Sun Cycles
Saturday
After Practice- Concert Soon!!
Brave
I think that I really improved my tone for this video, but I always have the problem that it loosens up or becomes less focused and clear towards the end. I am better and being more accurate with the rhythms and notes, which came with practice and listening to advice during rehearsal. Throughout the process, one of the most valuable things I have learned is how really to have an effective practice session, instead of just playing the pieces over and over again.
Sun Cycles
I feel much better about the tempo for this excerpt than I did before. I used to go too slow or rush through it, and I believe I have found a good middle ground. My tone is also much crisper and clearer than before, and I no longer get tripped up towards the end. As I mentioned before, watching myself before practice and after was really effective throughout the process. Even though I did not record all of this in my blog, it really helped me see what kind of practice strategies worked and which ones didn't.
Sun Cycles
Before Practice Videos
Brave
Tone more focused... but then slowly became less focused again
Intonation needs work- seemed sharp, especially at high notes
Sun Cycles
Tempo much better
Better tone- still fuzzy though
Needs more clear articulation between notes- some blended together
Intonation needs work- seemed sharp, especially at high notes
Sun Cycles
Tempo much better
Better tone- still fuzzy though
Needs more clear articulation between notes- some blended together
Just checking in
In addition to working on my selected excerpts, I did a lot of exercises to practice scales and work on my tone and intonation during long notes. I also marked up my music with reminders for correct notes and proper articulation. Some things that I really improved on:
- Intonation
- More focused, clear tone
- Accuracy and articulation
Hopefully I'll be able to keep up the improvements in the next post!
Post 2- After Practice
It has been a week since my last post. Now instead of recording myself before practice, I recorded myself after practice.
Brave
Brave
Reflect:
- Still need to work on some intonation, again last note
- Tone is still fuzzy and not focused
- Better rhythm and accuracy than before
Sun Cycles
Reflect:
- Improved accuracy but still need to prefect last few notes
- Intonation is better
- Tone still not clear
First Video- Pops Concert
I will be focusing on
- Brave measures 65-86
- Sun Cycles measures 26-36
These first videos are me playing without any practice or warm-up. Later, I practiced them againand saw major improvements.
Brave
Focus
- Tone- making it less fuzzy and more vibrato
- Rhythm- perfecting articulation and counting
- Intonation- especially long notes
Practice
- I worked on this by practicing with a tuner, and warming up a lot before playing to improve my tone.
Sun Cycles
Focus
- Tone- again making it less fuzzy and more directed
- Accuracy- Being confident about every note
- Counting and Rhythms- making sure each note length is accurate
Practice
- I had a proper warm-up and played the excerpt a few times over and over to hit the right notes.
Tuesday
Defining Terms from Spring Concert Pieces 4/29
Terms and Definitions
Allegretto non troppo- Moderately fast tempo between allegro and moderato, but not too much
crescendo- A directive to a performer to smoothly increase the volume of a particular phrase or passage
diminuendo- A directive to a performer to smoothly decrease the volume of the specific passage of a composition
poco ritardando-- A directive to perform a certain passage of a composition with a ritard the tempo, to gradually delay the tempo little by little.
a tempo- An directive to return to the original tempo after a deliberate deviation
crescendo poco a poco- A directive to a performer to smoothly, and little by little increase the volume of a particular phrase or passage
Misterioso- A directive to perform a certain passage of a composition in a mysterious manner; mysteriously.
Soli- A directive to perform the indicated passage of a composition with an entire section of an ensemble as opposed to the directive solo where only one member of the section performs.
Taken from: http://dictionary.onmusic.org/
Monday
Band Festival Reflection 3/17
This year at festival, I personally feel like I have improved a lot since last year's performance and I think that our band in general sounds much better. Still, there are many aspects that we need to improve on and imperfections in all of the three pieces.
