Category: practice
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Preparation – again
For me there are still three levels to gain once you have practiced a piece. First, you can read it through Second, you can actually play it Third, you can start to make music with it Next week I will play the premiere of Rebecca Saunder’s Bite which is a 15+ minute piece for bass flute…
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Seasons, and a Practice Idea
I have been thinking about practicing freely and vacation time from the flute. In the past, I have put the flute down for long periods of time (8 weeks was my longest break, when I was juggling a big decision of where to settle down). However, despite my long vacation time this year I realized…
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Berio Sequenza, some musings and links
Several days until I record the Berio Sequenza no. 1. This winter break has been very stressful. I was with my family in St. Petersburg. Family can be stressful, my son is at a difficult age, I myself am at a difficult age. Russia is stressful. It was so cold that it has taken my skin…
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No More Tears – Breath as a Leit Motif
For the past year, my colleagues and I have been working with a wonderful vocal coach, Martin Lindsay. His sessions are structured in a way that got me thinking. We start with light stretching and breathing exercises, just enough to activate the abdominal muscles and diaphragm. I won’t go into detail about what these exercises…
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Composing Articulation for Winds – Tell Me What To Say
This is an imaginary passage I have composed that has annoying and confusing articulation marks. If you are not a wind player, the fact that this is annoying may puzzle you. It’s like this: as a wind player, from the very beginning you receive strict instructions on the use of the tongue. If there is…
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Wish List
Things I wish I had spent more time on as a student: Sight reading Scales in intervals of a sixth – and sevenths and ninths! There are too many of those intervals flying around in contemporary music. Improving my writing skills Yoga or sports Learning acoustics. I wasted a lot of time trying to blow,…
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Looking Inward
Here are some notes from a tabla workshop I attended, given by Samir Chatterjee. Like my former teacher, Chatterjee is one of the few Indian musicians who has a clear understanding of the Western education system and is able to teach non-Indians by verbal communication, i.e., someone who can explain his music in a way…
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Harmonic Exercises, with Articulation too!
When playing through the harmonic series, the second overtone (a twelth above the fundamental) is a great check point. When students begin learning harmonics, this one often proves elusive because of the tendency to cover too much of the embouchure hole. By rolling out a bit and blowing down, it usually speaks. The following exercise…