I am having a fit of nerves. I listened to the practice CD today and rather than it helping me understand my place in the music better, it made me nervous about playing this material. And they are bringing in a trombone player from Anchorage to double on the second part, so in essence I am just holding the place during our early rehearsals. I am surprising myself with how nervous I am all of a sudden. Where is this coming from?
I have to remind myself that in the last 16 days I have missed 9 days of practice, with all of my travel. So I need to go easy on myself. Ouch! We are such fragile beings!
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Saturday, May 30, 2009
halfway through Porgy & Bess
My practice experiment worked great today. I actually broke it into 3 practice sessions, it being a Saturday. All three sessions were quite good, relaxed, I liked how I was playing, felt in tune with the music and exercises. I worked on Porgy and Bess and am quite looking forward to rehearsal (starts Tuesday). I'll just do my best. The music is very fun, very fun.
mix it up mix it up mix it up
Trying a slightly new tangent. I know it's better to practice twice a day than once. But I have a hard time doing it. Why? It's just plain hard to get home from work at lunch, practice, go back to work, then practice in the evening ... um, there's just a lot more to do in my life than practice trombone.
So, I have wondered, am I making it too hard? How about just warming up for my early practice? How about just putting 15 minutes in? How about capping it at 15 minutes, just warmup and practice activities, and then making my later practice the longer and more involved one where I work on my current material? This way I'll be getting the advantage of two practice sessions without wearing myself out trying to fit too much in, which is my usual tendency.
So, I just did a 15-minute warmup and worked on one exercise. I capped it at 15 and I intend to get back to it later. (This is the trickiest part, following up with the intent.)
I've read recently about drones, via the internet or CD, a 5-minute drone of one pitch to work with in improving your ear. There's a book/CD combo called Breakfast by David Schwarz that has these drones as well as scale and arpeggio exercises around them, that I'd like to try as an alternative warmup. Mixing it up. Keeping it interesting and productive. I want to get better.
So, I have wondered, am I making it too hard? How about just warming up for my early practice? How about just putting 15 minutes in? How about capping it at 15 minutes, just warmup and practice activities, and then making my later practice the longer and more involved one where I work on my current material? This way I'll be getting the advantage of two practice sessions without wearing myself out trying to fit too much in, which is my usual tendency.
So, I just did a 15-minute warmup and worked on one exercise. I capped it at 15 and I intend to get back to it later. (This is the trickiest part, following up with the intent.)
I've read recently about drones, via the internet or CD, a 5-minute drone of one pitch to work with in improving your ear. There's a book/CD combo called Breakfast by David Schwarz that has these drones as well as scale and arpeggio exercises around them, that I'd like to try as an alternative warmup. Mixing it up. Keeping it interesting and productive. I want to get better.
Monday, May 25, 2009
I came into my practice with strong intent again today, and it was a good practice. I made it all the way through Showboat. This is going to be a fun concert.
About 35 minutes in, my lips were getting tired so I took a break - packed for my trip to Anchorage. I need to do that more. One reason I shy away from that practice is that when I take a break I tend to get distracted - someone calls or something comes up - and then I don't get back to my practice. But I play so much better when I take breaks, as my mouth stays in shape and can handle the work.
Now I'll be gone for three days and once again I am leaving my horn behind. It's okay. I am on a good roll with playing now and the break will be all right.
About 35 minutes in, my lips were getting tired so I took a break - packed for my trip to Anchorage. I need to do that more. One reason I shy away from that practice is that when I take a break I tend to get distracted - someone calls or something comes up - and then I don't get back to my practice. But I play so much better when I take breaks, as my mouth stays in shape and can handle the work.
Now I'll be gone for three days and once again I am leaving my horn behind. It's okay. I am on a good roll with playing now and the break will be all right.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
4 hours
I sorted the 4th of July parade music out into folders today. It took me four hours! But boy, I am glad I did it. I learned - how much time it takes to sort through sheet music (obviously, a lot), the music order for band music (I think I have that nailed now), how many kinds of clarinets there are! (E flat, B flat, bass, something else that I can't remember - can't they just be like trombones and be simple?), all the different percussion parts (no wonder those guys are running around all the time).
