they restart. I avoid going away in school holidays as much as possible - so practice will continue as (nearly) normal. My teacher hasn't particuarly set me additional work over the summer so there is a chance to add in a few extras and focus on some more fun things.
Practice this week has been good so far. I feel recovered from my illness, which was sapping my energy, and my general playing is much improved now that I am not preparing to play in front of people!
So this is what I am doing:
1. Technical work - I've put together a tick box for this to help make sure I'm covering all aspects regularly. It is based on an articulation one that my teacher did for me. I find it helpful as I can record which exercises I've done, metronome speeds, scale of the day etc. I spent some time yesterday doing slow broken arpeggios, trying to make them as legato and smooth as possible with no bumps at the change of note or register. It is very difficult but I think I made a small amount of progress!
2. Studies - my teacher told me to look at Luft 23. This one is harder than it looks. There are 6 sharps in the key signature and I was very confused as it why it didn't seem to be in F# major. It only clicked last night that a number of the B's are also sharpened and it is actually in C#major with 7 sharps. No wonder it makes my brain ache. I think I can just about cope with 6 sharps in the key signature but adding additional accidentals just tips it over the edge. It shouldn't take 6 weeks to sort it out though so I may have a look at number 24 too. For a little light relief I'm playing through the studies I've already covered - both Luft and Ferling - to remind myself of how they go and also so I can make note of which studies are particularly useful for certain techincal difficulties.
3. Pieces - only 3 to look at for my lessons. Orinetale - the final miniature, Telemann Fantasia no 4, Hindemith Sonata 2nd movement. All progressing at the moment.
4. Revision - I'm going through my music and pulling out pieces that I've covered in my lessons over the last 3 years. It shows me how far I've progressed - bits I found hard I can sometimes now do easily. It's also just nice to have time to play pieces for fun!
This week i have been playing:
Britten - Metamophoses (4 out of the 6). I love these so much - I should play them everyday!
Albinoni - Concerto in D, opus 7 no 6. I played the first 2 movements for my Grade 7 exam.
Cimerosa - Concerto. This is tricky, I may do some more work on this.
Fiocco - Ariosa. I played this at the Adult learner's event last summer, lovely piece of music!
Hoepfully over the summer I will have chance to do more reed making too!
I am sure that it will be September before I know it!
Practice this week has been good so far. I feel recovered from my illness, which was sapping my energy, and my general playing is much improved now that I am not preparing to play in front of people!
So this is what I am doing:
1. Technical work - I've put together a tick box for this to help make sure I'm covering all aspects regularly. It is based on an articulation one that my teacher did for me. I find it helpful as I can record which exercises I've done, metronome speeds, scale of the day etc. I spent some time yesterday doing slow broken arpeggios, trying to make them as legato and smooth as possible with no bumps at the change of note or register. It is very difficult but I think I made a small amount of progress!
2. Studies - my teacher told me to look at Luft 23. This one is harder than it looks. There are 6 sharps in the key signature and I was very confused as it why it didn't seem to be in F# major. It only clicked last night that a number of the B's are also sharpened and it is actually in C#major with 7 sharps. No wonder it makes my brain ache. I think I can just about cope with 6 sharps in the key signature but adding additional accidentals just tips it over the edge. It shouldn't take 6 weeks to sort it out though so I may have a look at number 24 too. For a little light relief I'm playing through the studies I've already covered - both Luft and Ferling - to remind myself of how they go and also so I can make note of which studies are particularly useful for certain techincal difficulties.
3. Pieces - only 3 to look at for my lessons. Orinetale - the final miniature, Telemann Fantasia no 4, Hindemith Sonata 2nd movement. All progressing at the moment.
4. Revision - I'm going through my music and pulling out pieces that I've covered in my lessons over the last 3 years. It shows me how far I've progressed - bits I found hard I can sometimes now do easily. It's also just nice to have time to play pieces for fun!
This week i have been playing:
Britten - Metamophoses (4 out of the 6). I love these so much - I should play them everyday!
Albinoni - Concerto in D, opus 7 no 6. I played the first 2 movements for my Grade 7 exam.
Cimerosa - Concerto. This is tricky, I may do some more work on this.
Fiocco - Ariosa. I played this at the Adult learner's event last summer, lovely piece of music!
Hoepfully over the summer I will have chance to do more reed making too!
I am sure that it will be September before I know it!
Monday 23 July 2012
Sorry, I'm busy
I've been really feeling quite low since my Saturday performance. I am disappointed that I didn't play better and the only enjoyable thing about the whole experience was the opportunity to play my pieces with an accompanist. It has lead me to think very much about why I am bothering with this at all - and whether there is any need to put myself through the stress of performing.
My practice session yesterday did, fortunately remind of me of why I am doing this - so my oboe won't be going on ebay just yet! I found that without the stress of the performance my tone came back and I enjoyed playing so much more. I went back and played some of the pieces that I've studied with my teacher over the last couple of years. Playing the Britten Metamorphoses showed me that I have improved, even over the last few months and reminded me that I don't need to play to other people to enjoy playing music. It is enough reward in itself. Having said that, being able to play in orchestra and meet up with people to play chamber music is also a motivation.
So what about performing? I don't mean orchestra concerts which are completely different. There is a sense of anonymity in an orchestra - the focus is never on one player and as a woodwinder I get to hide right at the back, which is always helpful! Doing the kind of performance I did on Saturday is a whole different kettle of fish - it is about putting yourself on show, and being the focus of attention It involves being very vulnerable and taking something that is very personal and important to you and holding it up in front of people to criticise and comment on...and I just don't enjoy doing that!
So why did I agree to do this in the first place? Mainly because I was asked, the person that asked was a friend, I knew that she was struggling to find enough people and I wanted to help her out. I also knew that the only reason not to do it was fear and I don't like saying no to things because I'm frightened! It gives me the urge to step out of my comfort zone and challenge myself. I suppose I had the idea that it would be "good for me" to face my fear of performing and get over it a bit. I have played the oboe at Adult learner concerts before - but only 3 times - these are generally very supportive events where everybody understands what it takes to step up and play. I found them scary and a challenge but I thought I had managed well enough to step up a level to play something like this.
But I think I underestimated how difficult I would find it. I know that I used to have crippling performance nerves - in fact the last time I was asked to play in a concert was on piano in my second year at Uni. I was so scared by the thought of it that by the day of the concert I was genuinely ill. I got a Doctor's note so I didn't have to play. When they made playing in the end of year concert a condition of having subsidised lessons, I stopped having lessons - though I would never have admitted the real reason. Since then I've played keyboard, piano in church hundreds, if not thousands, of times, in front of a couple of hundred people, without feeling excessively nervous. So I thought I had conquered that particular demon. But of course that is completely different. When I play at church, the focus is not on me - people are looking at the words, focusing on what they are singing, or thinking about what is for lunch. They rarely notice who is playing or what they are doing - or so I can convince myself. It also helps that the music I am playing then is rarely challenging and usually sits miles inside my comfort zone. I generally feel reasonably confident in that situation and I thought that sense of confidence could translate across - but it didn't really.
So what about next time? I don't get opportunities to play for other people very often so it may not come up again for a while, if ever! That also means that I don't think I will be playing for other people regularly enough to beat these nerves - it will always be a big thing and will always be scary. So why put myself through it? I think I've realised that I don't have to! I would never say never again - but, on the slim chance that I get asked back next year, I am pretty sure I will have something else on that day. Sorry!
My practice session yesterday did, fortunately remind of me of why I am doing this - so my oboe won't be going on ebay just yet! I found that without the stress of the performance my tone came back and I enjoyed playing so much more. I went back and played some of the pieces that I've studied with my teacher over the last couple of years. Playing the Britten Metamorphoses showed me that I have improved, even over the last few months and reminded me that I don't need to play to other people to enjoy playing music. It is enough reward in itself. Having said that, being able to play in orchestra and meet up with people to play chamber music is also a motivation.
