Friday 27 January 2012

Identifying the phrase

Lesson again on Wednesday and this time I played much better. I am not sure whether it is because I am back into the routine of lessons again, because I ended up being nearly late so I went straight in instead of sitting in the car for 5 minutes or whether just acknowledging it and trying to understand it has made it go away.  For now at least.  Either way I felt relaxed enough to be able to play as I normally play in my practice room. So I felt like it was a good lesson.

The Luft study had improved a lot.  An extra week of practice to make the notes more fluent while being able to focus more specifically on breathing and stamina really helped me put the whole thing together.  I need to remember that strategy of practising getting through a whole section - from breath to breath - and then putting 2/3/ sections togetehr at a time.  I'm moving onto the next one this week, so the challenge is to identify breathing points early in the process and stick to them

I am charging through the French Suite - the Passepied came together pretty well last week, the notes aren't so difficult.  There are couple of points of rhythm and phrasing to check, moving on to the fourth piece this week.  I had a play through last night, it is the shortest piece in the work and doesn't appear too complicated.   But don't really "get" it yet.  It feels like a random collection of notes at the moment, I need to make it feel like music, with phrases and direction.

We spent some time in the lesson on Telemann Fantastia No 6.  This is another "phrasing" challenge....it feels like a theme is emerging, which I don't think is co-incidental.  My teacher has set me a challenge to understand exactly where each note is in its phrase and which direction it is moving in.  It is new to me to think about this level of detail of interpretation, and I find it difficult and that it is good.  It has made me think about the piece in a different way.  I'll be working on this over the weekend.

There was no time to look at the Reizenstein in the lesson so I will keep on with it for another week.  Last week I focussed mainly on getting the finger twisting bits more fluent, and there is still plenty more to do on that.  However last night I went straight to the middle section which has long slow, legato, fluent phrases - almost quite myseterious.  I know I need to fix the rhythm,  it does changes from 6/8 to duplets to crotchets and in parts I am aware that I am just approximating what is written. Last night I didn't get beyond the first phrase though - tone, tuning, smoothness issues were leaping out at me too much.  So I focussed on trying to make it beautiful and tryig to maintain the quality of sound through the note changes.  Too often there is a dip, or even a break, the note goes flat at the end and the phrase ends rather abruptly.  I found it quite helpful to treat it as a technical exercise and focus on improving one thing at a time. It reminded me that these are things I should be thinking about when I do my scales at the beginning of my practice.  I think there was some improvement by the end...but still a long way to go.

Tuesday 24 January 2012

Mahler Symphony No 3 Part 3

It has taken me a few days to recover from Saturday.  I don't think I mentioned it earlier, but this was the biggest and most accomplished orchestra I've ever played with.  It was also the most difficult orchestral piece I've ever been part of.  The other oboists were far more competent than me, two of them are oboe teachers.  But despite this, they were very supportive and encouraging.  So, to summarise, it felt unlike anything I'd ever done before and I found it an amazing experience.  The sound from within the orchestra is different from being in the audience, you can pick up so many more of the intricacies, the interweaving of the parts.  By the time of the performance I had worked out which bits I needed to count and which I could just relax and listen to.  There were certainly some spine tingly moments for me, and the final chord really felt quite emotional.

In terms of my own playing, I think it was the best I'd managed the part, and I felt like I did OK.  It was good, and worth all the hard work.

Friday 20 January 2012

Mahler Symphony No 3 Part 2

Evening rehearsal tonight.  Very tiring, but I feel more confident about tomorrow now.  I am especially pleased that most of the time I knew where we are and when I had to come in.  Considering that at times I have over 100 bars rest - with time signatures of 3/4, 2/2, 4/4, 6/8 so bars maybe beaten in either 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 or even 8, not to mention pauses, rits and accels.. It's fair to say my head was spinning a bit by the end of it.  But still, I managed to come in most of the time, which I definitely wouldn't have been able to do 2 years ago. It's good to  see that improvement.

We went through the 1st, 3rd, 6th and 2nd movements tonight.  Too tired to write much about it but I am looking forward to tomorrow, I think it will sound very good indeed.




the joy of scales

I didn't get round to talking about scales and technical exercises last week so here goes.