I have to say that it gave me great respect for all the volunteers, music teachers, conductors, music librarians who painstakingly parse music out into separate folders, and then even more painstakingly reassemble the music after the concerts are done. You'd think I might have been a little resentful, spending 4 hours on a precious day off carefully sorting out this music, but I was not at all. It just worked in my day, and just seemed like the perfect thing to do. Plus, like I say, it was a pretty amazing insight into how this works. Just imagine for every concert you see, how much effort goes into putting the music together.
Ok, my practice today. I had a mental map of my goals/thoughts/memories from yesterday's practice, and today's was a good and productive practice. I could so see the progress I had made on the material I worked on yesterday. I worked on Show Boat for the June concert, and I love how I can hear the pieces of that music coming out as I am playing it. My goal was to get all the way through a piece for the concert each day, and I didn't do that today or yesterday - so I need to work on that earlier in my practice rather than exercises.
Maybe the best part is how thoroughly and thoughtfully and listeningly I am doing my warmup. On my way up the street from my meditation this morning, I stopped and visited with Jim and Salty a bit. We were talking about practice and I described what Jack had told me from the brass class, about imagining the music "up here" at the top of your head as you then play it through your lips - you hear the music you envision and then you play to that. Jim told me about a lesson about scales, and making the scales beautiful, about playing the scales musically. I did that in my warmup today. I played my notes in my head before I played, and I played them beautifully in my head. Then pretty nicely in the real world, too.
I think practice is like a lot of things. If there is a lot of intention behind it, there is much more that comes out of it. If you just jump into it, you get what you prepared for.
I have to say that it gave me great respect for all the volunteers, music teachers, conductors, music librarians who painstakingly parse music out into separate folders, and then even more painstakingly reassemble the music after the concerts are done. You'd think I might have been a little resentful, spending 4 hours on a precious day off carefully sorting out this music, but I was not at all. It just worked in my day, and just seemed like the perfect thing to do. Plus, like I say, it was a pretty amazing insight into how this works. Just imagine for every concert you see, how much effort goes into putting the music together.
Ok, my practice today. I had a mental map of my goals/thoughts/memories from yesterday's practice, and today's was a good and productive practice. I could so see the progress I had made on the material I worked on yesterday. I worked on Show Boat for the June concert, and I love how I can hear the pieces of that music coming out as I am playing it. My goal was to get all the way through a piece for the concert each day, and I didn't do that today or yesterday - so I need to work on that earlier in my practice rather than exercises.
Maybe the best part is how thoroughly and thoughtfully and listeningly I am doing my warmup. On my way up the street from my meditation this morning, I stopped and visited with Jim and Salty a bit. We were talking about practice and I described what Jack had told me from the brass class, about imagining the music "up here" at the top of your head as you then play it through your lips - you hear the music you envision and then you play to that. Jim told me about a lesson about scales, and making the scales beautiful, about playing the scales musically. I did that in my warmup today. I played my notes in my head before I played, and I played them beautifully in my head. Then pretty nicely in the real world, too.
I think practice is like a lot of things. If there is a lot of intention behind it, there is much more that comes out of it. If you just jump into it, you get what you prepared for.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
And after the whining ...
I had a great practice. Almost an hour, very focused, really listening to myself, really thinking about what I was playing.
You know, I played this morning with the Concert Band at Community Day on Campus (great band music but cold out there). Jack says that if I can get in two practices a day, that is much better than one. I wonder if playing this morning kicked up my afternoon practice. I've read about a soft mute that I wonder if I should get, so I can do something like a 15-minute warmup in the morning. With my meditation schedule already, that'll push me to getting up at 5:00 am - am I a nut?
