Practice Journal 4: The Finish Line

This is the final time that I recorded myself playing the two excerpts for this concert cycle:

First Excerpt: Appalachian Mountain, Measures 11-26

Second Excerpt: Chorale and Shaker Dance II, Measures 163-177

Final Reflection

I have gotten a lot better since the first practice journal when I played the same two excerpts. My practice methods worked up to a point, till around practice journal 3. Between the first and third journals, I improved a lot with accuracy, articulation, rhythm and especially tempo because I basically played the same parts over and over. Whenever I got stuck or had difficulty with one section, I would just play that part over and over, faster and faster, until it sounded better. This method honestly only worked for improving my accuracy, articulation, rhythm and tempo. When I tried to improve my tone, intonation, dynamics and style, I would have had to use a different method. For the third and fourth practice journals, I played many different scales and warm-ups to try to improve my tone. This worked well, and I now just have to make sure to watch carefully for dynamic changes and remember the style. The only way to improve my dynamics and style is to just pay attention. The number one aspect that I need to work on is intonation and that will take more than just the practice methods that I am using. I am finding it easier to adjust my embouchure to fix my intonation, though it is still difficult with my braces. I also need to practice more often and have a daily routine for it. I really only practiced a few days before a practice journal was due, the day I recorded myself, and for a few more days after that. On the in-between days, I did not practice as much as I should have.

My critical listening has improved a lot by doing these practice journals. I have been listening to my first journal excerpts and realize how much my playing has improved. I can really tell the difference between good articulation and bad articulation or good tone vs. bad tone. Before we did these journals, I only could tell that a piece sounded good or bad but now, I see all of the little details within the song which make it good or bad or in-between.

I am excited that I have learned so much and grown so much since the first excerpt. I love listening to the difference between my first one and the last one. The tempo that I play at is much faster and I can play it with accurate notes. The rhythm and articulation is mostly correct and my tone and style has greatly improved. When playing with the whole band, I am doing a good job at keeping up with the dynamic changes. I am close to completely ready for the concert and I will practice more over the next few days before the concert.

Practice Journal 3: Final Goalsetting

After a few weeks of practice and experience with these pieces, I played the two excerpts again.

Appalachian Mountain Measures 11-26 :

Appalachian Mountain has some very difficult aspects and I specifically chose this excerpt because there are many things that I need to work on from it. I have improved in many aspects such as accuracy. I stay in the key signature now and do not miss any of the accidentals. The phrasing is getting a lot better than before and I can go longer without having to take a breath. I also know when the right times are to breathe so that the piece does not sound staggered and choppy. My intonation and tone quality is also improving, though I still have to practice to change them. To reach an artist level performance, I have to work on the dynamics because I did not change them at all during the recording. I did try to play softer on the long notes, but not as hard as I should have. I could work on style and musicality to have a more beautiful sound overall. I have been working towards using the correct articulation but I also should improve on that. There were some spots in my excerpt where i was not slurring where I was supposed to, or tonguing where I was supposed to. Finally, I still need to practice finding the correct tempo; the problem is not that I am too slow, I actually rush sometimes so the piece does not sound as pretty and flowing as it should.

Chorale and Shaker Dance Measures 163-177:

Since last time I recorded myself, I have improved a lot with the tempo and accuracy of notes. I do not miss accidentals anymore and I can play much much faster while still staying accurate. My tone quality has greatly improved and my intonation is getting better. My articulation is good; I play the slurs and staccato notes in the right places. I am also very happy about my phrasing and I am better at taking long breaths before the phrase starts. To play an artist level performance, there are still a lot of changes that I must make. I need to work on style, dynamics and tone. If I work on these aspects, I will be exactly on track for my goals for the next few weeks. I have been playing with one volume the whole excerpt, so I should start watching the dynamics to make the piece more musical. By paying closer attention to style, tone and musicality, the excerpt will sound more refined and ready for the concert.

