In the absence of specific pieces, and to mark the end of my two-week hiatus from serious practice, I remind myself (and you as well) about these two things:
The Twenty-Minute Workout
And . . .
Smoke and Mirrors
Ready . . . go!
Baroque Performance Clinic
Friday, December 16, 2011
Monday, December 12, 2011
PPOTW (Practice Pieces of the Week): November 17, 2011
OK, so I'm a few weeks behind on these, and the cross posting. Let's keep the whining down and the posture up.
- Telemann, TWV 40.6, and 40.7 (Fantasias 5 & 6)
- Quantz, Capricci 2 (Presto) and 42 (Courante)
- Hotteterre, Preludes in c-minor
- J-D Braun, Sonata (1740; found in the pieces sans basse collection)
Friday, October 7, 2011
Practice Pieces of the Week (PPW) for September and October
Apologies for the delay in posting these. I forget that not everyone is using Facebook.
I'll be more diligent about the cross-posting.
Hotteterre Preludes in A-major (3 & 4); in Bb-Major (1 & 2).
Quantz Capriccen: Number 6 (Fantasia Presto); Number 31 (in Bb).
Hotteterre, g-minor preludes 3 & 4; Braun, Menuetto (p.10; this will get your lips in shape) & Capriccio (p. 12); Couperin, Concerts royaux, Quatrieme concert, Prelude (Gravement), Courante Francoise, and Sarabande tres tendrement (yeah, I like E-major).
I'll be more diligent about the cross-posting.
Hotteterre Preludes in A-major (3 & 4); in Bb-Major (1 & 2).
Quantz Capriccen: Number 6 (Fantasia Presto); Number 31 (in Bb).
Hotteterre, g-minor preludes 3 & 4; Braun, Menuetto (p.10; this will get your lips in shape) & Capriccio (p. 12); Couperin, Concerts royaux, Quatrieme concert, Prelude (Gravement), Courante Francoise, and Sarabande tres tendrement (yeah, I like E-major).
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
The work continues (or, "if it were easy, anyone could do it")
Thanks again, everyone, for yet another fantastic week of Baroque Flute Boot Camp, Angst Factory, and Catharsis Clinic. I had a great time and love to see the changes in playing from year to year from individuals and from the group.
On the Facebook BFBC group I announced that I would be posting items for practice, in the manner of the "Quantz of the Week.." It could be just about anything, from the Bach of the Week, the Braun of the Week, the Blavet of the Month, or just about anything else, including, but not limited to, the Anderson Etude of the Week.
I just uploaded some files to the PB Works site. If you don't have them already, now is the time to get them. I'll be closing down the site for the winter and spring, as I always do, which means I'll remove your email from the site. I'll let you know when that will happen, probably not before Thanksgiving, so you can have enough time to finish any downloading you have been considering. I'll put a notice here, on the FB page, and on the wiki itself.
To start our Weekly Workout, I propose the following:
Hotteterre, Preludes 1-3 on page 6 of L'art de preluder (the facsimile, in French Violin Clef);
J D Braun, Rondeau, Giga, and Menuetto on pages 6-7 of the pieces sans basse (found on the wiki).
Those feeling particularly courageous should take the Rondeau in both keys (e-minor, g-minor; just switch to the French Violin Clef to get the g-minor/bassoon version).
More as it happens.
On the Facebook BFBC group I announced that I would be posting items for practice, in the manner of the "Quantz of the Week.." It could be just about anything, from the Bach of the Week, the Braun of the Week, the Blavet of the Month, or just about anything else, including, but not limited to, the Anderson Etude of the Week.
I just uploaded some files to the PB Works site. If you don't have them already, now is the time to get them. I'll be closing down the site for the winter and spring, as I always do, which means I'll remove your email from the site. I'll let you know when that will happen, probably not before Thanksgiving, so you can have enough time to finish any downloading you have been considering. I'll put a notice here, on the FB page, and on the wiki itself.