So what about performing? I don't mean orchestra concerts which are completely different. There is a sense of anonymity in an orchestra - the focus is never on one player and as a woodwinder I get to hide right at the back, which is always helpful! Doing the kind of performance I did on Saturday is a whole different kettle of fish - it is about putting yourself on show, and being the focus of attention It involves being very vulnerable and taking something that is very personal and important to you and holding it up in front of people to criticise and comment on...and I just don't enjoy doing that!
So why did I agree to do this in the first place? Mainly because I was asked, the person that asked was a friend, I knew that she was struggling to find enough people and I wanted to help her out. I also knew that the only reason not to do it was fear and I don't like saying no to things because I'm frightened! It gives me the urge to step out of my comfort zone and challenge myself. I suppose I had the idea that it would be "good for me" to face my fear of performing and get over it a bit. I have played the oboe at Adult learner concerts before - but only 3 times - these are generally very supportive events where everybody understands what it takes to step up and play. I found them scary and a challenge but I thought I had managed well enough to step up a level to play something like this.
But I think I underestimated how difficult I would find it. I know that I used to have crippling performance nerves - in fact the last time I was asked to play in a concert was on piano in my second year at Uni. I was so scared by the thought of it that by the day of the concert I was genuinely ill. I got a Doctor's note so I didn't have to play. When they made playing in the end of year concert a condition of having subsidised lessons, I stopped having lessons - though I would never have admitted the real reason. Since then I've played keyboard, piano in church hundreds, if not thousands, of times, in front of a couple of hundred people, without feeling excessively nervous. So I thought I had conquered that particular demon. But of course that is completely different. When I play at church, the focus is not on me - people are looking at the words, focusing on what they are singing, or thinking about what is for lunch. They rarely notice who is playing or what they are doing - or so I can convince myself. It also helps that the music I am playing then is rarely challenging and usually sits miles inside my comfort zone. I generally feel reasonably confident in that situation and I thought that sense of confidence could translate across - but it didn't really.
So what about next time? I don't get opportunities to play for other people very often so it may not come up again for a while, if ever! That also means that I don't think I will be playing for other people regularly enough to beat these nerves - it will always be a big thing and will always be scary. So why put myself through it? I think I've realised that I don't have to! I would never say never again - but, on the slim chance that I get asked back next year, I am pretty sure I will have something else on that day. Sorry!
Saturday 21 July 2012
Room for improvement
So today was the garden party. This was really my first solo performance outside the safe haven of adult learner concerts - and I've only done 3 of those. In this case it wasn't to other musicians who were performing (and generally sympathetic) and not only were there "non performing" people there, but there were people there who I knew and who had never heard me play the oboe before - the pressure was on. I had a major panic last night when I was convinced that I couldn't play any of my pieces and I was going to fall flat on my face. But, when it came to it, I survived. I don't think I played brilliantly but I got through and kept going. It felt pretty terrible at the time, and I was very nervous but my boyfriend filmed it and, looking at the recording, it wasn't as bad as I thought - though still not great...
So let's stick with good, tricky, do differently:
2. While I'm playing my posture is not too bad and I do move a little bit to the music - more than I thought I was doing.
3. Most of the finger work sounds quite fluent even when it felt a little clunky,
4. There are times when my vibrato comes through and does sound quite natural.
5. There are occasional flashes of good phrasing and expression
2. My tone is really quite thin - I need to do some work on this over the summer. Some of this was nerves, but not all of it.
3. Intonation wasn't great - I knew this but couldn't quite seem to bring it in line. Need some work on control during the summer.
4. A few stumbles along the way - I think the Mozart was a little ambitious! I could just about play it but there were too many dodgy bits that didn't quite work.
5. Too much frightened rabbit and not enough expression in the music as a whole!
2. Pick pieces that I can play well - or at least make sure I have time to practice enough to bring them up to standard. Do not be unprepared!
3. If playing outside - make sure the music is securely fastened! Mine didn't entirely blow away but my biggest stumble was due to it threatening to!
4. Relax and think about expression more - focus on the music.
5. Blow more air - will bring pitch up, louder would be good and will give scope for more dynamics overall.
Overall verdict - not disastrous but definitely room for improvement.
So let's stick with good, tricky, do differently:
GOOD
1. I got through all three pieces without falling apart or needing to stop - this is more than I thought I would manage last night. Oh and I guess actually turning up and doing it despite being really scared.2. While I'm playing my posture is not too bad and I do move a little bit to the music - more than I thought I was doing.
3. Most of the finger work sounds quite fluent even when it felt a little clunky,
4. There are times when my vibrato comes through and does sound quite natural.
5. There are occasional flashes of good phrasing and expression
TRICKY
1. I sound terrified when introducing the pieces - which I was!2. My tone is really quite thin - I need to do some work on this over the summer. Some of this was nerves, but not all of it.
3. Intonation wasn't great - I knew this but couldn't quite seem to bring it in line. Need some work on control during the summer.
4. A few stumbles along the way - I think the Mozart was a little ambitious! I could just about play it but there were too many dodgy bits that didn't quite work.
5. Too much frightened rabbit and not enough expression in the music as a whole!
DO DIFFERENTLY
1. Make sure I know exactly what the set up is - there were too many surprises on the day. I thought it would just be background music rather than having people sitting and watching as the main event. I was also thrown by having to introduce the songs and there were more people there that I knew than expected.2. Pick pieces that I can play well - or at least make sure I have time to practice enough to bring them up to standard. Do not be unprepared!
3. If playing outside - make sure the music is securely fastened! Mine didn't entirely blow away but my biggest stumble was due to it threatening to!
4. Relax and think about expression more - focus on the music.
5. Blow more air - will bring pitch up, louder would be good and will give scope for more dynamics overall.
Overall verdict - not disastrous but definitely room for improvement.
Tuesday 17 July 2012
Adult Learners - Good, tricky, do differently
On Saturday I played at an Adult Learner's Event. The set up of the day was quite informal - there were 20 or so people there and we had run throughs and rehearsals in the morning and then played to each other in a concert format in the afternoon before going out for drinks and food.
I played the second movement of the Mozart Oboe Quartet. I wasn't really happy with how I played in the concert. But I did it, got to the end and had some nice comments (criticism was not allowed!). It has made me think about what I thought could have been improved and how to make it better. At work wegive feedback in the form "Good, Tricky, Do differently" and that seems to be as good a way as any to review how it went. So here goes:
2. I got through from start to finish, I wasn't derailed by little upsets on the way and generally kept my calm.
3. I wasn't overly affected by nerves- I felt some tension, but none of the shaking hands that I got the first couple of times I played in front of people.
4. There was some nice phrasing - I did manage to get some of the shaping in. Some of the things that I had struggled with in the practice room seemed to be much more manageable in a bigger, more resonant space.
5. My intonation was generally OK and probably better than I expected under the pressure and nerves.
2. There wasn't enough practice with the accompanist. There were some points where fitting the two parts together were a bit tricky - even though the piano part looks straight forward it needs good co-ordination with the oboist to ensure notes are absolutely together. Bits that were a bit dodgy in rehearsal were picked up but we didn't reinforce enough, so that the same mistakes occurred in the performance.
3. I need to take the lead more in the rehearsal with the accompanist to highlight the slightly dodgy bits and make sure that I am happy with them. I am the one that knows the piece better, so I am the one who will pick those things up. I suppose I felt reluctant to do so in this situation as it was meant to be a "fun" event and so I didn't want to be seen as too "picky" but in the end it meant that I was feeling on edge in the performance. Also I ended up trying to play the piece to fit in with the accompanist rather than as I had practiced it. So I need to learn to take the lead in the performance as well, and let the accompanist keep up with me.
