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.
Wednesday 31 October 2012
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.
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