Author: zhangray4
Date: 2017-12-11 10:11
Wow thanks for all the suggestion guys, they are very insightful!
Christian, I think the swallowing/squeaking you are talking about is more of a finger thing than the embouchure. At least for me. Just finished some recordings a couple weeks ago for colleges, and was playing the Brahms sonata. I messed up once on the slur from Bb5 to G5: wasn't clean. But I immediately knew it was because I was being too lazy with my fingers. But it might be an embouchure thing for you. Maybe later on it will happen to me too, who knows. So I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for your comments on our school ensemble and on my playing! I am only an amateur still, and have got much to learn from people like you.
LC007, I am not sure about all the brass, but I would agree that our low brass pales slightly in comparison to some other sections in our band perhaps. However, they have all put in a lot of work, and given that this piece was very demanding for the low brass, I am very proud of what they have achieved so far. More work needs to be done of course, but I am glad our Director did not shy away from this piece just because it was very demanding of the low brass, and our ensemble's strength is not the low brass. I'm glad my Director chose this piece to galvanize our low brass.
John, thanks for your comments regarding phrasing and musicality! I will definitely try to consider the whole phrase more and sing out on the rising notes, although that was what I was trying to do when I was practicing and playing the solo during the concert. It might be the camera's mic, but before I blame it on the mic, I will definitely have someone listen to me play and ask him/her whether I should bring out certain notes. And yes, if we were to perform the First Suite for a competition/festival, I would definitely work to tune with the flute soloist, but both of us are introverts, and this was just a casual Winter concert, so I didn't bother asking the flutitst since he's a pretty quiet guy
Robert, you are right, as I listen to the recording, I feel like I could have added more rise and fall. But as I said to John, I really thought I did enough when I was performing and practicing the solo, so maybe it's the camera's mic? Before I blame that though, I will have someone listen to me playing the solo sitting where the audience sits. As for the Eb solo, my Director actually told me to bring it out, as it was unique. And when I was playing it onstage, the oboist sitting next to me sounded much louder than she usually did, so that kind of confused me a bit probably.
Thanks for all the feedback, really! Looking forward to improving my playing!
-- Ray Zhang
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The Clarinet BBoard
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