To start our Weekly Workout, I propose the following:
Hotteterre, Preludes 1-3 on page 6 of L'art de preluder (the facsimile, in French Violin Clef);
J D Braun, Rondeau, Giga, and Menuetto on pages 6-7 of the pieces sans basse (found on the wiki).
Those feeling particularly courageous should take the Rondeau in both keys (e-minor, g-minor; just switch to the French Violin Clef to get the g-minor/bassoon version).
More as it happens.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Baroque Flute Boot Camp XIII: What to bring
There are a few "Newbies" this year, so here is a list of things to bring to the workshop.
- Music stand
- Flutes (if you have more than one flute, bring it/them; there is usually a contingent of 392 Hz flutes; penny whistles and trad flutes are welcome too, especially on Wednesday night)
- Workbook
- Solo music
- Other music, outside of the assigned, because impromptu duets and trios can happen at any time, even if it seems as if there is NO spare time, there always is.
- 3-ring binder with at least 3 tabs
- Small post-it notes
- Pencils, highlighter (optional)
- Something on which to take notes during masterclass
- Light jacket
- Flute maintenance kit (beeswax, electrical tape, silk thread, super glue, small piece of neoprene, etc.)
- And most important: the HAWAIIAN SHIRT for Thursday.
See you all soon.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Quantz of the Week: Number 7
As usual:
- Level I: Good focus of tone on EVERY note
- Level II: Add perfect intervals (tuning)
- Level III: Add clarity of the written articulations, and make sure any articulation symbols are different from the notes that are not marked, and from those with different marks.
- Everyone: Take the first repeat only (AAB form).
Levels I and II: Do not concern yourself with speed or any thoughts of tempo. Focus on the 2 Ts: Tone and Tuning.
Advanced players: This is NOT a race. It is all about TUNING and clarity (gotta love those slurs!). Don't make me bring back the Team and Individual Time Trials . . .
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Quantz of the Week: Number One (Yeah, believe it or not)
As usual:
- Level I: Good focus of tone on EVERY note
- Level II: Add perfect intervals (tuning)
- Level III: Add clarity of the written articulations, and make sure any articulation symbols are different from the notes that are not marked, and from those with different marks.
- Everyone: Take the first repeat only (AAB form).
Levels I and II: Do not concern yourself with speed or any thoughts of tempo. Focus on the 2 Ts: Tone and Tuning.
Advanced players: This is NOT a race. It is all about TUNING and clarity (gotta love those slurs!).
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Quantz of the Week: Number 3
Fantasia.
Go!
The usual caveats apply:
Go!
The usual caveats apply:
- Level I: Good focus of tone on EVERY note
- Level II: Add perfect intervals (tuning)
- Level III: Add clarity of the written articulations, and make sure any articulation symbols are different from the notes that are not marked, and from those with different marks.
- Everyone: Take the first repeat only (AAB form).
Levels I and II: Do not concern yourself with speed or any thoughts of tempo. Focus on the 2 Ts: Tone and Tuning.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Quantz of the Week: Number 54
- Level I: Good focus of tone on EVERY note
- Level II: Add perfect intervals (tuning)
- Level III: Add clarity of the written articulations, and make sure the "|" symbol is different from the notes that are not marked.
- Everyone: Take the first repeat only (AAB form).
Levels I and II: Do not concern yourself with speed or any thoughts of tempo. Focus on the 2 Ts: Tone and Tuning.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Quantz of the Week (Yeah, it is that time again . . . )
Minuetto, Number 56.
- Level I: Good focus of tone on EVERY note
- Level II: Add perfect intervals (tuning)
- Level III: Add articulations, note groupings, and please, do not manhandle the upper notes on the big leaps; float up to them.
Levels I and II: Do not concern yourself with speed or any thoughts of tempo. Focus on the 2 Ts: Tone and Tuning.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
More Observations (tell me what is going on)
Here are some more youtube videos for your perusal, observations, and performance analyses.
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14.
15.
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14.
15.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Speaking of Timeless Themes . . .
This deserves to be a post and not just hiding in a Comment.