First Movement:
I think we had a really confident and loud start, which was a good first impression for the piece. Then we sped up and it was much, much faster than we had rehearsed. There were some wrong notes or instruments were going flat/sharp towards the middle of the piece. Also, some parts were nat as grand or epic because we were going so fast and rushing through these moments. It took away from the musicality of the piece. However, I thought that the flute and oboe solos sounded very nice and there were no mess-ups.
Second Movement:
Another tempo problem: this time we were really slow. We all expected this to happen and planned for it not to, but of course it still happened anyways, and I found myself looking up and worrying because nothing could really speed us up. Also, the trumpets needed to be faster at all times. I thought that the flutes had really nice tone and managed to breath in the right places, though there were some intonation problems when we had to jump octaves. I heard a clarinet squeak and some of the low voices had a shaky, rough tone. I think that we needed to be more connected sometimes and just stay together.
Third Movement:
I think that we had another confident start but the low voices had some tone troubles at the beginning. The trumpets also had a shaky tone towards the middle and the end. I heard some dynamic contrast, which sounded good but the piece was not clean overall. The ending did not sound good at all; none of us were together and our tone and intonation did not sound right. We also needed to play more accented notes and sharper articulation and the end.
For me personally, there are also many things that I can improve on. I want to be a better player musically by having a better tone, vibrato and intonation. If I can do this, it will help make the flute section sound better and then the band as a whole. During festival, I believe that I played confidently despite the change in setting, and actually looked up a lot more than I do during rehearsal, so the improvements that I make are purely about improving my sound.
To do this, I am going to practice more long tones and sit down with a tuner whenever I practice. I will also practice using my vibrato at different speeds.
Mad Anthony March:
After listening to the recording, I think that we needed more balance in some areas. The band was not listening through to other sections and sometimes the low voices or high voices that need to be heard were buried. We also were not always together, even though the performance was much cleaner than the first concert we played it in. We also could have used more dynamic contrast; even though I could hear a difference, it would have been more interesting and musical if there was a bigger difference. I thought that our tone in this piece seemed pretty strong and confident, and it was much more accurate technically with right notes.Old Irish Tune:
In general, we were not together and need to subdivide more, especially during the long notes to ensure cleaner releases. It also just seemed to get boring and repetitive, so I think we should have had more dynamic contrast and phrasing. There were also some intonation issues and again I think we could have had better balance overall. In one section, I heard the clarinets play with a choppy articulation, instead of smooth and connected. I'm sure the band as a whole could have worked on this as well. We definitely needed to look up more, to make the tempo changes, crescendos and decrescendos much more pronounced, because the piece was pretty flat without these major aspects.Three Folk Miniatures:
All three movements as a whole had tempo problems and we were not always together, or looking up. There was a lot of improvement and some good aspects but those were the major issues.First Movement:
I think we had a really confident and loud start, which was a good first impression for the piece. Then we sped up and it was much, much faster than we had rehearsed. There were some wrong notes or instruments were going flat/sharp towards the middle of the piece. Also, some parts were nat as grand or epic because we were going so fast and rushing through these moments. It took away from the musicality of the piece. However, I thought that the flute and oboe solos sounded very nice and there were no mess-ups.
Second Movement:
Another tempo problem: this time we were really slow. We all expected this to happen and planned for it not to, but of course it still happened anyways, and I found myself looking up and worrying because nothing could really speed us up. Also, the trumpets needed to be faster at all times. I thought that the flutes had really nice tone and managed to breath in the right places, though there were some intonation problems when we had to jump octaves. I heard a clarinet squeak and some of the low voices had a shaky, rough tone. I think that we needed to be more connected sometimes and just stay together.
Third Movement:
I think that we had another confident start but the low voices had some tone troubles at the beginning. The trumpets also had a shaky tone towards the middle and the end. I heard some dynamic contrast, which sounded good but the piece was not clean overall. The ending did not sound good at all; none of us were together and our tone and intonation did not sound right. We also needed to play more accented notes and sharper articulation and the end.