You know, I played this morning with the Concert Band at Community Day on Campus (great band music but cold out there). Jack says that if I can get in two practices a day, that is much better than one. I wonder if playing this morning kicked up my afternoon practice. I've read about a soft mute that I wonder if I should get, so I can do something like a 15-minute warmup in the morning. With my meditation schedule already, that'll push me to getting up at 5:00 am - am I a nut?
and back to intent
My lesson on Thursday was a little discouraging, actually. Not that Jack was discouraging, at all; no, he was positive. Just the sense, though, that there is so much I need to do to get better, and the road is so long and progress is slow.
I knew it would be a somewhat tough lesson, coming after almost a week of not playing. It was pleasing that I had good tone, good volume - which might be partly due to the week off. But I was rough on a lot, repeating a lot of my old problems and issues - maybe that is what has me a little discouraged.
I took notes again. Here is what I need to work on:
Legato. Light tongue between notes. No tongue when I am changing partials. No sloppy slide, and not too staccato either. It's such a fine touch that it is often hard for me to remember what I am striving for.
From the brass master class, Jack passed on the idea of not stopping after the in-breath before playing, but having the in- and out-breath be seamless flow with the note coming with the out-breath. I like this and can relate.
Also from the master class but from my last lesson, too, each note having the same value throughout. Not little mini-crescendos. Not <, but [___] (imagine a horizontal line at the top of that figure). The note starts the way it is played throughout, and ends the same way. I really, really need to work on this. Clean tonguing. Clean tonguing. Clean tonguing. I need to work on pedals every day. I actually finally started to get in the lesson, how to hold my lower jaw/lip more stable, and using my upper lip for the pedal. This is so I can keep them from being so flat, using the upper lip gives much more control of the note. I guess rather than both lips flapping, you just have one! I also read on the trombone forum recently that Doug Elliot didn't start playing pedals until he'd been playing for three years ... so I feel kind of in league.
From my 5-7 lesson, remember what I learned: More full lower notes in my warmup. Really be attentive to how I am starting the notes from B flat on down. Almost no tongue, and lots of air, kind of a tube of air pushing right through. Keep lips relaxed on the low notes. Make sure I do vibrato in my daily scale exercise. Pay attention to my legato in my daily scales! Okay, so for today: Warmup:
I knew it would be a somewhat tough lesson, coming after almost a week of not playing. It was pleasing that I had good tone, good volume - which might be partly due to the week off. But I was rough on a lot, repeating a lot of my old problems and issues - maybe that is what has me a little discouraged.
I took notes again. Here is what I need to work on:
Legato. Light tongue between notes. No tongue when I am changing partials. No sloppy slide, and not too staccato either. It's such a fine touch that it is often hard for me to remember what I am striving for.
From the brass master class, Jack passed on the idea of not stopping after the in-breath before playing, but having the in- and out-breath be seamless flow with the note coming with the out-breath. I like this and can relate.
Also from the master class but from my last lesson, too, each note having the same value throughout. Not little mini-crescendos. Not <, but [___] (imagine a horizontal line at the top of that figure). The note starts the way it is played throughout, and ends the same way. I really, really need to work on this. Clean tonguing. Clean tonguing. Clean tonguing. I need to work on pedals every day. I actually finally started to get in the lesson, how to hold my lower jaw/lip more stable, and using my upper lip for the pedal. This is so I can keep them from being so flat, using the upper lip gives much more control of the note. I guess rather than both lips flapping, you just have one! I also read on the trombone forum recently that Doug Elliot didn't start playing pedals until he'd been playing for three years ... so I feel kind of in league.
From my 5-7 lesson, remember what I learned: More full lower notes in my warmup. Really be attentive to how I am starting the notes from B flat on down. Almost no tongue, and lots of air, kind of a tube of air pushing right through. Keep lips relaxed on the low notes. Make sure I do vibrato in my daily scale exercise. Pay attention to my legato in my daily scales! Okay, so for today: Warmup:
- Full low notes, relaxed, clean-starting.