One of our Theme Songs--
Don’t go crying to Mamá
DON’T GO CRYING TO MAMÁ
DON’T GO CRYING TO MAMÁ
You’ve been told it’s not a spa!
YOU’VE BEEN TOLD IT’S NOT A SPA!
YOU’VE BEEN TOLD IT’S NOT A SPA!
Save your tears for Couperin,
SAVE YOUR TEARS FOR COUPERIN
This ain’t no place to get a tan.
THIS AIN’T NO PLACE TO GET A TAN.
Am I right?
YOU’RE RIGHT!
Am I right?
YOU’RE RIGHT!
YOU’RE RIGHT!
Am I right?
YOU’RE RIGHT!
Sound off
SOUND OFF
Count off
COUNT OFF
ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR
ONE, TWO, …….THREE-FOUR!
Drill your trills and flattements
DRILL YOUR TRILLS AND FLATTEMENTS
Practice long tones, maintenant!
PRACTICE LONG TONES, MAINTENANT!
Work your breathing and your scales,
WORK YOUR BREATHING AND YOUR SCALES
Then we’ll hit the pub for ales!
THEN WE’LL HIT THE PUB FOR ALES!
SOUND OFF
Count off
COUNT OFF
ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR
ONE, TWO, …….THREE-FOUR!
Drill your trills and flattements
DRILL YOUR TRILLS AND FLATTEMENTS
Practice long tones, maintenant!
PRACTICE LONG TONES, MAINTENANT!
Work your breathing and your scales,
WORK YOUR BREATHING AND YOUR SCALES
Then we’ll hit the pub for ales!
THEN WE’LL HIT THE PUB FOR ALES!
Am I right?
YOU’RE RIGHT!
(etc., etc., etc.)
YOU’RE RIGHT!
(etc., etc., etc.)
Monday, May 23, 2011
Think Slow, Play Fast (or, "Peace is every note")
The question for the week (or lifetime) is:
What can we do to put extended, technically demanding passages in our comfort zones and make music in the process?
In other posts I've discussed the benefits of practicing slowly, to the point where one may play the entire passage or movement without any note errors. The same with practicing short segments of the passage, both forwards and backwards. And while doing all of this, other elements to practice are the practices of being aware of what your body is doing. By this I mean what your fingers are doing for every note, how your embouchure changes from register to register (or even from note to note, especially in large leaps), how your breathing mechanism moves or reacts, and what your musical mind is doing as you work through the phrase. This is a lot to think about while playing a piece of music. But let us first determine the difference between practicing and playing. Practice is often thought of as not fun; I try to view it as meditative, the process of trying to achieve some sort of musical enlightenment (the Zen of flute playing, so to say).
Because it is a lot to process, that is why the practice is to be done slowly. Slow. Very slow. Unbelievably slowly. We are learning to control our environment, from how little our fingers need to move to how much air we need to take in on one big or a few small breaths in rapid succession before the passage begins, to keeping our musical mind focussed on the music, the phrase, the goal notes in the harmonic function and their relationship to the bass line (when applicable). Think of this as setting up a base camp before making the final ascent towards the rhetoric of the music.
Once we start this process, there are even more things to consider, and different people have different ways of getting to the comfort zone base camp. After getting comfortable with where all the notes go in the passage, and we have figured out which of our fingers are behaving radically, that is, pointing at the ceiling when they don't have to, we can start developing some speed and identifying goal notes/rest stops/water stations/etc. A good thing to do is to slur the entire passage at various speeds (taking air when needed). This will tell you right away what note combinations and finger movements are uneven. It may seem illogical, to try to even out a passage when we ultimately want it to swing, but the notes inegales should happen on purpose and when you want them, not because of an uneven finger technique. This is all part of building our foundation, on which to build the musical structure. How many other ways may I describe this? Base camp, foundation, starting point, and . . .
OK, now that we've slogged through the meditative aspect of the music, we can start to engage the rhetoric. What exactly is rhetoric? In today's wacky political climate the word or term gets applied, erroneously, to all sorts of things. Historically speaking, it means two things, and two things only: the art of speaking well, and the art of speaking persuasively. For our music making, we want to speak well and persuasively. We have a story to tell, essentially. How the story is told is up to the individual story teller, presenter, musical orator, player, etc.
