'nuther lesson
Today I had another lesson. And I took a lot of notes on it. So I'm going to get out my notes and recap my lesson from them.
Break up practice sessions into 30-minute sessions. Take frequent breaks. This was written because I get tired when I practice--my embouchure gets tired, my brain gets tired, and I lose focus easily. If I find that, during a passage, I lose my good sound and start to sound too closed or tight, I need to take a short pause, think, carefully set back up, and begin where I left off, keeping in mind what I need to do differently from what I did before. Dr. G suggested practicing 30 minutes, then taking 30-minute breaks. 45 minutes is probably the maximum that I should be doing.
Open throat. Self-explanatory, I believe. It makes the sound better.
Observant, careful practice..."zen superhighway". Be patient. Dr. G explained that I'll feel like I'm moving at a snail's pace, the way I'm going to be practicing, with all the breaks and focusing on sound constantly and whatnot, but I'm working on SOUND right now and getting it consistent. If it takes focusing on one line at a time and playing a run over until it sounds right, waiting until the first note sounds good, and then stopping after it to remember WHY it sounded good or bad, and then either doing the same things or fixing something, then that's what it takes. Patience is key. This is not the time for barrelling through repertoire...no matter how far behind I feel. Not the time. Patience like this is what I need to overcome the confusion that seems to have been plaguing me the past couple of days. Just...slow...down.
Feel yourself when you practice...be aware. Not a battle--enjoy it. Be both in the future and in the present. I need to enjoy my body and explore it when playing and when preparing to play. What feels good? What position makes me feel open and comfortable? Leaning back isn't doing it for me, and I need to bend my knees and get my hips lower. I tend to breathe from my chest up...what I should be doing is breathing from the stomach and back, and really no further. Too much air is almost as bad as too little.
Acceptance of self. Related to above--I need to enjoy my body, not fight it. And I need to not be so hard on myself. If I make a mistake, boo hoo...it's practice. It's not a performance or a rehearsal with an orchestra; it's me, myself, and I in a practice room, figuring out how to make something sound beautiful.
Exploring the body--oral cavity. Open up, tongue down. Dr. G noticed it before I did, but I caught on, eventually, too; that when I open my mouth and in particular keep my tongue down, my sound is a lot fuller and richer. It's not nearly as directional and shallow. Oral cavity is big, both in the literal (open mouth) and figurative (big deal) sense.
Pay attention to setup. Don't just jump right into playing. I need to first figure out how to stand in the most centered, comfortable way, without leaning too far back as I tend to. And also keep the knees bent and the hips low, the back at a comfortable curve (not straight!), shoulders and arms relaxed, and then I can put my flute to my face. Also, don't bend the fingers too much. Having a happy medium between the concavity I had before and the Captain Hook overcorrection I showed in my lesson today is good.
Burton Sonatina and C# and F# minor scales. Along with the Dvorak 8 solo, this is my week's assignment. I switched from the Faure Fantaisie to the Burton Sonatina today because I was getting tired of the Faure Fantaisie. I knew that by the time the studio class rolled around, I would be sick to death of the Faure. There's more to work on in the Burton Sonatina, so I shouldn't get bored as easily...that, and I simply like it better. (Not to say I didn't like the Faure, but I think a break will do both me and the piece some good.)
LONG TONES. Play the pieces like you play the long tones. I am sounding much better on the long tones and scales than I am on the pieces, simply because I'm concentrating more on my sound during the long tones. I need to concentrate on my sound ALL the time, not just when I do long tones.
Email Kate Lukas. Kathryn Lukas is one of the flute professors at Indiana University Bloomington. Which happens to be my dream school. So, Dr. G said, it would be a really good idea to be in touch with her (since I've already worked with her a bit and she's my preferred teacher) so that I can be fresh in her mind if/when I get a lesson with her, and ultimately, when I audition there again. The key is to make them remember me there, and to let them see what I'm working on and what kind of progress I'm making. IU Bloomington is still my top choice school, and if I either don't audition there or don't get in in two years, then I'll audition there for grad school.
I should ask Dr. G and my mom what they would think of auditioning there this coming winter. Although the prospect of living in the apartment with Kelsey next year, and actually doing all the competitions and master classes next year (when I've got more repertoire under my belt and the basics in a better understanding), may be a bit much to pass up. The way I'm seeing it, there's a lot more opportunity in the second year of college than in the first.