Improvements for the future- reflection
For the band as a whole, I think we should make it a goal to look up more, because if we could do this it would solve many other problems. During festival, we had many problems with tempo and dynamics, so I think that if we just payed more attention to the conductor, it would solve both of these problems. I also think that we all need to keep working on building a strong tone, as we have improved on it since the beginning of the year. In addition to these aspects, we should also just try to listen more to other sections to become more balanced and know what other people's parts are.For me personally, there are also many things that I can improve on. I want to be a better player musically by having a better tone, vibrato and intonation. If I can do this, it will help make the flute section sound better and then the band as a whole. During festival, I believe that I played confidently despite the change in setting, and actually looked up a lot more than I do during rehearsal, so the improvements that I make are purely about improving my sound.
To do this, I am going to practice more long tones and sit down with a tuner whenever I practice. I will also practice using my vibrato at different speeds.
Thursday
Festival Pieces: FINAL BEFORE FESTIVAL!! (3/13)
This is my last blog post before festival. I still stuck with the same excerpts as before and have made a lot of improvements.
Old Irish Tune:
I did not improve on this piece as much as I'd hoped because I focused on the other one more, but after watching the first post, this one seems much better. I am really happy about the way that my tone improved, as well as the intonation. The sectional really helped me with this and I was able to change my embouchure to make it sound much better. I also was much more confident about my accuracy and did not need to pause like in the first blog. Because I became better with my air and embouchure, I was able to have more dynamic changes as well, but I still need to work on phrasing and breathing. I think that this piece shows that I have come a long way with the technical aspects of the flute, but I need to work on the musical aspects to improve up till the end of this year.
Isabeau s'y promène (Movement 2):
I really liked the amount of improvements I made on this piece, and there is a noticeable difference since the first blog post. Looking back at it, I realize that I did a much better job at connecting the notes, and one note ended when the next one began. I could do this because I can breathe at the right places and take deeper breaths. There were specific areas in the piece where I wrote "Don't Breath" and I initially had difficulties following my own directions and need to breathe much earlier, but now I can control my air better. My tone sounds much better and I am more in tune than before. I think that my phrasing is much better than the Old Irish Tune excerpt, but there still are some aspects that I need to work on. Earlier in the year, my vibrato was too fast, so I tried making it slower; now I believe it is not exaggerated enough.
Old Irish Tune:
I did not improve on this piece as much as I'd hoped because I focused on the other one more, but after watching the first post, this one seems much better. I am really happy about the way that my tone improved, as well as the intonation. The sectional really helped me with this and I was able to change my embouchure to make it sound much better. I also was much more confident about my accuracy and did not need to pause like in the first blog. Because I became better with my air and embouchure, I was able to have more dynamic changes as well, but I still need to work on phrasing and breathing. I think that this piece shows that I have come a long way with the technical aspects of the flute, but I need to work on the musical aspects to improve up till the end of this year.
Isabeau s'y promène (Movement 2):
I really liked the amount of improvements I made on this piece, and there is a noticeable difference since the first blog post. Looking back at it, I realize that I did a much better job at connecting the notes, and one note ended when the next one began. I could do this because I can breathe at the right places and take deeper breaths. There were specific areas in the piece where I wrote "Don't Breath" and I initially had difficulties following my own directions and need to breathe much earlier, but now I can control my air better. My tone sounds much better and I am more in tune than before. I think that my phrasing is much better than the Old Irish Tune excerpt, but there still are some aspects that I need to work on. Earlier in the year, my vibrato was too fast, so I tried making it slower; now I believe it is not exaggerated enough.
Festival Pieces: Blog 3
We recently had a sectional with a professional flute player, and that was what really got me into practicing what I did during this section. I decided not to post the videos because they are literally of me playing long tones and scales and practicing taking deeper breaths before playing, etc.. The main thing that we talked about during the session was air and how it affects every other aspect of our playing. I thought it would be especially helpful information to use for the connected style of music that I chose.