4. Poor tone in places. I was not happy with my reed....are oboists ever? This has been a problematic reed from day 1. It took ages to blow in and even then there are certain notes that just don't sound very nice and are hard to control...or they are sometimes, sometimes it works just fine! Unfortunaly due to my lesson being cancelled I hadn't had chance to buy a replacement, so it was the best one I had! There is also a chance that it was my lip giving up a bit. I was also not feeling that well as still getting over a cold - by the afternoon I was definitely flagging. I think the practice in the morning sounded much better so could probably have been tension in my embouchure that affected the tone. In some places it was OK but need to work on endurance and consistency. More long notes!
5. Due to my slot towards the end and the overall length of the concert I ended up playing on a pretty cold instrument and reed. I did what I could to warm it up by silently blowing through but I think that due to the stop/ start nature of the playing it probably didn't warm up properly all day.
1. I feel more comfortable with these pieces which definitely play to my strengths.
2. I will buy at least 1 new reed from my teacher on Wednesday and make sure I am happy with it.
3. I have already had one run through with accompanist but will have another on Saturday. I feel more comfortable with fitting these pieces to the piano part anyway so hopefully will be fine.
4. I will do a proper warm up at the start of the day.
5. I will smile and relax and focus on the music rather than worrying about anything else.
I played the second movement of the Mozart Oboe Quartet. I wasn't really happy with how I played in the concert. But I did it, got to the end and had some nice comments (criticism was not allowed!). It has made me think about what I thought could have been improved and how to make it better. At work wegive feedback in the form "Good, Tricky, Do differently" and that seems to be as good a way as any to review how it went. So here goes:
GOOD
1. I was really pleased with the first phrase which is long and has a huge crescendo in it! I think I really pulled that off.2. I got through from start to finish, I wasn't derailed by little upsets on the way and generally kept my calm.
3. I wasn't overly affected by nerves- I felt some tension, but none of the shaking hands that I got the first couple of times I played in front of people.
4. There was some nice phrasing - I did manage to get some of the shaping in. Some of the things that I had struggled with in the practice room seemed to be much more manageable in a bigger, more resonant space.
5. My intonation was generally OK and probably better than I expected under the pressure and nerves.
TRICKY
1. I wasn't that comfortable with the piece. I chose it because it had an easy piano accompaniment and fitted the time limit. But I knew it would be hard to pull off and that made me feel a little uneasy about the whole thing.2. There wasn't enough practice with the accompanist. There were some points where fitting the two parts together were a bit tricky - even though the piano part looks straight forward it needs good co-ordination with the oboist to ensure notes are absolutely together. Bits that were a bit dodgy in rehearsal were picked up but we didn't reinforce enough, so that the same mistakes occurred in the performance.
3. I need to take the lead more in the rehearsal with the accompanist to highlight the slightly dodgy bits and make sure that I am happy with them. I am the one that knows the piece better, so I am the one who will pick those things up. I suppose I felt reluctant to do so in this situation as it was meant to be a "fun" event and so I didn't want to be seen as too "picky" but in the end it meant that I was feeling on edge in the performance. Also I ended up trying to play the piece to fit in with the accompanist rather than as I had practiced it. So I need to learn to take the lead in the performance as well, and let the accompanist keep up with me.
4. Poor tone in places. I was not happy with my reed....are oboists ever? This has been a problematic reed from day 1. It took ages to blow in and even then there are certain notes that just don't sound very nice and are hard to control...or they are sometimes, sometimes it works just fine! Unfortunaly due to my lesson being cancelled I hadn't had chance to buy a replacement, so it was the best one I had! There is also a chance that it was my lip giving up a bit. I was also not feeling that well as still getting over a cold - by the afternoon I was definitely flagging. I think the practice in the morning sounded much better so could probably have been tension in my embouchure that affected the tone. In some places it was OK but need to work on endurance and consistency. More long notes!
5. Due to my slot towards the end and the overall length of the concert I ended up playing on a pretty cold instrument and reed. I did what I could to warm it up by silently blowing through but I think that due to the stop/ start nature of the playing it probably didn't warm up properly all day.
DO DIFFERENTLY
(thinking of Saturday's Garden Party)1. I feel more comfortable with these pieces which definitely play to my strengths.
2. I will buy at least 1 new reed from my teacher on Wednesday and make sure I am happy with it.
3. I have already had one run through with accompanist but will have another on Saturday. I feel more comfortable with fitting these pieces to the piano part anyway so hopefully will be fine.
4. I will do a proper warm up at the start of the day.
5. I will smile and relax and focus on the music rather than worrying about anything else.
Thursday 12 July 2012
Change of pace
It's felt very difficult this term to gain any sort of momentum in my oboe practice. There has always been something to interrupt consecutive days of playing. It has felt quite frustrating, always seeming to be going back a step or treading water rather than moving forward.
At the end of June we had a long weekend away - which was lovely but another 3 days off. When I came back it felt like a huge struggle to play and I managed barely longer than 30 minutes for the next 2 days. However the next day I was off work sick, which probably explains why I felt so tired. It was 3 days before I could face picking up my instrument again but I was obviously feeling much better as I managed my usual practice time on the first attempt, despite nearly a week of next to no practice. Six days later I now feel like I am on a roll again with the next few weeks looking fairly clear for keeping going and I am beginning to see progress again.
Another effect of my sickness was that I had a to cancel my oboe lesson, my teacher then told me she couldn't do this week's lesson. So rather than having 3 lessons before summer holidays I now only have one! Not very good news, but on the positive side it has given me a couple of additional weeks to prepare for my next lesson. I've been surprised at how much that has taken the pressure off practice times. I don't have to play every pieces every session. I can take my time over the lesson preparation and spend more time preparing pieces for both the Adult Learner's Concert and the Garden Party. The change of pace has been good for me. I need to remember that over the summer break and take time to revisit old repertoire and previous studies. It could be good to take things at a slightly more relaxed pace, ready to tackle lessons in September more refreshed and ready to go back on the treadmill.
In other news I took my piano exam at the end of June and, last week, found out that I passed it with distinction! I am very pleased for lots of reasons that are probably a blog post all on their own. Needless to say it meant a lot!
At the end of June we had a long weekend away - which was lovely but another 3 days off. When I came back it felt like a huge struggle to play and I managed barely longer than 30 minutes for the next 2 days. However the next day I was off work sick, which probably explains why I felt so tired. It was 3 days before I could face picking up my instrument again but I was obviously feeling much better as I managed my usual practice time on the first attempt, despite nearly a week of next to no practice. Six days later I now feel like I am on a roll again with the next few weeks looking fairly clear for keeping going and I am beginning to see progress again.
Another effect of my sickness was that I had a to cancel my oboe lesson, my teacher then told me she couldn't do this week's lesson. So rather than having 3 lessons before summer holidays I now only have one! Not very good news, but on the positive side it has given me a couple of additional weeks to prepare for my next lesson. I've been surprised at how much that has taken the pressure off practice times. I don't have to play every pieces every session. I can take my time over the lesson preparation and spend more time preparing pieces for both the Adult Learner's Concert and the Garden Party. The change of pace has been good for me. I need to remember that over the summer break and take time to revisit old repertoire and previous studies. It could be good to take things at a slightly more relaxed pace, ready to tackle lessons in September more refreshed and ready to go back on the treadmill.
In other news I took my piano exam at the end of June and, last week, found out that I passed it with distinction! I am very pleased for lots of reasons that are probably a blog post all on their own. Needless to say it meant a lot!