Practice Journal 2: Documenting The Practice Method

I first played measures 163 to 178 of Chorale and Shaker Dance without any practice at all:

Before

After playing the excerpt once, I practiced it for 15 to 20 minutes. I used a few different methods. First I tried playing the whole part over and over again just to get used to it. It worked up until a certain point when I realized that the faster I was getting, the more mistakes I was making and I forgot accidentals. Then I played the whole excerpt at a much slower pace, making sure to play every single note correctly. I then played it a little faster, and faster for many more times. If I ever made a mistake, I would only go back to that problem measure, or the few mistake notes and play it over and over again until it went smoothly with the rest of the measures. Then I would go back and play the whole thing over again at a faster pace. I also played the C scale many times, so that I could get used to the key signature and remember the correct notes. Overall, my method was to target the most difficult parts and try to make them even better and faster than the easy parts, so that they fit in accuracy-wise and tempo-wise with the whole excerpt.
Then I recorded myself playing it again after practicing:

After

My recording after a few minutes of practice was significantly better than the first recording. My tone quality improved a lot because I was more warmed up and had played the excerpt many times. I barely missed any accidentals or played any wrong notes. I also played much faster than the first time. Looking at the times, I realized that I cut off  a whole 12 seconds without even cutting short the excerpt! Playing it over and over again while slowly increasing the tempo definitely payed off. The rhythm was also more accurate and the articulation was much better. The slurs were played at the right times and the staccato notes were shorter. Overall, the short practice session made a big difference in my playing.

Practice Journal 1: Setting the Baseline

I chose two excerpts from different pieces that we are going to play on the Winter Concert. This early in the concert cycle, I videotaped myself playing these excerpts, so I can see what to work on and observe how much I improve over these next few weeks. I specifically chose these parts of the music because I believe that they are challenging and have a variety of different skills that I, specifically need to work on.

First Excerpt: Appalachian Mountain, Measures 11-26

After listening to myself play this excerpt, I noticed many aspects that I need to work on. Over the next few weeks, I hope to greatly increase my tone quality and intonation. I need to tighten my embouchure and make a clear sound instead of a fuzzy one. Also, I have to stay in tune at all times instead of shifting between flat and sharp. The high notes especially are a part that I really have to work on. I want to work on playing the correct rhythm and playing at the correct tempo. I really need to work on the quarter note triplets and the dotted eighth note slurs. My articulation wasn't bad and I made sure to slur in the right places. I should better differentiate the length of the eight notes and the length of the sixteenth notes. I was mostly accurate with the notes, but I did miss some accidentals while practicing. I could make sure to improve my phrasing and take longer breaths to play long phrases so I don't run out of air at the end. This time around, I was not paying to dynamics, so after practicing more, I hope that I will be able to carry them out more effectively.

My goals for the next practice journal are to make my notes more accurate and try not to miss accidentals. I also want to improve my style and articulation. Finally, I want to correct the tempo and play the right rhythm. Over the course of these practice journals, I hope to fix all the problems that I had with this excerpt and the aspects I listed above.


Second Excerpt: Chorale and Shaker Dance II, Measures 163-177

In this excerpt, I had different problems than those in Appalachian Mountain though some were the same. For example, I still had problems with my tone quality. My intonation also wasn't great in this piece especially with the high notes. This section was more difficult than the last one when it comes to articulation and tempo. It is much faster than the last piece and has a mix of staccato notes and accented notes as well as a few slurs. This made it harder to play the correct notes and watch out for accidentals; the key signature of C with no B flats did not help. I missed a few of these notes and could work on my accuracy. The dynamics were fine because there really wasn't any changes that I had to make. Since there weren't really any rests, I did not do a great job at phrasing and could work on that for the next practice journal. 

I mostly want to work on playing accurate notes throughout the excerpt as well as correcting my articulation. before the next concert, I hope to improve my tone, intonation and increase the tempo. 

Setting Goals 10/23

In less than two months, I want to improve my performance skills to be ready for the Winter Concert. For this to be possible, I need to set a few goals for myself and decide what exactly I must change about my playing from the last concert. Here are some aspects which I would like to improve on:

Tone: One if the main things that I am trying hard to work on is my tone. As of now, it sounds fuzzy and not as smooth or flowing as I would like it to be. This partly has to do with my braces, which I am not used to yet. They do not allow me to tighten my embouchure, hence my sound is of poor quality. Before the next concert, I want to get used to my braces and try to work around that barrier so I can have better sound. I also want to work on my vibrato and keep a good tone for all ranges of notes.

Technique: I also want to improve on my accuracy and articulation. To achieve this, I will need a lot of practice and time spent in playing my flute. I want to be able to get almost all, if not all of the notes correct for the concert. I also need to improve my articulation and make sure to play all of the slurs, accents and overall style in the right places. I hope to fit in with the rest of the band and sound balanced when we are playing on stage.

Overall, I want to improve in every aspect of my performance from phrasing to musicality to technique and tone. Hopefully I will greatly improve over the next few weeks.