Questioning your practising motivation while stuck at home with no rehearsals or performances? We all are!!!
This husband-wife team, the violin-performing LA Philharmonic members (see their at-home duet video), take a good honest look at their motivation during stay at home practise:
Stand Partners For Life Podcast - audio (listen here)
The Summer Motivation Espisode (during lockdown's longest summer)
I really enjoy this couple's "stand partners for life" honesty, professionalism, and candour about how it feels to be a working classical musican!
Listen to the questions posed at the Summer Motivation podcast above, and also enjoy the free Bach Violin Sonata video lessons too! Flutists can learn the violin sonatas by Bach and how and why he wrote in the manner he did! Check out all these videos on Nathan Cole's playlist:
Nathan Cole's Violympics & Bach on the Road lessons (All youtube videos)
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Notes:
Violin Duets that were mentioned on the podcast that may be worth a look for flutists to record at home. Just play both parts of any duet onto a multi-track recorder (change key if necessary for violin morphed to range), or play one part recorded with a metronome going, and one part live:
Mentioned on the podcast and may be worth checking out for flute:
Spohr Duets for violins: (imslp see duets)
Leclair Duets for violins: (imslp see duets)
Bach Violin Sonatas (imslp free pdfs) for studying along with Nathan Cole's Bach series.
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Bonus - Flute Related!
Inspiration: A new transcription of the (difficult to obtain) Waxman Carmen!
(not yet offered on his website, though.)
Denis Bouriakov plays the Franz Waxman
(Bouraikov Arrangement of) Carmen Fantasy:(video)
Church Concert
Well, I'm inspired to borrow impatiently from the violinist's repertoire....
Aren't you?? :>)
Best, Jen
I've only just discovered your You Tube videos on embouchure work and I have a question. I've only recently started playing again after 40 years. I was a flute major in college, and so I have some background and am not a rank beginner (although sometimes it feels so).... But I am back to working on my embouchure (and *everything*) and am keen to get better control but am not sure exactly what the best strategy is. Of course I worked those many years ago with Marcel Moyse's de la Sonorite and so forth, but now am sort of starting again but am having trouble loosening up. I can manage a quite lovely sound for awhile, but when I apply it to solo work, and especially with intervals, everything goes increasingly tight and the registers fall apart. At your suggestion, I've just ordered Werner Richter's "Conditioning Training for the Embouchure." But so my question is, how long do you suggest I work strictly on the embouchure technique before moving on to etudes, solo pieces, etc. Do you recommend a strict regimen of only the embouchure work for several weeks alone? Or a graduated approach. Am not sure how to proceed now, and would appreciate any suggestions you can offer. Thank you so much.
ReplyDeleteDear Colleen,
ReplyDeleteThis sounds typical of what happens: we tighten up when we try to play pieces or larger intervals. It's the kind of topic that I've been working with for years. Probably deserves an article of its own! Basically you "relax completely" (your face/lips/throat etc.) every three minutes, like you've put an egg-timer on, and every three minutes it reminds you to check in with your tension level and reduce it from 10, 9, 8, 7, 6......down to about a 0, 1, 2 or 3 out of 10 in tension. If you keep doing this every three minutes, you'll catch yourself before your facial muscles start tightening without your knowing it.
More later...........Jen
Here you go Colleen: Your own article:
ReplyDeletehttps://jennifercluff.blogspot.com/2020/07/getting-back-in-shape-after-years-away.html
Best, Jen
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