Category: practice
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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…
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Ligeti Piano Concerto, Practice Notes to Self
The following are suggestions for practice in preparation for the flute and piccolo passages of (my favorite ensemble piece!) the Ligeti Piano Concerto. They are my own ideas, not authentic or especially original – except for one remark on the piccolo solo in the second movement that Ligeti gave me during the recording session with…