Buzzing Bees & Sharon Bezaly
Click on these links to hear Jen's new flute radio show:
Part 1 (mp3) 8.6MB
Part 2 (mp3) 15.2MB
Notes:
Part One: FOCUS: Finding the sweet spot for B-natural
Part Two: FOCUS & LONGTONES: Playing the longtone exercise in the lower octave.
Dear Flute Friends,
Here I am, a zillion miles from nowhere, on an island in the middle of a rain-storm, testing out the idea of having an MP3 Radio Show, called something very much like:
Flutey-hour or "Jen's Flute Saturdays".
Please take a listen to the show at the above links, and try out the suggested exercises, and have some fun thinking up questions and comments.
Each MP3 takes about a minute to download, and will appear in your media player if you have a fast enough connection.
The final musical sample at the very end (Jen plays De Falla)was recorded on a video camera in an amazingly live church with lots of ambient echo and WAAAAH!
Don't let that bother you. It's so *very* ambient to hear the church roof like that. :>D
And huge thanks to Bob Afifi for helping host the MP3s! :>)
For those listeners who wish to hear the James Galway MP3s I'm referring to in my show, go to:
http://www.thegalwaynetwork.com/chatfile/chatfile.htm
Additionally:
Some of the warmups and scales Galway uses are available online for sheetmusic downloading at:
http://www.christianflute.com/16307.html
Scroll down to see the exercise files when you arrive at above.
Best Jen
Part 1 (mp3) 8.6MB
Part 2 (mp3) 15.2MB
Notes:
Part One: FOCUS: Finding the sweet spot for B-natural
Part Two: FOCUS & LONGTONES: Playing the longtone exercise in the lower octave.
Dear Flute Friends,
Here I am, a zillion miles from nowhere, on an island in the middle of a rain-storm, testing out the idea of having an MP3 Radio Show, called something very much like:
Flutey-hour or "Jen's Flute Saturdays".
Please take a listen to the show at the above links, and try out the suggested exercises, and have some fun thinking up questions and comments.
Each MP3 takes about a minute to download, and will appear in your media player if you have a fast enough connection.
The final musical sample at the very end (Jen plays De Falla)was recorded on a video camera in an amazingly live church with lots of ambient echo and WAAAAH!
Don't let that bother you. It's so *very* ambient to hear the church roof like that. :>D
And huge thanks to Bob Afifi for helping host the MP3s! :>)
For those listeners who wish to hear the James Galway MP3s I'm referring to in my show, go to:
http://www.thegalwaynetwork.com/chatfile/chatfile.htm
Additionally:
Some of the warmups and scales Galway uses are available online for sheetmusic downloading at:
http://www.christianflute.com/16307.html
Scroll down to see the exercise files when you arrive at above.
Best Jen
posted by jen at 11:40 AM
permalink
Comments (5)
Thank you Jen for these two lessons/teaching files on the mp3 radio.Absolutely brilliant.
Pleeaseeeeee can we have some more when you have time.They are now on my Ipod!!!!
Thank you Jen for reaching out to struggling students like me, and helping us improve! Your podcasts are really enjoyable! Hope to hear the next installment soon! =)
Hi Jen,
I discovered your blogspot site and your radio lesson clips. Thanks for the audio lessons! I've never thought of searching for the sweet spot by searching north, south, east and west. Is it being broadcasted on a radio station or on an internet radio station?
Hope to hear more broadcasts!
Lana (from flutenet)
Jen,
First off, thank you so so much for taking the time to share the tips and techniques that have been most valuable to you. I really related with the "squirrel brain" analogy! That is absolutely me in the morning when I first settle down to practice. I am only in high school, and I can only hope that with a few more years of very determined work on focusing myself, those problems will improve.
I was most especially intrigued by your suggestion to evenly distribute your weight on both feet. This was a new concept to me. Most flute authorities tend to be of the mind that having the left foot in front of the right, and consequently bearing more weight, is the most beneficial for the tone. I have experienced tonal benefits from both approaches. When you lean slightly with your left shoulder, it causes the muscles of your lower back and abdomen to tense slightly, making supporting easier and more automatic. I notice drastic improvements in my tone when I either focus on even distribution or on leaning. The reasoning behind both approaches makes sense. So I'm confused. Who is right? I know Michel Debost advocates standing with equal distribution, "like you are waiting for a bus." But from observing a number of prominent, gifted flutists, you see them "leaning into their sound" so to speak. Can it be that "leaning" is a kind of short-cut approach to lower back and abdomen control? It seems fully possible to me to flex those muscles, providing a solid base for your air support, while still bearing weight evenly to allow freer diaphragm and lung action. Let me know what you think, if you don't mind.
Thanks so much again, your site is an invaluable resource!
Emily Blevins, 12th grade.
Dear Emily,
Good question. I believe that Galway suggested the weight on the back foot, but, inevitably that foot will tire, and the player will briefly shift the weigth to the front foot again, for relief. I don't believe that either foot should take all the weight. I'd rather not shift the weight, if I can help it, but leave it balanced between the two. However many flutists do lean on the front foot when pushing a phrase forward. Keep experimenting, that's what I do. Video-recording yourself and seeing what weight shifts look like, and what they do would be interesting. Best, Jen