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.
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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.
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