I used to hate playing scales/ arpeggios when I was a child. I don't think I really saw the point and I just found them incredibly dull.  I have since seen the light. I know LOVE practising scales and find them a really useful tool for improving all aspects of my playing and developing a sense of key.  Aside from that I find them quite engrossing and really good way into the practising mentality.  It is almost like meditation, they fall under the fingers so easily that I don't really have to think about what note comes next, or the rhythm, I can focus full attention on the sound and the smoothness of the line.

I always start my practice with scales, before my grade 8 I had a routine which took me through all the scales I needed for the exam every 2 days, with all scales in all articulations every 6 dyas.  I feel slightly lost without the confines of an exam syllabus but also it gives a freedom to work different configurations and spend more time on other technical exercises. 

So what does my practice consist of now:

SCALES
Run through one set of scales - either major, harmonic minors or melodic minors.  I am trying to move away from 2 octave scales and play from topic up to either top F#/G, down to bottom B/Bb and then back to tonic.  So far doing this for majors only and will then move on to minors.

One set of arpeggios - major, minor, dom 7ths, dim 7ths. Sometimes will play these as broken arpeggios or broken chords.

Chromatic scale: full range of instrument.

Scale of the day : this week is F major.  I do an exercise based on doing 5 note runs up and down repeated 3 times, then moving up to the next note and repeating.  This helps iron out the tricky bits that it is easy to skate over.

I am also trying to learn all my major scales in thirds, I'm just focussing on the first octave at the moment so spending the week getting F in my head.

TECHNICAL EXERCISES
These use the scale of the week as a basis for focussing specific aspects:

Tone: I do a slow scale thinking about thh tone of each note and trying to make as beautiful as possible before moving on to next note.  Only doing 1 octave of this at the moment as otherwise it takes too long.  I also do octaves at the end on the tonic to try and match the tone and tuning. I also watch very closely in the mirror at my embouchure.  I need to ensure that I keep it secure when I change notes as I have a tendency to have a little "wobble", I am trying to build more stability.

Dynamics: tone exercises are followed by more long notes, this time with dynamics, starting softly building to a crescendo on 9th beat and then decrescendo to ppp by the 16th beat.  The aim is to widen my dynamic range and open up my sound, as well as being able to control smooth changes in volume.

Vibrato: I use the metronome set between 60-72bpm and repeat the scales with 2,3 and 4 pulses on each note.  

Articulation: scales with repeated notes to get my articulation going, this is something I really need to work on.  I also sometimes repeat the first scale exercise with tongued notes or mixed articulation.

That seems to have taken longer to type than it does to do!  It usually takes me about 20 minutes to get through that lot.  Though I think I could easily spend about an hour if I had the time....

STUDIES AND PIECES
Luft study is coming on, focussed a lot more on where to breath, practising the sections between breaths and then linking them together in twos. I spent too much time on the Telemann which is GORGEOUS and also trying to sort out the basics of the Richardson piece (notes, rhythm, articulation).

Total time 75 mins,I would have played longer but my embouchure was not having it.

Orchestra rehearsal tonight and tomorrow afternoon for Mahler concert tomorrow evening.

Thursday 19 January 2012

remembering to breathe

Lesson last night went well though I was still very aware of tension hindering my playing.  I think I relax as the lesson goes on, but I struggled playing my Luft study as my fingers wouldn't move quickly enough and it felt like an effort to get through.  I also ended up not breathing in the right places, or forgetting to breathe,then  find my fingers stop moving and so I collapse in a bit of a heap.  I think probably the key to the whole thing is getting my breathing and support right.   I have another week on this study, which is good as I think there is still quite a bit to do.

We looked at Richardson French Suite No 2 - the rhythm turned out to be more straight forward than I originally thought so this has gone pretty well this week. It needs a bit more attention to dynamics and I need to ensure that I don't play through the quaver rests.  I'll do the tidying up on my own and for next week I need to look at Number 3.

Reizenstein Concert Piece No 3 -  I need to make the notes more fluent and pick up more of the style.  Make it more quirky and energetic, make the middle section soud more drawn out.  It is in a fast 6/8 and teacher recommended counting some of it in 2 in a bar, some parts in 1 in a bar to try and contrast them, I don't know why that makes such a difference to how it sounds - but it really does.  I had a go at this piece when I got back last night and it feels like it is starting to click a bit.

Telemann Fantasias - we are starting with No 6 in D minor.