- On scale, clean legato. Vibrato.
- Work on pedals using the method we worked on last Thursday.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
sweet sound upon return
After not playing for a week whilst off on my meditative adventure to Nelson, BC, I picked up the horn last night and just poked around. Not much time after dinner and before I headed down to the Manhattan Brass performance (fun, fun, and beautiful music).
I just played scales and Amazing Grace in a few keys. It sounded great, my lips felt relaxed, my ears felt relaxed. I ran into Jack and Molly at the concert (as well as half the people I know in Juneau; intermission was a packed visiting hour; I love these things) and we talked about how a break sometimes improves one's sound. Molly said she can hear it when Jack has been away from playing for a few days.
It was so lovely to play a bit last night, and even better tonight: I have a lesson. Jack attended the master class on Tuesday (while I was en route home on the plane) and he's going to share some wisdom in the lesson.
Oh, and the trombones were such a kick to listen to and watch in last night's performance.
I just played scales and Amazing Grace in a few keys. It sounded great, my lips felt relaxed, my ears felt relaxed. I ran into Jack and Molly at the concert (as well as half the people I know in Juneau; intermission was a packed visiting hour; I love these things) and we talked about how a break sometimes improves one's sound. Molly said she can hear it when Jack has been away from playing for a few days.
It was so lovely to play a bit last night, and even better tonight: I have a lesson. Jack attended the master class on Tuesday (while I was en route home on the plane) and he's going to share some wisdom in the lesson.
Oh, and the trombones were such a kick to listen to and watch in last night's performance.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
'bye 'bye bone
It has been a very long time since I have done this, abandoned my t-bone, but I am leaving for a week today and my beautiful instrument will be here on its stand, alone without me the whole time. I'm going to visit Carey in Seattle and to a meditation retreat in Nelson, BC, and fitting trombone playing in with those activities sounded complicated almost to the point of silliness.
Also, interestingly, I feel mature enough in my practice that I can handle a week off. I'm already eager to pick it back up, a week from now. I'm already longing to play, just a little now. This might be the rest reason for leaving the trombone behind.
Also, interestingly, I feel mature enough in my practice that I can handle a week off. I'm already eager to pick it back up, a week from now. I'm already longing to play, just a little now. This might be the rest reason for leaving the trombone behind.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
analytical
I'll be busy with a picnic tonight and may not get a chance to practice later, so I stuffed in a practice at lunchtime. My goal was to practice 30 minutes but at 25 minutes my mouth just fell apart on the high notes. This seems really extreme to me. 25 minutes? I wasn't playing high the whole time, at all.
Anyway, after warming up I was very careful and methodical about "Air," the piece I ended so frustratingly with last night. Much, much, much better. I can still see what I am doing with the little crescendos on each note. I actually don't like this piece very much and I never have, so I might be playing it awkwardly as a result. So I can hear the little crescendos but I have not solved that problem yet - though, as I said, it came much better today.
But then, my mouth giving out after 25 minutes? I realized during warmup that I'm working hard at making the low notes full, and I wonder if that added workout on my embouchure is killing me on the top end. If that is the case, my guess is that a week or two of the low workout will open this up somewhat. Who knows what is going with those muscles.
Back to work.
Anyway, after warming up I was very careful and methodical about "Air," the piece I ended so frustratingly with last night. Much, much, much better. I can still see what I am doing with the little crescendos on each note. I actually don't like this piece very much and I never have, so I might be playing it awkwardly as a result. So I can hear the little crescendos but I have not solved that problem yet - though, as I said, it came much better today.
But then, my mouth giving out after 25 minutes? I realized during warmup that I'm working hard at making the low notes full, and I wonder if that added workout on my embouchure is killing me on the top end. If that is the case, my guess is that a week or two of the low workout will open this up somewhat. Who knows what is going with those muscles.