After practicing these simple technical activities, noticed that many of the aspects of my playing got much better. For example, my tone is much, much clearer because I've practiced pushing most of the air into the flute instead of letting it escape out. This reduces the fuzzy sound that I keep hearing. Also, I am better at changing dynamics and octaves without completely going out of tune by just slightly changing my embouchure.
I played the pieces one more time, and I noticed that I am much better with the aspects that I described. I am also much faster while staying playing accurately. I still have problems with trying not to breathe in between phrases. This one problem is what causes many others to occur. Because of it, the end of some notes sound really strained, quiet or out of tune and my tone is unclear again. If I can fix this, then I will be able to sound much better for the next concert cycle.
After practicing these simple technical activities, noticed that many of the aspects of my playing got much better. For example, my tone is much, much clearer because I've practiced pushing most of the air into the flute instead of letting it escape out. This reduces the fuzzy sound that I keep hearing. Also, I am better at changing dynamics and octaves without completely going out of tune by just slightly changing my embouchure.
I played the pieces one more time, and I noticed that I am much better with the aspects that I described. I am also much faster while staying playing accurately. I still have problems with trying not to breathe in between phrases. This one problem is what causes many others to occur. Because of it, the end of some notes sound really strained, quiet or out of tune and my tone is unclear again. If I can fix this, then I will be able to sound much better for the next concert cycle.
Festival Pieces: Pre-festival Concert Blog (2/27)
Later today is the Pre-festival concert and there is a lot that we as a band need to work on. Personally, I also need to improve a lot and since I have been practicing since my first blog, this is the official start of my process.
Second Movement: measures 23-38
I have definitely made many improvements since the first post, mostly with my tone. It sounds fuller and clearer. I still need to work on going faster and working on breathing at the right times.
Good parts:
accuracy
intonation
rhythm
articulations
Need to work on:
tone
phrasing
breathing
some intonation
Old Irish Tune: measures 33-48
The problems with this piece are similar to those of the other one, and I also have more intonation, tone and vibrato-related problems. I need to use more vibrato, instead of faster vibrato. Also, when I run out of breath, my tone turns fuzzy and the end of the long notes turn flat, so I also need to work on that. I also need to work on staying in tune when I jump to the higher octave at measure 37.
Second Movement: measures 23-38
I have definitely made many improvements since the first post, mostly with my tone. It sounds fuller and clearer. I still need to work on going faster and working on breathing at the right times.
Good parts:
accuracy
intonation
rhythm
articulations
Need to work on:
tone
phrasing
breathing
some intonation
Old Irish Tune: measures 33-48
The problems with this piece are similar to those of the other one, and I also have more intonation, tone and vibrato-related problems. I need to use more vibrato, instead of faster vibrato. Also, when I run out of breath, my tone turns fuzzy and the end of the long notes turn flat, so I also need to work on that. I also need to work on staying in tune when I jump to the higher octave at measure 37.
Festival Pieces: First Blog (2/20)
After looking through all three of the pieces, I decided to choose excerpts that are the most difficult for me, or the ones that I need to be more musical in. Since I already did an excerpt from Mad Anthony, I decided to try the Old Irish Tune and Three Folk Miniatures. Throughout the blog, I will probably stick to:
Since I picked relatively slow and legato pieces, I want to work on having a clearer tone, phrasing, breathing and intonation. Of course, staying at the right tempo and having note accuracy will also be important. Today, I recorded the excerpt from Movement 2.
Second Movement: Measures 23-28
- Old Irish tune: Measures 33-48
- Isabeau s'y promène (3 Folk Miniatures Movement 2): Measures 23-38
Since I picked relatively slow and legato pieces, I want to work on having a clearer tone, phrasing, breathing and intonation. Of course, staying at the right tempo and having note accuracy will also be important. Today, I recorded the excerpt from Movement 2.
Second Movement: Measures 23-28
I definitely have a lot to improve on within the next month before festival. I have a fuzzy tone and cannot breathe in all of the right places. I need to work on making my breath last 4 measures and shape the music with phrasing and dynamic changes.
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