Saturday 23 June 2012
Reed trouble (again)
Reeds are the bane of every oboists life. My practice sounded terrible today - I don't know if it is me, the reed, the weather or my oboe. I think it maybe a combination of all of them - though hopefully not too much to do with the oboe itself. I have a relatively new reed and at the moment I don't really like it. I've only had it a week though so it may not be properly blown in. There are certain notes that just sound really terrible. But then I've also just had 2 days off practice so my lip is probably not great either. I need some serious work on long notes to try and get my tone back - feel like I am going backwards at the moment.
On the up side, I am starting a new piece - Chansonette by Harty, it's one of his 3 miniatures. From first practice, it seems rather nice.
On the up side, I am starting a new piece - Chansonette by Harty, it's one of his 3 miniatures. From first practice, it seems rather nice.
Tuesday 19 June 2012
Catch up
I thought I ought to do a round up of the things that I am practising at the moment:
Technical exercises - I am still doing articulation exercises to try and up my speed. It is gradually having some effect I think. I'm also doing long notes based on arpeggios - trying to improve tone, dynamic range and tuning. Doing arpeggios is good as it means I'm doing notes across the whole range of the instrument.
Studies - this week's study is Luft No 20 which is in C# minor. I really like this one but it has some tricky passages and also a lot of rhythmic changees - lots of subdivisions as it goes from minims to crotchets to demi semi quavers to quavers to semi quaver tripets to trying to fit 5 notes into the space of 1 semi quaver....it is making my head spin a bit. Hopefully I will get another week to work on it.
Hindemith Sonata - There are only 2 movements. The first one grew on me a bit - though having heard a recording of it with piano I would still say that it is a Sonata that is more fun to play than to listen to. I really do not like the second movement at all. Slow, random notes, strange rhythms. It really doesn't do it for me at all. So hopefully won't be spending too much longer on this.
Telemann Fantasia No 8 - still working on the second and third movements of this as we haven't looked at it in a lesson for a few weeks. I really like these pieces but there are still a few bits of this that I am struggling to get into my fingers. It just doesn't seem to go as expected. Improving though.
Mozart Oboe Quartet - have been working on third movement in lesson which has some really awkward bits in the middle. It is getting better though.
I have finally agreed what I'm playing at the Adult learner concert and Garden Party.
Adult Leader Concert - second movement of the Mozart Oboe Quartet. Sadly the piano accompaniment for French Suite turned out to be too tricky and an alternative needed to be found. The first movement of the Quartet exceeded the time limit so this is my third (maybe even 4th) choice piece. My accompanist seems quite happy with this one though. I need to get practicing and make sure I have a VERY good reed to pull it off!
Garden Party - I've had a run through with pianist for this, which seemed to go very well. I am playing:
Mozart Quartet Movement 1
Piazolla Oblivion
Dring Italian Dance.
Hopefully this fits the bill of light, accessible, easy to listen to classical music and it should take just over 10 minutes. I just need to time the pieces and send the programe to the organiser (and practice of course!).
Piano exam 28th June. Playing my pieces for a friend tonight.
Technical exercises - I am still doing articulation exercises to try and up my speed. It is gradually having some effect I think. I'm also doing long notes based on arpeggios - trying to improve tone, dynamic range and tuning. Doing arpeggios is good as it means I'm doing notes across the whole range of the instrument.
Studies - this week's study is Luft No 20 which is in C# minor. I really like this one but it has some tricky passages and also a lot of rhythmic changees - lots of subdivisions as it goes from minims to crotchets to demi semi quavers to quavers to semi quaver tripets to trying to fit 5 notes into the space of 1 semi quaver....it is making my head spin a bit. Hopefully I will get another week to work on it.
Hindemith Sonata - There are only 2 movements. The first one grew on me a bit - though having heard a recording of it with piano I would still say that it is a Sonata that is more fun to play than to listen to. I really do not like the second movement at all. Slow, random notes, strange rhythms. It really doesn't do it for me at all. So hopefully won't be spending too much longer on this.
Telemann Fantasia No 8 - still working on the second and third movements of this as we haven't looked at it in a lesson for a few weeks. I really like these pieces but there are still a few bits of this that I am struggling to get into my fingers. It just doesn't seem to go as expected. Improving though.
Mozart Oboe Quartet - have been working on third movement in lesson which has some really awkward bits in the middle. It is getting better though.
I have finally agreed what I'm playing at the Adult learner concert and Garden Party.
Adult Leader Concert - second movement of the Mozart Oboe Quartet. Sadly the piano accompaniment for French Suite turned out to be too tricky and an alternative needed to be found. The first movement of the Quartet exceeded the time limit so this is my third (maybe even 4th) choice piece. My accompanist seems quite happy with this one though. I need to get practicing and make sure I have a VERY good reed to pull it off!
Garden Party - I've had a run through with pianist for this, which seemed to go very well. I am playing:
Mozart Quartet Movement 1
Piazolla Oblivion
Dring Italian Dance.
Hopefully this fits the bill of light, accessible, easy to listen to classical music and it should take just over 10 minutes. I just need to time the pieces and send the programe to the organiser (and practice of course!).
Piano exam 28th June. Playing my pieces for a friend tonight.
Monday 18 June 2012
The point of it all...
After all the stress of Friday, I am glad to say that Saturday turned out to be a wonderful day.
It was an early start - we left the house at 7:30am, which is quite painful for a Saturday and the doors opened at 9am. After registration and general introduction, we were straight into the sectional rehearsals - done with just the amateur participants. I was rather alarmed to find that I was the only one on first oboe so it was definitely straight in at the deepend. It wasn't too scary in the end though as the general atmosphere was very encouraging and supportive, everyone was finding the music hard. The 90 minutes rehearsal flew by and is was soon lunch time.
After lunch it was full orchestral rehearsal for nearly 3 hours (with a tea break fortunately). The professional players joined us for this which made it a bit less scary - they covered the hardest bits, made sure we came in at the right time, but also took a little bit of back seat when it came to the solos to let the participants have a go. It was really great to hear the whole piece come together and the sound was amazing.
Just time for a cup of tea and a piece of cake before the final performance. The concert was great fun, the sound was fab and, despite my misgivings about the difficulty of the music, we pulled it off. I think the professionals were definitely covering a lot of the Stravinsky bits but I still managed the (very short) exposed oboe bits in the Beceuse. The Gershwin was definitley my highlight though - a really, really fun piece to play that I don't think I would ever have had the opportunity to play!
So overall, a fantastic day which I enjoyed more than I ever expected to. I managed to play more of the music than I thought I would and both my reed and lip lasted to the end despite about 5-6 hours playing. I really enjoyed joining with other people and playing beautiful music in a fabulous concert hall. This really is the point of all the lessons and practice after all.
We played:
Walton - Crown Imperial (a good warm up opener)
Gershwin - An American in Paris (some amazing solos from the brass and clarinets, great fun!)
Stravinsky - Firebird extract, Infernal Dance to the end (challenging but we pulled it off)
It was an early start - we left the house at 7:30am, which is quite painful for a Saturday and the doors opened at 9am. After registration and general introduction, we were straight into the sectional rehearsals - done with just the amateur participants. I was rather alarmed to find that I was the only one on first oboe so it was definitely straight in at the deepend. It wasn't too scary in the end though as the general atmosphere was very encouraging and supportive, everyone was finding the music hard. The 90 minutes rehearsal flew by and is was soon lunch time.
After lunch it was full orchestral rehearsal for nearly 3 hours (with a tea break fortunately). The professional players joined us for this which made it a bit less scary - they covered the hardest bits, made sure we came in at the right time, but also took a little bit of back seat when it came to the solos to let the participants have a go. It was really great to hear the whole piece come together and the sound was amazing.
Just time for a cup of tea and a piece of cake before the final performance. The concert was great fun, the sound was fab and, despite my misgivings about the difficulty of the music, we pulled it off. I think the professionals were definitely covering a lot of the Stravinsky bits but I still managed the (very short) exposed oboe bits in the Beceuse. The Gershwin was definitley my highlight though - a really, really fun piece to play that I don't think I would ever have had the opportunity to play!