Back to work.
Monday, May 11, 2009
just a bit of an annoying practice
Ow. Am I paying my dues for practice light over the weekend? I started tonight really rough, on my G (no, the one an octave below my problematic G) I kept having this flutter in the note. It took all of my patience to stick with it. I moved to a different exercise and kind of got my groove, then back to the original one and the G was OK.
So I had about 25 good minutes of practice, took a break and made my bed with its fresh sheets, then went back to practice, this time on "Air" in the duets book. YUCK. It was really hard work and it sounded like hard work and then my G (high one this time) started blatting out completely wrong. I finally played a few pedals and just quit.
Sigh.
So I had about 25 good minutes of practice, took a break and made my bed with its fresh sheets, then went back to practice, this time on "Air" in the duets book. YUCK. It was really hard work and it sounded like hard work and then my G (high one this time) started blatting out completely wrong. I finally played a few pedals and just quit.
Sigh.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
the road ... and best intentions
My weekend was open and it laid out before me, full of endless possibilities. No classes right now, no rehearsals, lots of time for practice, time for meditation, time to enjoy the sun ...
Oops, I hardly got any practice in, BUT both Saturday and Sunday were productive practices. Yesterday I actually had a great warmup, reinforcing my low note behavior, playing my upper range well, and doing a decent vibrato on my scales, even working a bit on one of my exercises. But! It was supposed to be the first of two practices and I never made it to the second. The weekend intervened. I went on a zipline tour, of all things, on "local appreciation day" with my friend Natt (Picasa web album currently under construction). I went to the Bach Society concert - lovely, lovely - little tiny kids were marvelously cute, cousin Marie as always sang beautifully. Then in a rather startling change of character ended up at the Jazz Babies Ball at the JACC 'till midnight, but had to leave because I had to get up early to help clean an ill friend's house.
Then today my day was full from beginning to end. Family, friends, and musical cohorts. What more could you want? But - my only practice was playing "Lean on me" from my head. But it was encouraging. I sang it. Then I said, "What note am I starting from?" I sang it again, and I answered myself, "F." So I picked up the trombone and I played an F. It wasn't right, because my horn was cold so it was ... damn, the physics of this instrument always throws me, it was too flat with the tuning slide pulled out too far. So I pulled it in and played the F and it was the note I was singing as the starting note, and I played it somewhat bumpily, but not even too bumpily!
Then I played it in a different key, can't remember which, and it was even better, and went past 9 pm by about 10 minutes (thanks, Charlie) ... but, sadly, that's all the practice I got this weekend.
Oops, I hardly got any practice in, BUT both Saturday and Sunday were productive practices. Yesterday I actually had a great warmup, reinforcing my low note behavior, playing my upper range well, and doing a decent vibrato on my scales, even working a bit on one of my exercises. But! It was supposed to be the first of two practices and I never made it to the second. The weekend intervened. I went on a zipline tour, of all things, on "local appreciation day" with my friend Natt (Picasa web album currently under construction). I went to the Bach Society concert - lovely, lovely - little tiny kids were marvelously cute, cousin Marie as always sang beautifully. Then in a rather startling change of character ended up at the Jazz Babies Ball at the JACC 'till midnight, but had to leave because I had to get up early to help clean an ill friend's house.
Then today my day was full from beginning to end. Family, friends, and musical cohorts. What more could you want? But - my only practice was playing "Lean on me" from my head. But it was encouraging. I sang it. Then I said, "What note am I starting from?" I sang it again, and I answered myself, "F." So I picked up the trombone and I played an F. It wasn't right, because my horn was cold so it was ... damn, the physics of this instrument always throws me, it was too flat with the tuning slide pulled out too far. So I pulled it in and played the F and it was the note I was singing as the starting note, and I played it somewhat bumpily, but not even too bumpily!
