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!

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)

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

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.

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

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).

The Road to Seattle

As the 12th Annual Baroque Flute Boot Camp appears on the horizon, here are a few thoughts on PRACTICE. 

At this time your practice routine should include a Live Performance Situation component, that is, play your pieces as if you were giving a concert. Another component to include in your preparation is one of Rhetoric. 

Rhetoric. Think about what you want each phrase to mean; what you are trying to communicate to the listener. Even a piece that is not complex has something to say. 

Worried about identifying the rhetoric of your piece? Start with this question: is it a song or a dance? If it is a dance, is it happy or sad? If it is a song, imagine what the words to the song might be and treat the phrases as you would stanzas of a poem. 

Perhaps it is something else, such as a prelude. What is a prelude, exactly? It is a device to get you and the listener ready for the rest of the piece. The prelude could be a tour de force, or just something that sets the mood. 

The rhetorical aspect could lead to interesting decisions, such as a slight change in the rhythm, or of temporarily suspending musical time in order to emphasize a point, in the manner of an oration. 

Other questions to ask yourself: What do the words melancolique (melancholy), gravement (seriously), grave (serious), tendrement (tenderly or painful), or other words in Italian or German, mean? These are guidelines not only for the character of the piece but to help you decide on the tempo. Remember: Adagio = "at ease," or not in a hurry; it doesn't mean "play deathly slow and put Kim to sleep." Largo = "broad" or "large," not "play deathly slow and put Kim to sleep." Andante is your gait, allegro is lively. Allegretto is a little lively. Larghetto is a little large/broad. 

Confused about the difference between French and Italian pieces? Think of the differences between French and Italian cuisine. 

There are new performing challenges every time we play. My life recently has taken me to a place where playing it safe is not an option; playing it safe only leads to pain, angst, and a feeling of being unsatisfied. 

If you find yourself feeling lost or confused, uncertain about which way to go, just ask yourself: "What would Lewis and Clark do?" 

When Lewis and Clark were stuck in the Columbia gorge during a typical rainy November in the Pacific Northwest with nothing to eat but pounded fish for many days in a row, what did they do? Cry? Quit and die? Turn around and head for home? Dial it down? Play it safe? No. They stayed, considered their options, and then gave it their best effort. 

Three days to go.