And there you have it...a brief overview (believe it or not) of today's lesson.
Break up practice sessions into 30-minute sessions. Take frequent breaks. This was written because I get tired when I practice--my embouchure gets tired, my brain gets tired, and I lose focus easily. If I find that, during a passage, I lose my good sound and start to sound too closed or tight, I need to take a short pause, think, carefully set back up, and begin where I left off, keeping in mind what I need to do differently from what I did before. Dr. G suggested practicing 30 minutes, then taking 30-minute breaks. 45 minutes is probably the maximum that I should be doing.
Open throat. Self-explanatory, I believe. It makes the sound better.
Observant, careful practice..."zen superhighway". Be patient. Dr. G explained that I'll feel like I'm moving at a snail's pace, the way I'm going to be practicing, with all the breaks and focusing on sound constantly and whatnot, but I'm working on SOUND right now and getting it consistent. If it takes focusing on one line at a time and playing a run over until it sounds right, waiting until the first note sounds good, and then stopping after it to remember WHY it sounded good or bad, and then either doing the same things or fixing something, then that's what it takes. Patience is key. This is not the time for barrelling through repertoire...no matter how far behind I feel. Not the time. Patience like this is what I need to overcome the confusion that seems to have been plaguing me the past couple of days. Just...slow...down.
Feel yourself when you practice...be aware. Not a battle--enjoy it. Be both in the future and in the present. I need to enjoy my body and explore it when playing and when preparing to play. What feels good? What position makes me feel open and comfortable? Leaning back isn't doing it for me, and I need to bend my knees and get my hips lower. I tend to breathe from my chest up...what I should be doing is breathing from the stomach and back, and really no further. Too much air is almost as bad as too little.
Acceptance of self. Related to above--I need to enjoy my body, not fight it. And I need to not be so hard on myself. If I make a mistake, boo hoo...it's practice. It's not a performance or a rehearsal with an orchestra; it's me, myself, and I in a practice room, figuring out how to make something sound beautiful.
Exploring the body--oral cavity. Open up, tongue down. Dr. G noticed it before I did, but I caught on, eventually, too; that when I open my mouth and in particular keep my tongue down, my sound is a lot fuller and richer. It's not nearly as directional and shallow. Oral cavity is big, both in the literal (open mouth) and figurative (big deal) sense.
Pay attention to setup. Don't just jump right into playing. I need to first figure out how to stand in the most centered, comfortable way, without leaning too far back as I tend to. And also keep the knees bent and the hips low, the back at a comfortable curve (not straight!), shoulders and arms relaxed, and then I can put my flute to my face. Also, don't bend the fingers too much. Having a happy medium between the concavity I had before and the Captain Hook overcorrection I showed in my lesson today is good.
Burton Sonatina and C# and F# minor scales. Along with the Dvorak 8 solo, this is my week's assignment. I switched from the Faure Fantaisie to the Burton Sonatina today because I was getting tired of the Faure Fantaisie. I knew that by the time the studio class rolled around, I would be sick to death of the Faure. There's more to work on in the Burton Sonatina, so I shouldn't get bored as easily...that, and I simply like it better. (Not to say I didn't like the Faure, but I think a break will do both me and the piece some good.)
LONG TONES. Play the pieces like you play the long tones. I am sounding much better on the long tones and scales than I am on the pieces, simply because I'm concentrating more on my sound during the long tones. I need to concentrate on my sound ALL the time, not just when I do long tones.
Email Kate Lukas. Kathryn Lukas is one of the flute professors at Indiana University Bloomington. Which happens to be my dream school. So, Dr. G said, it would be a really good idea to be in touch with her (since I've already worked with her a bit and she's my preferred teacher) so that I can be fresh in her mind if/when I get a lesson with her, and ultimately, when I audition there again. The key is to make them remember me there, and to let them see what I'm working on and what kind of progress I'm making. IU Bloomington is still my top choice school, and if I either don't audition there or don't get in in two years, then I'll audition there for grad school.
I should ask Dr. G and my mom what they would think of auditioning there this coming winter. Although the prospect of living in the apartment with Kelsey next year, and actually doing all the competitions and master classes next year (when I've got more repertoire under my belt and the basics in a better understanding), may be a bit much to pass up. The way I'm seeing it, there's a lot more opportunity in the second year of college than in the first.
And there you have it...a brief overview (believe it or not) of today's lesson.