Where has this term gone? The weeks have flown by. It has been a busy term. I have worked hard on some challenging repertoire and my playing has moved forward.
Pieces for this term:
Arnold - Sonatina (all 3 movements)
Vivaldi - Sonata in C minor (all 4 movements)
Bougeouis - Fantasy Pieces for oboe (first 5, now working on number 6)
Berkeley - 3 moods (currently working on number 1)
Bellini - Concerto in Eb (have only just started this)
Most of these pieces have been challenging from both a "number of notes" and a stamina perspective. I've put a large chunk of my practice towards exercising my fingers and building exercises based around the tricky bars in these pieces. This was especially true of the final Arnold movement (very fast scales), the final movement of the Vivaldi and the Berkeley piece. I've had to change my practice routine as a result and have pretty much dropped all of the "technical exercises" I was doing. I now do some scales to warm up and move straight into my studies and pices. I wouldn't have time to get through everything otherwise.
The Arnold piece is now resting - I won't say finished as it does require more work, but I think I've taken it as far as I am capable of doing for now. I will come back to it later. The Vivaldi will soon be put to one side too. I spent weeks battling with the final movement of this, without feeling like I was getting there but it then seemed to come together eventually. I am loving the Berkeley which is challenging in both notes and interpretation. The Bellini feels like a bit of light relief and is lovely.
Studies - I have finished working through the 48 Ferling studies. My teacher has taken me through these quickly so that I get the notes under my fingers She has pointed out that these are studies to keep going back to all the time. I need to work out the best way to do this.
My new study book is the Loyon 32 Etudes and I have the first one to do over Easter. It is fiendish - perpetual semi quavers triplets. There are too many notes and accidentals per bar, I have to work through it slowly and systematically to make sure I am playing the right notes. I am slowly getting there. It is also in quite small print, so today I gave in and made an enlarged copy, It helped more than I thought it would. It will be interesting to see how I can play the Arnold once I've worked through all of these!
Summer term starts again a week on Monday!
Showing posts with label Arnold. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Arnold. Show all posts
Tuesday, 2 April 2013
Tuesday, 8 January 2013
New things to think about
The holidays are over, practising has settled back into a routine and I had my first lesson of 2013 last night. I have some new pieces to look at and some new things to think about imrpoving.
This week I have a new Ferling study to look at - no 42. The keys get worse as the book progresses and this one has lots of flats to get my head around. I am also starting the Derek Bourgeouis Fantasy Pieces. I don't know if these are technically studies or just unaccompanied pieces but I don't suppose it really matters. I haven't had chance to try the first one out yet but the performance notes indicate that a very smooth legato is required and carefully graded dynamics so I think it could be quite tricky.
We spent most of last night's lesson on the Arnold Sonatina. I need to make the first movement more quirky and spirited. Make sure that I don't slow down through the cantabile sections - or at least make sure that I pick the speed up again when required. We also looked at the beginning of the second movment which will challenge my tone and stamina. This is a great piece for working on vibrato and thinking about how to vary the speed of vibrato to add interest and colour.
I still need to work on the Vivaldi though we didn't look at that last night.
Key points to think about over the next few weeks -
- keeping the quality of the tone consistent throughout register. This was picked up in my previous Ferling slow study where my top A's tended to be more pronounced than the notes around them and disrupted the line of the phrase.
- I need to breath more quietly and also make sure I don't nod my head forward when I breath in. I wasn't aware that I was doing this so need to do more work in front of the mirror (or maybe get round to filming myself again) to train myself out of this.
Orchestra practice starts up again tonight and I have an all day Shostokovich 4 rehearsal on Sunday so it is shaping up to be a busy week!
This week I have a new Ferling study to look at - no 42. The keys get worse as the book progresses and this one has lots of flats to get my head around. I am also starting the Derek Bourgeouis Fantasy Pieces. I don't know if these are technically studies or just unaccompanied pieces but I don't suppose it really matters. I haven't had chance to try the first one out yet but the performance notes indicate that a very smooth legato is required and carefully graded dynamics so I think it could be quite tricky.
We spent most of last night's lesson on the Arnold Sonatina. I need to make the first movement more quirky and spirited. Make sure that I don't slow down through the cantabile sections - or at least make sure that I pick the speed up again when required. We also looked at the beginning of the second movment which will challenge my tone and stamina. This is a great piece for working on vibrato and thinking about how to vary the speed of vibrato to add interest and colour.
I still need to work on the Vivaldi though we didn't look at that last night.
Key points to think about over the next few weeks -
- keeping the quality of the tone consistent throughout register. This was picked up in my previous Ferling slow study where my top A's tended to be more pronounced than the notes around them and disrupted the line of the phrase.
- I need to breath more quietly and also make sure I don't nod my head forward when I breath in. I wasn't aware that I was doing this so need to do more work in front of the mirror (or maybe get round to filming myself again) to train myself out of this.
Orchestra practice starts up again tonight and I have an all day Shostokovich 4 rehearsal on Sunday so it is shaping up to be a busy week!
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.
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!
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