Wednesday 18 January 2012

why knowing your scales is a good thing

Regular orchestra practice again last night, our conductor is back from holiday too.  We are doing a selection of Russian music for our next concert.  It has had a mixed reception, some players really don't like it all, some are finding it a bit too difficult - personally I am one of the many who really love it.  I should probably admit that I am actually quite ignorant about classical music.  I didn't do music GCSE or Alevel and I don't really listen to a lot of classical being more of an "Indie Chick."  Generally I know a few standard things and I'm trying to educate myself on oboe repertoire but as far as orchestral music goes - I know the stuff that I've played.   So I've found it quite educational having a program of all Russian music to help give me a feel for the shared characteristics.

 Last night we were initially focussing on Borodin's Petite Suite.  We played one of the Mazurka's (3rd movement) which is fairly straight forward and had our first attempt at the Scherzo of the final movement.  This wasn't quite so straightfoward initially, I am not very good at sightreading large numbers of accidentals - especially when they include double sharps - but it came together in the end once we realised that they were all simple chromantics.  It was a good example of why knowing your scales is very useful. 

After the break we looked at parts of Tchaikowsky's Sleeping Beauty Suite.  It gave me some good articulation practice having to do repeated semi quavers for bars in 6/8.  There is a nice oboe solo bit in the last movement and it is good fun to play. Though I am finding it very difficult not to sing along to the main theme with the words from the Disney version.  So maybe it isn't just stuff I've played that I know - also pieces used in adverts and Disney films.
Lesson tonight.

Monday 16 January 2012

too tired...

Not a good practice session today, yesterday probably took more out of me than I thought, coupled with a long day at work and not practising till a bit later all combined to mean that I was far too tired to do anything constructive.  Some days are just like that.  I had a run through everything and then decided to leave it.  Tomorrow is another day.

Mahler Symphony no 3 part 1

Yesterday I had my first rehearsal with my teacher's orchestra.  We were rehearsing from 10:30 to 16:00 so I was worried my lip would collapse by the end of it.  In fact, most of my time was spent counting rests and then failing to come in at the right time or not being able to make my oboe work when I needed to come in, (that improved as the day went on and I settled down a bit) so I don't feel like I did very much playing at all!  It was an interesting experience though - it felt very different to my normal orchestra, and most of the focus was on getting details right rather than worrying about coming in at the right time, and playing the right notes.  The whole process felt very intense, efficient and quick moving.  The day seemed to fly by.  I think it will be OK on the night. There are a couple of bits I need to really practice this week as they went so much faster than I've been playing them but no exposed bits to worry about and for that I am very thankful, as it felt nerve wracking enough without.

Next rehearsal on Friday.




Friday 13 January 2012

Need to relax more...


Thursday's Practice Time: 75 minutes

Scales and technical exercises:  Ran through harmonic minors , minor arpeggios.  Scale for this week is E major.  I’ll talk more about this section tomorrow.

Study:  A new study so initially sight read through to get a feel for it and see where the difficulties lie.  Like the other Luft studies, stamina and working out where on earth to take a breath are the biggest issues.  I tend to collapse in a heap somewhere in the middle, usually due to not managing to breath out enough stale air.  There are some awkward fingering corners but there have been worse and it all seems managable.  I focussed today on sorting out the trills in the first few lines – making sure I knew which fingers should be trilling and practising them slowly.  There's also interesting section of semi quavers with accented but untongued notes at the start of each group of 4.  These require a push from the abs/ diaphragm to stress them.  Watching in the mirror I seemed to be making a lot of physical effort without hearing much difference in the sound which suggested that something was going a bit wrong.  A bit more experimentation suggested that although I was pushing with my abs something else was happening with my shoulders and throat which was resisting that push so it made no difference except to upset my embouchure.  Focus of rest of study practice was doing this section slowly and being very conscious about pushing from the right place and relaxing my arms and shoulders.  There was some improvement by end of the pratice but this needs more investigation as there is definitely something amiss here.  I suspect this same resistance problem is limiting my dynamics at the top end and also preventing me fully exhaling my stale air before taking a breath.

