During my school days it was taken for granted that you would work through your graded exams on whichever instruments you played. I never remember any pressure to do exams and I was always keen to start thinking about the next one as soon as I'd finished the previous one. I even did grade 8 theory just for fun and have the anorak certificate to prove it! There was some competition with friends and while it felt good to get a higher mark than your rivals there was usually lots of support for each other no matter what the outcome. I also had the added enticement of a cash reward as Mum offered a set amount for passing, which was increased if the mark reached a merit or distinction. As well as being an incentive to practise (although I don't think I ever told her I'd have practised just as hard without the cash bonus) it was an effective way to teach your child about the merits of working for a living. Mum has offered to do the same thing this time so I have had an initial donation from her and will get another if I get a good mark. Today's practise session was dedicated to her and she'll be pleased to know it featured no bad language!
After a full day of teaching in school I warmed up with arpeggio patterns, then tackled Azaleas. After the first run through I did knuckle down and looked at a couple of bars that were a bit naff. The third finger is slipping especially where the stretches are larger so I have had to make sure my hand position is really secure beforehand then letting the third finger spring back into my palm. Any sloppiness at this point and the other two notes sound too strong. Playing each bar on its own is one thing but getting the fingers in place immediately after playing the previous bar is a different issue so I did a bit of two bar practise, repeating the move to the strings as well as from them. There are some dynamics in this piece so I did the two bars that have a crescendo (gradually get louder) aiming to produce each note just a little louder than the previous note. This, again, is easier said than done as the strength of each finger is inconsistent. You could call my attempt a crescendo but the sudden leap from quiet to loud somewhere in the middle of the phrase is not particularly gradual. 20 minutes achieved and that's probably it for today as I've had some other work to do and have an orchestra rehearsal on clarinet this evening. How does this sound… sight-read a new piece, possibly including some transposing, in front of a demanding conductor, tune and blend with 7 other woodwinds and a couple of horns, and play some difficult solo passages in front of 40-odd other musicians? As Debussy might have once said, "C’est du gâteau!"
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