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Re: Relevance of long tones??

Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2016-04-16 16:52

OK here is a simple example. The orchestra I'm in is playing the Beethoven Egmont piece. Not hard, just maybe 6 notes quarter notes repeated with the oboe ad the flute several times during this beautiful amazing composition. There are very simple slurred solo's right in the 4th measure starting with an E to a D then slurred to high C. Quarter notes. That high C WILL pop out. Out of control. Without long tones, a decent reed, great breath control going from the middle D at pp to high C will pop out at F and stick out like a wrong note. Do you want this to happen? Not me. Took me 45 minutes of practice to get a beautiful smooth transition from the D to the high C for several days. Sure I could forget about it and just play the high C at forta but it's wrong. Deadly wrong. This will be recorded on PBS in May. I soft reed won't work. A long facing and a close tip opening for me won't work. As a double lip player I have to toy a Matson short facing with a 1.05 tip opening and a 4 Steuer Advantage Austrain German cut reed that that fits the Frech mouthpieces and has a thinker tip. The rehearsals are finally going in the right direction. My lips hurt a bit from double lip playing. The sound quality with the La Vecchia mouthpiece, a Chedaville copy, but darker, is is getting a lot of feedback from the orchestra members. A pure liquid velvety sound. So practicing 30 to 45 minute on just the 5 notes repeated throughout the Beethoven piece sounds like liquid purity. I've always had a great to professional sound.

Practice your long tones and the 12ths, also extreme breathing control.

Again these are just 4 or 5 or 6 notes throughout the piece, make every note could like Mercellus Wright, and Gennusa.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kFlERWZSTg Marcellus with George Szell.

The Solti recording is good, but I like Szell's temple better. /a mean **************, not too liked by musicians, but he got what he wanted out of the musicians and he redesigned the Severace Hall in Cleveland to , made it smaller to fit the orchestra sound better. Bringing in the walls. You can't go wrong with either. Later after Szell died the hall was was expanded twice, but the best recordings, were from the 60's and 70's. Perhaps the worlds best orchestra at the time. Not just Marcellus, but excellent musician. Georg had an incredible ear, to balance the orchestra. He added basses. I think 3, to get that right sound. Just an example.

Remember these are just 4 or 6 quarter slurred notes. You cannot in a million years play these without long tone practice going from pp < fff > to pp without complete breath control and amazing sound form practicing long tones for years - if you want to be a big league top professional including amazing having a respected top symphony sound. Each notes have to be the same same volume and loudness. The notes are hooted together as one unit. I went way overboard here, but this is what it takes to get on PBS TV and just play notes with no real meaning won't make it on PBS or recordings . Hope this helps how important sound and long tomes, 12th's work together, as well as breath, reeds and mouthpieces. It's not easy work. Bob

Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces

Yamaha Artist 2015

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Relevance of long tones?? new

Khefren Sackey

2016-04-06 03:41