- Rhythm
- Accuracy
- Breathing/Phrasing
- Articulations
- Dynamics
- Tempo
- Posture
Here are the videos for my final playing tests for the two excerpts:
Mad Anthony- Section A and B
Compared to the first time I played this excerpt in the blog, I have made a huge improvement. The first one had a much slower tempo and sounded more sluggish and heavy. I also did not play any wrong notes unlike the first time, where I missed a few notes in different places. My goal was to fix these technical errors and I have succeeded by practicing the difficult parts over and over and by paying closer attention to the key signature. I also had hoped to fix the rhythm and articulation. I succeeded in this for the most part, but there were some part where I ran out of breath and made the eight notes much shorter than they were supposed to be after the dotted eight notes. The dynamics that I used also greatly improved and I was paying much more attention to them, but as hard as a tried to make them large contrasts, I could not hear them as much on the video. This reminds me of how in class, we talk about how a large difference on stage may not be a large difference to the audience. I need to work on making a big change in the dynamics without going sharp or flat. My tone was also not as fuzzy as the first time and much brighter. I kept a good sound quality until the end when I started to run out of air. The slurred portion at the end, the last measure, could have been improved and I believe I had the most trouble there because my tone was fuzzy and the notes were not as crisp as they should have been even though it was supposed to be slurred. I needed to have more staccato fingers. After playing it a few times, however, I kept messing up on the same things and my tone got worse and worse, so I decided to try and not be a perfectionist and keep room to talk about my mistakes and reflect. Another element that I changed was my posture; I usually sit up with my legs crossed on a chair and I think that it does not allow a more open sound. This time I used a stool so that I could sit up straight and breathe easier.
Prospect- Measure 62 to 92
I also saw major improvements with this piece especially with my accuracy, tone and the dynamics. I did not play any wrong notes and I could hear the crescendos and decrescendos. My tone was not as fuzzy and I played with vibrato this time, but it did sound shaky at the beginning. Towards the middle and the end of the excerpt, the vibrato sounded more natural and less wobbly or unsteady. I did a much better job at counting and subdividing, but I had the same problem with releases as I did before. I ran out of breath and cut off dotted half notes, making them shorter and less connected. The tempo was much more consistent as well. The articulation at the accented section could have been more defined, but it was not as short and staccato-sounding as the first time I played it. I made sure to not rush on the eight notes and they sounded longer and more weighted. As I said in the reflection for the march, I sat with better posture and made a difference in my tone and sound quality. A problem that I have always faced with slow music and long phrases is that I keep having to breathe in awkward places. I definitely got better at this over the last few weeks by planning out where I thought I should breather beforehand. I still had some trouble with it though, because I breathed in between phrases. Hopefully, during the concert this will not be as noticeable and our section stagger-breathes through many parts.
THE END