Richardson: This is a new piece so my main focus, again, was on working through the whole piece to identify the problem areas.  First impression is that I like it (always goos).  There are some awkward sections from a fingering point of view, I need to think about how to play it musically – where are the phrases as they are generally uneven and not always initially obvious.  However teh  first hurdle for me is a rhythmic one.  It switches between 9/8 and 6/8 sections, I think I need to become more familiar with the individual sections before working out how to transition between them properly,   so I’ll focus on sorting out the 9/8 bits initially

Reizenstein: Did some work on the initial section, will focus more on this tomorrow

Binge: Had a play through this, I need to remember to build my phrases more rather than rounding off every 2 bars.  This is also a good piece for practising vibrato.  Vibrato does seem to be a bit of a mystery although some work has been done to identify exactly which muscles produce it and how it is controlled. Diaphragmatic “bumps” are meant to help you discover it and allow it to emerge in practice you don’t really use this muscle to produce it eventually.  I can feel a more natural vibrato emerging but I think I am trying to fight  it either by tensing up to stop it – probably linked to the issue above, or by trying to control it too much and imposing another vibrato on top of it using my diaphragm.  I think it is one of those things that you need to not think about too much.   Need to relax more and let it happen.

Orchestra: Ran through tricky bits in the Mahler to finish off, though in reality I think the trickiest bit of all will be counting the rests and making sure I come in at the right time.  There are lots of changes of tempo and time signature while counting large numbers of bars.  I am playing this with another local orchestra.  They needed a third oboist for the piece, my teacher is their principal oboist and asked me if I could do it.  Full day rehearsal for this on Sunday so will write more after that.

Overall felt like a good practice with a number of issues identified to work on over the next week.

Wednesday 11 January 2012

Still nervous after all these years...

First oboe lesson since Christmas today.  I don't know why it is, but I still get slightly nervous playing  in music lessons and it is always the first lesson after a break that is the worst.  I don't remember it being like this when I was a child, and, to be honest, I had far more cause to be nervous then due to my tendency to wing it on the day rather than actually practice.  I know that I practice diligently now, I get on well with my teacher, she has never given me any reason to be nervous but I still find myself making stupid mistakes and playing as if I had never seen the instrument before.  Talking to other adult learners, this is not unusual, it is still frustrating though.  Having said all that, I still enjoyed my lesson - my vibrato is improving and I need to work on increasing my dynamic range.

Pieces to practice this week:
Luft Study No 7 (new study)
Richardson French Suite No 2 (new piece)
Reizenstein Concert Pieces No 3 (continued from last lesson)
Binge The Watermill (continued from last lesson still focussing on bringing out vibrato)

Music to buy: Telemann Fantasias

Tuesday 10 January 2012

It'll be alright on the night

Back to orchestra tonight.  I love being part of this orchestra.  There is something special about making music with other people.  This particular orchestra requires no auditions and has a wide range of abilities, backgrounds and ages.  Some people have been playing all their lives, some people took up their instrument as adults, others are music teachers playing on their main or a second (even third or fourth) instrument.  Somehow it manages to maintain an overwhelmingly supportive, encouraging  and friendly atmosphere which, sadly, isn't always the case with amateur (and indeed professional) music groups.  In summary, there are few places I'd rather spend my Tuesday nights. Every term we exclaim to ourselves how challenging the music is for the next concert, and wonder whether we will ever manage it.  But at every time we somehow pull it off on the night - and, hopefully, every time we get a little bit better.  I'm trusting that the same thing will somehow happen in March.



Monday 9 January 2012

First practice of the year

Good 45 minute practice today following nearly 2 weeks holiday.  My stamina and tone was better than expected and a number of things seem to have fallen into  place during the break.

I spent quite a bit of time on Luft Study no 6 - the hardest thing about these studies is stamina, and finding somewhere to breathe, and making it sound like music instead of an endurance test.  But it the notes feel a bit more secure now, and my brain seems to have sorted out the tricky section going up in thirds while I've been away.  Need a bit more work on making the final 2 notes sound a bit nicer, and less flat.

Rest of practice was playing through pieces for lesson on Wednesday and also had play through some sections of the oboe 3 part for Mahler Symphony no 3.  Again my brain seems to have sorted out some of the fiddly bits and I could manage to get through the section in 6 flats without tying my brain in knots.

I also did some vibrato practice.  This needs to be my main goal for this term.  I would really like to develop a vibrato which feels more natural and is more integrated into my tone.  It has definitely improved over the last couple of months - just need to keep going