So overall, a fantastic day which I enjoyed more than I ever expected to. I managed to play more of the music than I thought I would and both my reed and lip lasted to the end despite about 5-6 hours playing. I really enjoyed joining with other people and playing beautiful music in a fabulous concert hall. This really is the point of all the lessons and practice after all.
We played:
Walton - Crown Imperial (a good warm up opener)
Gershwin - An American in Paris (some amazing solos from the brass and clarinets, great fun!)
Stravinsky - Firebird extract, Infernal Dance to the end (challenging but we pulled it off)
Friday 15 June 2012
the tyranny of the urgent...
It isn't so warm anymore :-(
It's been a funny 2 weeks really. Life feels very busy at the moment - with things that need to be done, and things that I'm doing for "fun". It's getting to that level of business that things that are meant to be "fun" are turning into things I just want to get out of the way so that they can be ticked off the list. I'm so wrapped up in the things that need to be done that I can't really relax enough to enjoy the other stuff.
So tomorrow I am doing an Orchestral Play Day where I have a day of rehearsals alongside professional players and get to play with them in a fantastic concert hall. I booked it months ago, it will be a great experience, I'm sure I'll love it when I get there and I have been really looking forward to it. But, when I think about it right now all I can see is another busy Saturday with no time to get any house jobs done and another weekend early morning which means I won't catch up on my sleep debt for the week.
I'm sure it will be fine, but I really need a rest, at home, to catch up on some of the important stuff in my life so that I am not just trying to keep up with the tyranny of the urgent.
It's been a funny 2 weeks really. Life feels very busy at the moment - with things that need to be done, and things that I'm doing for "fun". It's getting to that level of business that things that are meant to be "fun" are turning into things I just want to get out of the way so that they can be ticked off the list. I'm so wrapped up in the things that need to be done that I can't really relax enough to enjoy the other stuff.
So tomorrow I am doing an Orchestral Play Day where I have a day of rehearsals alongside professional players and get to play with them in a fantastic concert hall. I booked it months ago, it will be a great experience, I'm sure I'll love it when I get there and I have been really looking forward to it. But, when I think about it right now all I can see is another busy Saturday with no time to get any house jobs done and another weekend early morning which means I won't catch up on my sleep debt for the week.
I'm sure it will be fine, but I really need a rest, at home, to catch up on some of the important stuff in my life so that I am not just trying to keep up with the tyranny of the urgent.
Monday 28 May 2012
It's warm...
It's been very warm this week - practice has happened in the evening's when it has been marginally cooler. I've been continuing with articulation exercises though not really seeing a huge increase in speed yet. I need to keep going though. My study this week (Luft no 18) is in F#minor and is also good articulation practice. I need to focus on stamina, breathing and tuning for the rest of the week.
Telemann Fantastia No 8: I've been working on articulation in the second movement nad trying to get accuracy and dynamics too. The last movement is getting there.
Hindemith movement 1: Still working on the basics - notes, rhythm, articulation. I still need to work through the second half of this. First half dynamics, phrasing is improving.
Mozart Oboe Quartet Movement 3: Bits are OK, other bits are very ropey. There is some ornamentation I'm struggling to get the rhythm to - it doesn't help that it comes very soon after a change from 6/8 to cut common time. Articulation speed is also slowing me down - but that is something that I'm working on.
Extras: I'm working on the tricky bits for Gershwin. I'll have another You tube run through next week to see if it's any better.
I had a play through Rendez vous and Causerie from French Suite yesterday. Total time was 5 mins and 17 seconds which is slightly longer than my time slot for the play day so may need to only do one. I've sent music to my accompanist - the first one is quite tricky so it maybe that I have to change my piece anyway. Hopefully he can simplify it a bit to let me play it as it is a really fun piece.
I'm waiting for a piano exam date - 15th June would be my ideal date, so let's wait and see.
Telemann Fantastia No 8: I've been working on articulation in the second movement nad trying to get accuracy and dynamics too. The last movement is getting there.
Hindemith movement 1: Still working on the basics - notes, rhythm, articulation. I still need to work through the second half of this. First half dynamics, phrasing is improving.
Mozart Oboe Quartet Movement 3: Bits are OK, other bits are very ropey. There is some ornamentation I'm struggling to get the rhythm to - it doesn't help that it comes very soon after a change from 6/8 to cut common time. Articulation speed is also slowing me down - but that is something that I'm working on.
Extras: I'm working on the tricky bits for Gershwin. I'll have another You tube run through next week to see if it's any better.
I had a play through Rendez vous and Causerie from French Suite yesterday. Total time was 5 mins and 17 seconds which is slightly longer than my time slot for the play day so may need to only do one. I've sent music to my accompanist - the first one is quite tricky so it maybe that I have to change my piece anyway. Hopefully he can simplify it a bit to let me play it as it is a really fun piece.
I'm waiting for a piano exam date - 15th June would be my ideal date, so let's wait and see.
Thursday 24 May 2012
Run up to holidays
Well Summer seems to have arrived - for this week anyway. My lesson last night was rather warm, to say the least. I thought it went OK though - Luft, Telemann Fantasia and a start on the Hindemith Sonata. I need to add in my own articulation and some ornamentation for the Telemann. I'm also still working on the Mozart - so more than enough to keep me busy at the moment.
There seems to be a lot of things coming up over the next couple of months - leading into the summer holidays. I am trying to take them one at a time.
This week was my final orchestra rehearsal till September. We just had a bash through some things for fun. I nice way to finish off the term. I really appreciate the summer break from orchestra. By the time the first September rehearsal comes round I will be raring to go again.
I am still waiting for a date for my piano exam, which could be any time from 11 June.
On 16 June I am doing a play day with a professional orchestra - those pieces need LOTS of practice!
On both 17th and 24th June I am playing piano in the morning sevice at church.
14th July I am playing in an Adult Learner's Concert - I think I am going to play a couple of movements from French Suite. I'd like to be able to have a go at them with an accompanist - and it is Bastille Day so it feels appropriate. I'll also be accompanying another performer though don't know who that will be, or what they will be playing yet.
18 July - last lesson before summer holidays
21 July I've been asked to play a couple of pieces at a Garden party in aid of a local charity. Still trying to sort out accompanist for this - I may do the French Suite pieces again, or may give the first movement of the Mozart Quartet a go. I may also do Italian Dance by Dring. Depends very much on how things go with the accompanist and what they can manage.
Then it will be summer holidays and hopefully a chance to take things slightly easy. Having said that, there has been talk of chamber music sessions with Orchestra colleagues...
There seems to be a lot of things coming up over the next couple of months - leading into the summer holidays. I am trying to take them one at a time.
This week was my final orchestra rehearsal till September. We just had a bash through some things for fun. I nice way to finish off the term. I really appreciate the summer break from orchestra. By the time the first September rehearsal comes round I will be raring to go again.
I am still waiting for a date for my piano exam, which could be any time from 11 June.
On 16 June I am doing a play day with a professional orchestra - those pieces need LOTS of practice!
On both 17th and 24th June I am playing piano in the morning sevice at church.
14th July I am playing in an Adult Learner's Concert - I think I am going to play a couple of movements from French Suite. I'd like to be able to have a go at them with an accompanist - and it is Bastille Day so it feels appropriate. I'll also be accompanying another performer though don't know who that will be, or what they will be playing yet.
18 July - last lesson before summer holidays
21 July I've been asked to play a couple of pieces at a Garden party in aid of a local charity. Still trying to sort out accompanist for this - I may do the French Suite pieces again, or may give the first movement of the Mozart Quartet a go. I may also do Italian Dance by Dring. Depends very much on how things go with the accompanist and what they can manage.