Then I played it in a different key, can't remember which, and it was even better, and went past 9 pm by about 10 minutes (thanks, Charlie) ... but, sadly, that's all the practice I got this weekend.
Friday, May 8, 2009
one quick low note blog
Before I race off to see our high school intern Ty Yamaoka star in Pecos Bill at the high school, I must post about my experience with the low notes tonight. I just practiced a tiny bit because I did not have much time.
My notes from last night's lesson on the low notes read:
Low notes more full
What I did tonight:
My notes from last night's lesson on the low notes read:
Low notes more full
- low is sounding sharp so my lips need to be more relaxed
- want fuller sound low
- almost no tongue, air, tube of air
What I did tonight:
- Right off the bat, I noticed myself tonguing the first low B flat. And it came in funky, not true to the note at first.
- I stopped tonguing it.
- Then, right next, I noticed that when I shifted from the B flat an octave above, after playing a long tone there but before playing a long tone on my B flat an octave down, I lifted my mouth off the mouthpiece to get air! No wonder my attack on the low B flat is so bad!
- So, I very deliberately kept my mouth glued to that mouthpiece and took in air around the corners of my mouth, and did not tongue, and those low notes came easier, came in more clean. Not perfect, but way more clean.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
good tone, but the legato!
Great lesson tonight, as always. I took close notes as Jack gave me corrections. Very specific corrections, very specific notes. Specific to phrases that I am working on in my lesson material - these 16th note passages - "make them playful" - and always the work on my legato and on making my tonguing clean.
We worked on my approach to my low notes. I need to tongue less and push the air out in whole. Very very hard to describe, and these are my words and not Jack's. But I think what I have been doing is having too tight an embouchure when I start the note and then relaxing it when the note comes out a little funky. I need the note to come out right directly from the beginning, and on these low notes the aperture is larger.
We also talked about my habit of doing a little mini-crescendo on each note at times. I need the beginning of the note to be the same as the end of the note, instead of starting small and ending big on each note.
But Jack told me that I have a good tone, need to work on my legato, need to work on clean tonguing, but without a good tone none of it would be good. I've heard this enough now that I think I actually might have a good tone.
We worked on my approach to my low notes. I need to tongue less and push the air out in whole. Very very hard to describe, and these are my words and not Jack's. But I think what I have been doing is having too tight an embouchure when I start the note and then relaxing it when the note comes out a little funky. I need the note to come out right directly from the beginning, and on these low notes the aperture is larger.
We also talked about my habit of doing a little mini-crescendo on each note at times. I need the beginning of the note to be the same as the end of the note, instead of starting small and ending big on each note.
But Jack told me that I have a good tone, need to work on my legato, need to work on clean tonguing, but without a good tone none of it would be good. I've heard this enough now that I think I actually might have a good tone.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Happy chops
I practiced twice tonight, before and after dinner, and my chops feel it. It feels good to get a good workout playing.
I just worked on lesson material. It's soothing, almost. Different kind of pressure around it. It's nice, because I'm working hard on it and I know I will get very specific feedback on Thursday. So, I am forming questions, predicting what Jack might call me on and trying to correct in advance - but also giving myself the freedom to slow it right down and try to do it as right as possible - since I don't have to worry about playing it up to speed with a whole orchestra or band. It's nice working like this and it is nice having this window.
Speaking of windows, it's temporary: the first two weeks of June are completely booked, rehearsing for the symphony June concert and the Juneau Volunteer Marching Band lead-up to the 4th of July. I love the 4th of July. I love the parade, though I have to admit that marching and playing is not exactly easy.
I just worked on lesson material. It's soothing, almost. Different kind of pressure around it. It's nice, because I'm working hard on it and I know I will get very specific feedback on Thursday. So, I am forming questions, predicting what Jack might call me on and trying to correct in advance - but also giving myself the freedom to slow it right down and try to do it as right as possible - since I don't have to worry about playing it up to speed with a whole orchestra or band. It's nice working like this and it is nice having this window.