One could tell the same story over and over with many different interpretations. Regardless of your interpretation, you have to be clear, consistent, and convincing. This is where your magic bag of tools comes into play, your articulations, including slurs (yes, they are "allowed" in Baroque music), and the huge array of other punctuations, such as dots, strokes, slashes, and just plain, unmarked notes. Going back to the practice part, the slow practice, now that you can play all the notes without flinching or missing them, it is time to engage the various rhetorical tools from our bag of tricks ("If I only had my magic bag . . . "). You may still feel as if you are slogging but hopefully you will be slogging with a purpose and you won't be worrying about what your body needs to do; it will be doing it. I really do approach things this way, which occasionally drives my wife into her sewing room.
That's all I have for today. Let's hear your thoughts, experiences, frustrations, and any questions or related topics. Blogs away!
What can we do to put extended, technically demanding passages in our comfort zones and make music in the process?
In other posts I've discussed the benefits of practicing slowly, to the point where one may play the entire passage or movement without any note errors. The same with practicing short segments of the passage, both forwards and backwards. And while doing all of this, other elements to practice are the practices of being aware of what your body is doing. By this I mean what your fingers are doing for every note, how your embouchure changes from register to register (or even from note to note, especially in large leaps), how your breathing mechanism moves or reacts, and what your musical mind is doing as you work through the phrase. This is a lot to think about while playing a piece of music. But let us first determine the difference between practicing and playing. Practice is often thought of as not fun; I try to view it as meditative, the process of trying to achieve some sort of musical enlightenment (the Zen of flute playing, so to say).
Because it is a lot to process, that is why the practice is to be done slowly. Slow. Very slow. Unbelievably slowly. We are learning to control our environment, from how little our fingers need to move to how much air we need to take in on one big or a few small breaths in rapid succession before the passage begins, to keeping our musical mind focussed on the music, the phrase, the goal notes in the harmonic function and their relationship to the bass line (when applicable). Think of this as setting up a base camp before making the final ascent towards the rhetoric of the music.
Once we start this process, there are even more things to consider, and different people have different ways of getting to the comfort zone base camp. After getting comfortable with where all the notes go in the passage, and we have figured out which of our fingers are behaving radically, that is, pointing at the ceiling when they don't have to, we can start developing some speed and identifying goal notes/rest stops/water stations/etc. A good thing to do is to slur the entire passage at various speeds (taking air when needed). This will tell you right away what note combinations and finger movements are uneven. It may seem illogical, to try to even out a passage when we ultimately want it to swing, but the notes inegales should happen on purpose and when you want them, not because of an uneven finger technique. This is all part of building our foundation, on which to build the musical structure. How many other ways may I describe this? Base camp, foundation, starting point, and . . .
OK, now that we've slogged through the meditative aspect of the music, we can start to engage the rhetoric. What exactly is rhetoric? In today's wacky political climate the word or term gets applied, erroneously, to all sorts of things. Historically speaking, it means two things, and two things only: the art of speaking well, and the art of speaking persuasively. For our music making, we want to speak well and persuasively. We have a story to tell, essentially. How the story is told is up to the individual story teller, presenter, musical orator, player, etc.
One could tell the same story over and over with many different interpretations. Regardless of your interpretation, you have to be clear, consistent, and convincing. This is where your magic bag of tools comes into play, your articulations, including slurs (yes, they are "allowed" in Baroque music), and the huge array of other punctuations, such as dots, strokes, slashes, and just plain, unmarked notes. Going back to the practice part, the slow practice, now that you can play all the notes without flinching or missing them, it is time to engage the various rhetorical tools from our bag of tricks ("If I only had my magic bag . . . "). You may still feel as if you are slogging but hopefully you will be slogging with a purpose and you won't be worrying about what your body needs to do; it will be doing it. I really do approach things this way, which occasionally drives my wife into her sewing room.