Then it will be summer holidays and hopefully a chance to take things slightly easy. Having said that, there has been talk of chamber music sessions with Orchestra colleagues...
Monday 21 May 2012
Concert, Gershwin, Reeds
The concert on Saturday went well I think. The venue was lovely, my reed worked and we had a good turn out. One of my friend's came to see me and she really enjoyed it, which was lovely. I quite enjoyed it in the end but I didn't really engage with the pieces in the same way I had at other concerts and it did feel as if we hadn't really had enough weeks to practice. Some of the pieces still felt slightly unfamiliar, which was rather disconcerting. I think - aside from the Elgar - my favourite bits were the second movement of the Arnold Suite and the Britten dances. We have two more rehearsals before summer break, though I can only make the first one. I am looking forward to seeing what we do.
On Sunday I felt a bit overplayed so I didn't do a proper practice session. But I did have a look at Gershwin's American in Paris which I am playing in an Orchestral playday in June. I have been looking at bits of it but I had a go playing it with a You Tube recording for the first time. It really is very difficult. It actually made me feel rather stressed about the whole event because I know that there are bits that are just beyond me. I think I need to make this a priority for practice over the next few weeks. But one of the biggest problems is the speed of articulation required - which I have been working on but is not a quick fix.
I also picked up my reed making again. I had a go at sharpening my reed knives - reasonably successfully I think. I began scraping the three reeds I tied on a couple of weeks ago and very soon had 3 cracked reeds. I'm not sure if it was a problem with tying on, not soaking enough before trying to scrape or just a bad batch of cane. I probably need to do the initial scrape immediately after tying on though when I know that the cane is well and truly soaked through. I will do some more tying on later this week.
On Sunday I felt a bit overplayed so I didn't do a proper practice session. But I did have a look at Gershwin's American in Paris which I am playing in an Orchestral playday in June. I have been looking at bits of it but I had a go playing it with a You Tube recording for the first time. It really is very difficult. It actually made me feel rather stressed about the whole event because I know that there are bits that are just beyond me. I think I need to make this a priority for practice over the next few weeks. But one of the biggest problems is the speed of articulation required - which I have been working on but is not a quick fix.
I also picked up my reed making again. I had a go at sharpening my reed knives - reasonably successfully I think. I began scraping the three reeds I tied on a couple of weeks ago and very soon had 3 cracked reeds. I'm not sure if it was a problem with tying on, not soaking enough before trying to scrape or just a bad batch of cane. I probably need to do the initial scrape immediately after tying on though when I know that the cane is well and truly soaked through. I will do some more tying on later this week.
Friday 18 May 2012
Summer concert
Tomorrow my orchestra has it's summer concert - not that it is particularly summery at the moment. This is our last concert before the summer break and we will start meeting again in September. The actual concert seems to have come round so quickly that I've not blogged anything about this program so far. So this is what we are playing:
Suite In E flat - Holst
Suite of Dances from Gloriana - Britten
The Merry Wives of Windsor - Nicolai
Little Suite for Orchestra - Arnold
Sea Pictures - Elgar (with guest soloist)
Crown Imperial - Walton
It is a very British program - presumably due to the Jubilee. It is also a program I am struggling to get excited about. There is nothing I particularly dislike....well, maybe the Walton...but there is also nothing that I particularly love either. There are no pieces that I am really looking forward to playing - which is a first for me. But sometimes it is like that, and many people in our orchestra really didn't enjoy the Russian pieces we played last time. I am sure the concert will be fun. The Elgar sounds very good with our solo singer - I have very little to play in that so I will enjoy listening to her! But I am also very much looking forward to finding out what we are playing next!
Suite In E flat - Holst
Suite of Dances from Gloriana - Britten
The Merry Wives of Windsor - Nicolai
Little Suite for Orchestra - Arnold
Sea Pictures - Elgar (with guest soloist)
Crown Imperial - Walton
It is a very British program - presumably due to the Jubilee. It is also a program I am struggling to get excited about. There is nothing I particularly dislike....well, maybe the Walton...but there is also nothing that I particularly love either. There are no pieces that I am really looking forward to playing - which is a first for me. But sometimes it is like that, and many people in our orchestra really didn't enjoy the Russian pieces we played last time. I am sure the concert will be fun. The Elgar sounds very good with our solo singer - I have very little to play in that so I will enjoy listening to her! But I am also very much looking forward to finding out what we are playing next!
Wednesday 16 May 2012
Taking on too much...
I thought I ought to write something as it has been a while
I went on holiday for a week, which was lovely, but meant a break in practising. Since then it has been a struggle getting back into it, mainly because work and life has been so busy. I have still been practising most days but it has often felt like a tick on the list of things to do.
I've also, possibly foolishly, have entered myself for ABRSM Grade 8 Piano this session. I haven't talked about piano here as it is something that usually bubbles along in the background. I play when I feel like it and I play at church occassionally. I don't have lessons but I work on things at my own pace, I don't feel guilty about not touching it for weeks at a time but will have times when I find I play a lot. Last year I decided I wanted to retake Grade 8 to see if I could pass it properly - to see if I could improve on my "scrape through by one mark due to being good at sight reading" effort when I was 15. My piano teacher at the time said that I shouldn't really have passed which has always rather a sore point. So, when I realised that I could actually play 3 pieces on the list, I thought I should maybe just get it out of the way. So far so good.
The problem is that now I feel I have to practise properly and regularly - which takes time and energy. While I enjoy the actual playing, I find that after practising one instrument the thought of having to start all over again with another instrument makes my heart sink. It is all just a bit too much.
However I know that it is a temporary problem and the end is in sight - the exam will be possibly as soon as 1 month away and then I can go back to focussing on my oboe exlusively. I will also have finally learnt the lesson that working full time and trying to learn 2 instruments at this level really is not possible for me. I need to make my choice and stick with it.
I went on holiday for a week, which was lovely, but meant a break in practising. Since then it has been a struggle getting back into it, mainly because work and life has been so busy. I have still been practising most days but it has often felt like a tick on the list of things to do.
I've also, possibly foolishly, have entered myself for ABRSM Grade 8 Piano this session. I haven't talked about piano here as it is something that usually bubbles along in the background. I play when I feel like it and I play at church occassionally. I don't have lessons but I work on things at my own pace, I don't feel guilty about not touching it for weeks at a time but will have times when I find I play a lot. Last year I decided I wanted to retake Grade 8 to see if I could pass it properly - to see if I could improve on my "scrape through by one mark due to being good at sight reading" effort when I was 15. My piano teacher at the time said that I shouldn't really have passed which has always rather a sore point. So, when I realised that I could actually play 3 pieces on the list, I thought I should maybe just get it out of the way. So far so good.
The problem is that now I feel I have to practise properly and regularly - which takes time and energy. While I enjoy the actual playing, I find that after practising one instrument the thought of having to start all over again with another instrument makes my heart sink. It is all just a bit too much.
However I know that it is a temporary problem and the end is in sight - the exam will be possibly as soon as 1 month away and then I can go back to focussing on my oboe exlusively. I will also have finally learnt the lesson that working full time and trying to learn 2 instruments at this level really is not possible for me. I need to make my choice and stick with it.
Friday 27 April 2012
Nearly back to normal...
I had a great lesson last night. The Luft studies are definitely improving my technique which is sounding much less clunky, I need to work on maintaining tuning through out though. It was very obvious that my support was going when I was running out of air leading to a drop in pitch - very slight but still noticeable. This also happened when I took a breath too quickly and didn't quite reset everything. I need to practice playing through more while focussing on maintaining my tuning.
We also did some work on articulation - I have some exercises to do with scales and metronome to clean up and speed up my tongueing. They mainly revolve around repeating each note with different rhythms with the metronome and trying to push it up. This is definitely a weakness and should help sort out some of the raggedy areas in the Mozart Quartet.