Speaking of windows, it's temporary: the first two weeks of June are completely booked, rehearsing for the symphony June concert and the Juneau Volunteer Marching Band lead-up to the 4th of July. I love the 4th of July. I love the parade, though I have to admit that marching and playing is not exactly easy.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Lesson Thursday
After a long time without, I finally have a lesson Thursday. Concerts, illness, travel have intervened. When I am working for material for an upcoming concert, I don't work on my lesson material. So that intervenes. Now I am in this tiny window between concerts, though I understand from Bill that "the charts" are in at the symphony office (I feel like such a musician, saying that).
Anyway, with the lesson Thursday, I worked hard on my lesson material, until after about 55 minutes my chops started to go. I have to laugh at myself, at how impatient I get with myself. How worried - well, I won't be able to play this right at my lesson! That's why I am having a lesson!
10 minutes after I quit, about 5 after 9, Charlie called from upstairs and told me that he doesn't mind if I keep playing after 9, he goes to bed late in the summer and I could even play 'till 10. Generous of him, generous and thoughtful. I love human society.
Anyway, with the lesson Thursday, I worked hard on my lesson material, until after about 55 minutes my chops started to go. I have to laugh at myself, at how impatient I get with myself. How worried - well, I won't be able to play this right at my lesson! That's why I am having a lesson!
10 minutes after I quit, about 5 after 9, Charlie called from upstairs and told me that he doesn't mind if I keep playing after 9, he goes to bed late in the summer and I could even play 'till 10. Generous of him, generous and thoughtful. I love human society.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Eyes on the conductor
Rick Trostel, in the piece he wrote about the 2008-2009 Juneau Student Symphony season, has a picture of Robert with his eyes intensely focused on Rick during a rehearsal. It's the picture on the second page of his retrospective: http://www.juneausymphony.org/studentsymphony/2008-9%20season%20retrospective%20-%20good.pdf.
I wrote a couple of days ago about frequently getting lost, especially when I have been playing and get flustered as I pick up my count of measures. I am often a measure late or a measure early, and I think it usually stems from getting through whatever little chunk I am playing (or big chunk, as the case may be); then I heave an inward sigh of relief and get off track. Yesterday or maybe Thursday in rehearsal I focused on watching Todd as much as possible, and it helped a great deal in those moments that I had that focus. I think I've been watching the music too much, maybe with 80% of my attention on the music and 20% on the conductor. I almost always have the conductor in the corner of my eye (or the top of my vision field, to be precise) but my eyes are focused more on the music.
Do I have to have more of the music committed to memory and use the printed page as a reminder? Mechanically, physically, how do I achieve this? If I can, my sense is that I will vastly improve my ability to keep my place. If I don't keep losing the conductor's beat, then having to find it again with the risk of being off, won't this help?
I wrote a couple of days ago about frequently getting lost, especially when I have been playing and get flustered as I pick up my count of measures. I am often a measure late or a measure early, and I think it usually stems from getting through whatever little chunk I am playing (or big chunk, as the case may be); then I heave an inward sigh of relief and get off track. Yesterday or maybe Thursday in rehearsal I focused on watching Todd as much as possible, and it helped a great deal in those moments that I had that focus. I think I've been watching the music too much, maybe with 80% of my attention on the music and 20% on the conductor. I almost always have the conductor in the corner of my eye (or the top of my vision field, to be precise) but my eyes are focused more on the music.
Do I have to have more of the music committed to memory and use the printed page as a reminder? Mechanically, physically, how do I achieve this? If I can, my sense is that I will vastly improve my ability to keep my place. If I don't keep losing the conductor's beat, then having to find it again with the risk of being off, won't this help?
CONCERT TONIGHT!
Woo-hoo! Concert band concert tonight. It' such fun music to play (though the Hindemith is a little hard for me).
http://sites.google.com/site/juneaucommunityband/
http://sites.google.com/site/juneaucommunityband/
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