That's all I have for today. Let's hear your thoughts, experiences, frustrations, and any questions or related topics. Blogs away!
Monday, May 9, 2011
Timeless Themes (or, How to have fun when it doesn't seem like fun)
We have a few new folks every year, and this blog is now in its third year, so some of the earliest posts on technique are lodged way in the back.
For the newcomers, and as a gentle reminder for the returning folks, here are some links to early posts that remain relevant.
Some of the playing requirements are less-than-fun, but it has been validating to read the book, Talent is Overrated, by Geoff Colvin, and learn that 1. my approach is in line with what Mr. Colvin describes, and 2. have one of the boot camp participants give me the book and then tell me he had heard this before, that the concepts in the book reminded him of . . . Baroque flute lessons and the boot camp.
I do practice what I preach, and take the work as a meditative practice, a practice on practicing, on staying focused and relaxing at the same time.
The 20-minute Workout and Testimonial
Everyone's favorite: Long tone exercises
Smoke and Mirrors
The Process versus Goal
The Flute Player's Rx
Les chants des oiseaux (the practice of practicing)
For the newcomers, and as a gentle reminder for the returning folks, here are some links to early posts that remain relevant.
Some of the playing requirements are less-than-fun, but it has been validating to read the book, Talent is Overrated, by Geoff Colvin, and learn that 1. my approach is in line with what Mr. Colvin describes, and 2. have one of the boot camp participants give me the book and then tell me he had heard this before, that the concepts in the book reminded him of . . . Baroque flute lessons and the boot camp.
I do practice what I preach, and take the work as a meditative practice, a practice on practicing, on staying focused and relaxing at the same time.
The 20-minute Workout and Testimonial
Everyone's favorite: Long tone exercises
Smoke and Mirrors
The Process versus Goal
The Flute Player's Rx
Les chants des oiseaux (the practice of practicing)
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Ready . . . GO!
As in, time to share information, ideas, questions, and so on.
People are shy, I know, but really, let's use this to talk about all things Baroque flute and historical performance practices. Especially now that we have 6 officially enrolled and invited bloggers.
First topic for discussion: Why we love the Quantz Capricen so much!
kp
People are shy, I know, but really, let's use this to talk about all things Baroque flute and historical performance practices. Especially now that we have 6 officially enrolled and invited bloggers.
First topic for discussion: Why we love the Quantz Capricen so much!
kp
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Another blog post about rhetoric (do I detect a theme?)
Baroque music and rhetoric are so intertwined that for me to play music without thinking about it rhetorically is virtually impossible.
With that in mind, a new post about rhetoric may be read here.
With that in mind, a new post about rhetoric may be read here.
Monday, February 28, 2011
April Update
Hello Everyone,
Just to keep you updated, we now have six (6) confirmed participants.
The HOUSING APPLICATION.
The ENROLLMENT FORM.
Cost of tuition, etc. is HERE.
And a TYPICAL SCHEDULE (for the newcomers).
Workshop website: http://baroquenorthwest.com/nfbfbc.html
Just to keep you updated, we now have six (6) confirmed participants.
The HOUSING APPLICATION.
The ENROLLMENT FORM.
Cost of tuition, etc. is HERE.
And a TYPICAL SCHEDULE (for the newcomers).
Workshop website: http://baroquenorthwest.com/nfbfbc.html
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Baroque Flute Boot Camp XIII
Yep. It's time again to start getting ready for the Thirteenth Annual Baroque Flute Boot Camp in Seattle, Washington. 24-30 July 2011.
Thirteen? Really? Seems like we just started.
The crew for 2011:
Flutes: Kim Pineda, Janet See
Continuo: Gus Denhard, theorbo; Don Simons, harpsichord
And below are photos from BFBC XII (2010).
Thirteen? Really? Seems like we just started.
The crew for 2011:
Flutes: Kim Pineda, Janet See
Continuo: Gus Denhard, theorbo; Don Simons, harpsichord
And below are photos from BFBC XII (2010).
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