Tomorrow we are going to London and I have a visit to the UK oboists Mecca, more commonly known as Howarths of London. I have a long list of reed making supplies that I would like to buy, my teacher also suggested that I pick up the Hindemith Sonata. I'm looking forward to having a good browse.
I then, sadly, have an oboe-less week as we are going on holiday. After that things are definitely going back to some sort of normality, well maybe.
We also did some work on articulation - I have some exercises to do with scales and metronome to clean up and speed up my tongueing. They mainly revolve around repeating each note with different rhythms with the metronome and trying to push it up. This is definitely a weakness and should help sort out some of the raggedy areas in the Mozart Quartet.
Tomorrow we are going to London and I have a visit to the UK oboists Mecca, more commonly known as Howarths of London. I have a long list of reed making supplies that I would like to buy, my teacher also suggested that I pick up the Hindemith Sonata. I'm looking forward to having a good browse.
I then, sadly, have an oboe-less week as we are going on holiday. After that things are definitely going back to some sort of normality, well maybe.
Thursday 26 April 2012
New term
It still surprises me how much the school calendar dictates the ebb and flow of my life - even though I have no real connection to the education system anymore. The Easter holiday's are over and term has begun again. I didn't particularly have any time off work - bar the Bank holidays but it did affect oboe lessons and to an extent practice. When routines are disrupted, practice doesn't escape the effect. But now it's a new term. My first lesson was last week and it wasn't particularly good, I was struggling with a new reed and had had a long day at work. Hopefully can start again this week....continuing with the Luft studies and Telemann and Mozart. It would lovely to have something new to work on.
The Rite of Spring performance was also last week - with practice on Monday, Friday and Saturday afternoon followed by concert on Saturday evening it seemed to dominate the whole week. I quite enjoyed it in the end, I managed to follow the parts and be familiar enough with the music to know when to come in pretty reliably. The performance was OK - some bits were a bit ropey but there were also some good bits, we started together, we finished together and the general pauses were generally silent. It was certainly a good experience for me and I learned a lot about orchestral playing. I am quite glad to get it out of the way though - now to look toward the May concert and Orchestral playday in June.
The Rite of Spring performance was also last week - with practice on Monday, Friday and Saturday afternoon followed by concert on Saturday evening it seemed to dominate the whole week. I quite enjoyed it in the end, I managed to follow the parts and be familiar enough with the music to know when to come in pretty reliably. The performance was OK - some bits were a bit ropey but there were also some good bits, we started together, we finished together and the general pauses were generally silent. It was certainly a good experience for me and I learned a lot about orchestral playing. I am quite glad to get it out of the way though - now to look toward the May concert and Orchestral playday in June.
Friday 13 April 2012
Learning to scrape...
..it's time to write something about reeds, or at least about learning how to make reeds. I did have a bit of a dabble with this on my own, from a book last year. I didn't do very well and didn't make anything that could make a noise. In my last lesson before Easter my teacher started some reedmaking with me. We focussed mainly on tying on but got on to the principles of scraping them. She has a profiler so was able to start off a couple for me at least. I've been doing a bit more over Easter. One of the reeds she profiled I managed to get to the point of playing! My first ever reed which actually plays in the instrumnet and even plays in tune! But that was obviously a fluke. I have tied a on a few more and got most of them to the point of making a sound - without the instrument but they don't play. A couple do seem to play if I apply some lateral pressure at the sides...this seems to be a recurring fault so something to ask about at my next lesson. It has been said that you need to make, or attempt to make, at least 1000 reeds before you even begin to feel like you know what you are doing so this is the first step on a long journey. So 15 down, 985 to go.
Tuesday 3 April 2012
1-2, 1-2-3, 1-2,1-2,1-2-3, 1-2-3-4
I had another Rite of Spring rehearsal last night. I think it's starting to click a bit. One of the more experienced players was claiming it was easy, "you just need to count." Just? Well maybe. I can nearly manage the counting as long as I don't have to play any notes at the same time.
It did make me realise that most of the time I don't count - I rely on feeling the pulse and the rhythm often just slots in quite easily. I rarely have to think about it very consciously except when counting rest bars and even then I find I a physical action such as putting fingers on my instrument more reliable than counting in my head. Unfortunately that isn't good enough for this. I need to actually count. In my head. All the time. And play at the same time. It was beginning to get there at the end, it felt less like guesswork and following the person next to me and more knowing when I should play. It's getting there.
It did make me realise that most of the time I don't count - I rely on feeling the pulse and the rhythm often just slots in quite easily. I rarely have to think about it very consciously except when counting rest bars and even then I find I a physical action such as putting fingers on my instrument more reliable than counting in my head. Unfortunately that isn't good enough for this. I need to actually count. In my head. All the time. And play at the same time. It was beginning to get there at the end, it felt less like guesswork and following the person next to me and more knowing when I should play. It's getting there.
Monday 2 April 2012
Easter break
Last Wednesday was my last lesson before Easter. I can understand why my teacher has to work to school terms - she has a busy schedule and really needs the break. But it can occassionally be frustrating for me, as my life and work definitely doesn't revolve around school times. The worst is the summer - 6 weeks of no lessons and usually no time off work. Of course it also means that when I want to take my own holidays (definitely not in school holidays) I am then missing yet another lesson. Ho hum.
Having said that, I am quite pleased to have a break this Easter. It is quite nice to have less pressure to do "proper practice" I have fewer things to work through which means that I now have time to do some focussed practice on Rite of Spring and, maybe more importantly, just play through pieces that I've learned but moved on from. To play music for pure enjoyment, without worrying about stopping to sort out that awkward bit. I've been picking a piece a day to go through, initially for fun but it definitely has some other benefits. It's brought home how much we have actually covered - some of which I had forgotten about! I love coming across those bits that were really tricky, or clunky or difficult and realise that I can now play them quite easily - well some of them anyway. Playing pieces all the way through is also playing dividends on my stamina and breathing. All good...I think I need to think about using the Summer break in a similar way - and maybe finding some people to play Chamber music with. It's good to have a break from constant practising without reducing my playing so that I can start in the new term more refreshed.
Having said that, I am quite pleased to have a break this Easter. It is quite nice to have less pressure to do "proper practice" I have fewer things to work through which means that I now have time to do some focussed practice on Rite of Spring and, maybe more importantly, just play through pieces that I've learned but moved on from. To play music for pure enjoyment, without worrying about stopping to sort out that awkward bit. I've been picking a piece a day to go through, initially for fun but it definitely has some other benefits. It's brought home how much we have actually covered - some of which I had forgotten about! I love coming across those bits that were really tricky, or clunky or difficult and realise that I can now play them quite easily - well some of them anyway. Playing pieces all the way through is also playing dividends on my stamina and breathing. All good...I think I need to think about using the Summer break in a similar way - and maybe finding some people to play Chamber music with. It's good to have a break from constant practising without reducing my playing so that I can start in the new term more refreshed.
Tuesday 27 March 2012
..two steps back
Hvaing written about how well things were going it was probably inevitable that it would all go a bit pear shaped. I have been unwell for the last two days and not been able to play - not too ill to go to work but by the evening it hurts too much to breath normally to even contemplate playing. I feel like I've lost all momentum. I am meant to be going to orchestra tonight - hopefully I will be well enough and will have enough residual stamina to get through . It could be a hard evening.
Thursday 22 March 2012
the joys of Spring
I haven't written about lessons for a couple of weeks but they have still been happening and have been particularly good too.
I don't know why the last couple of lessons have left me with a spring in my step but I think it maybe a combination of things:
1. IT'S SPRING! More importantly my lesson now starts and ends in the light, last night I even got home before it was dark. This shouldn't really make a difference but it does. Just having blossom on the trees lifts me quite a bit and makes everything seem better.
2. No nerves in my lesson - ever since I blogged about being nervous and not being able to play properly in my lessons the problem seems to have gone away! My lesson is 10 minutes earlier than it used to be, which means I tend to arrive from work and go straight in rather than sitting for 10 minutes in my car waiting to go in - don't know if that has helped or whether it is due to seeing my teacher more "outside lessons" at orchestra....either way it is good.
3. I think I've had a step up in my playing recently. These are magical things that seem to occur periodically in instrument learning, for me at least. I seem to spend months practising and grappling with certain aspects without apparently getting anywhere - and then somehow my brain and fingers suddenly sort it all out and everything sounds a bit better for no apparent reason. I feel like I've had one of those step forwards recently - my vibrato is starting to come out a bit more naturally and my tone is starting to ring more truly and clearly, dynamic range is coming on and my fingers are becoming more fluent. Still a long way to go of course - especially on breathing and stamina, but I feel like progress is being made. This may all be illusory of course and just down to the fact that.....
4. I have a really good reed at the moment!
Yesterday's lesson was spent mainly on the Mozart Quartet first movement, pulling it pieces phrase by phrase trying to get the note endings right, staccato lengths, phrasing in place. Mozart is all about the details.
Next week we are going to start on reed making. I'm quite excited.
I don't know why the last couple of lessons have left me with a spring in my step but I think it maybe a combination of things:
1. IT'S SPRING! More importantly my lesson now starts and ends in the light, last night I even got home before it was dark. This shouldn't really make a difference but it does. Just having blossom on the trees lifts me quite a bit and makes everything seem better.
2. No nerves in my lesson - ever since I blogged about being nervous and not being able to play properly in my lessons the problem seems to have gone away! My lesson is 10 minutes earlier than it used to be, which means I tend to arrive from work and go straight in rather than sitting for 10 minutes in my car waiting to go in - don't know if that has helped or whether it is due to seeing my teacher more "outside lessons" at orchestra....either way it is good.
3. I think I've had a step up in my playing recently. These are magical things that seem to occur periodically in instrument learning, for me at least. I seem to spend months practising and grappling with certain aspects without apparently getting anywhere - and then somehow my brain and fingers suddenly sort it all out and everything sounds a bit better for no apparent reason. I feel like I've had one of those step forwards recently - my vibrato is starting to come out a bit more naturally and my tone is starting to ring more truly and clearly, dynamic range is coming on and my fingers are becoming more fluent. Still a long way to go of course - especially on breathing and stamina, but I feel like progress is being made. This may all be illusory of course and just down to the fact that.....
4. I have a really good reed at the moment!
Yesterday's lesson was spent mainly on the Mozart Quartet first movement, pulling it pieces phrase by phrase trying to get the note endings right, staccato lengths, phrasing in place. Mozart is all about the details.
Next week we are going to start on reed making. I'm quite excited.
Monday 19 March 2012
A night of Russian Music
Saturday was our orchestra concert, our programme was:
Borodin - Steppes of Central Asia
Borodin - Petite Suite
Glinka - Ruslan and Ludmilla
~ interval ~
Mussorgsky - Gopak
Mussorgsky - Night on Bare Mountain
Tchaikovsy - excerpts from Sleeping Beauty
It generally went a lot better than I expected it to. The afternoon rehearsal was really rather ropey in parts and I was a bit worried that it would all fall to pieces a bit. I should have known that my fear was unfounded. There were some challenging moments on the night, a few entries in the Glinka were not quite where they should be, we were not quite together for parts of Bare Mountain. But, overall, I think it was the best we had ever played the programme as a whole and, from my perspective at least, there were a few spine tingling moments that made me (once again) proud to be part of this orchestra. The shimmering violins in the Steppes of Central Asia sounded just magical, our 80+ year old Cor player who has been struggling with the solo part really pulled it out of the bag on the night and really did herself, and us, proud. The sound of the full orchestra really going for it at the beginning of the Glinka made my heart sing. In Bare mountain we all nailed the sudden stop before it begins winding up with the bassoon chromatic scale....you could have heard a pin drop. The solos at the end of the piece with flute and clarinet were just beautifully played. I really enjoyed my duet with the flute in the Sleeping Beauty waltz and I managed to get the scale right in the middle of it.
I hope that the audience enjoyed it as much as we did. We had a modest but respectable number of people there. I do wonder sometimes if amateur orchestras at our level are actually more fun to be in than to listen to - certainly our audience could have heard better performances elsewhere. But I think an amateur concert is about more than just playing music.
I loved this article about amateur orchestras - which can be summed up by the following quote:
“A typical effort will be littered with a continuum of faults. The problem is that audiences, weaned on the synthetic perfection of commercial recordings, tend to be unthinkingly intolerant of faults in even live professional performances, let alone amateur ones. I argue (long and hard) that audiences must tailor their expectations, just as do those who tolerate the sound of ancient recordings, to 'listen through' the surface imperfections to the music that lies beneath. The tolerant are richly rewarded. Enthusiastic amateurs, perpetually striving against their limitations, restore to Music what is lost to the prosaic professional: the elements of risk and danger; the familiar becomes new, challenging, exciting!”
On Saturday we certainly stepped out of our comfort zone, it was risky for us but exhilerating to feel like we succeeded in pulling it off. Now on to the next one, continuing to strive against our limitiations...
Borodin - Steppes of Central Asia
Borodin - Petite Suite
Glinka - Ruslan and Ludmilla
~ interval ~
Mussorgsky - Gopak
Mussorgsky - Night on Bare Mountain
Tchaikovsy - excerpts from Sleeping Beauty
It generally went a lot better than I expected it to. The afternoon rehearsal was really rather ropey in parts and I was a bit worried that it would all fall to pieces a bit. I should have known that my fear was unfounded. There were some challenging moments on the night, a few entries in the Glinka were not quite where they should be, we were not quite together for parts of Bare Mountain. But, overall, I think it was the best we had ever played the programme as a whole and, from my perspective at least, there were a few spine tingling moments that made me (once again) proud to be part of this orchestra. The shimmering violins in the Steppes of Central Asia sounded just magical, our 80+ year old Cor player who has been struggling with the solo part really pulled it out of the bag on the night and really did herself, and us, proud. The sound of the full orchestra really going for it at the beginning of the Glinka made my heart sing. In Bare mountain we all nailed the sudden stop before it begins winding up with the bassoon chromatic scale....you could have heard a pin drop. The solos at the end of the piece with flute and clarinet were just beautifully played. I really enjoyed my duet with the flute in the Sleeping Beauty waltz and I managed to get the scale right in the middle of it.
I hope that the audience enjoyed it as much as we did. We had a modest but respectable number of people there. I do wonder sometimes if amateur orchestras at our level are actually more fun to be in than to listen to - certainly our audience could have heard better performances elsewhere. But I think an amateur concert is about more than just playing music.
I loved this article about amateur orchestras - which can be summed up by the following quote:
“A typical effort will be littered with a continuum of faults. The problem is that audiences, weaned on the synthetic perfection of commercial recordings, tend to be unthinkingly intolerant of faults in even live professional performances, let alone amateur ones. I argue (long and hard) that audiences must tailor their expectations, just as do those who tolerate the sound of ancient recordings, to 'listen through' the surface imperfections to the music that lies beneath. The tolerant are richly rewarded. Enthusiastic amateurs, perpetually striving against their limitations, restore to Music what is lost to the prosaic professional: the elements of risk and danger; the familiar becomes new, challenging, exciting!”
On Saturday we certainly stepped out of our comfort zone, it was risky for us but exhilerating to feel like we succeeded in pulling it off. Now on to the next one, continuing to strive against our limitiations...
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