Author: ohsuzan
Date: 2006-04-14 02:29
I had to think about this for a while . . . do I have a routine?
Well, yes. I do.
I start with putting a couple of reeds in to soak. I always start with whatever reed was working best for me yesterday. Since I am still in the embouchure-perfecting stage, I need to minimize the variables.
Of course, just because the reed was working yesterday, doesn't mean it is going to be the same today. I don't always use the same reed every day, and if I find a particularly good one, I save it for times when I have to play in public. But, as I said, I need to minimize the variables right now.
So . . . I find a reed that is happy today, and warm up on slow, long tones, using the tape recorder rather obsessively to make sure I am getting in the right embouchure groove.
Then I move on to easy, easy "beginner book" etudes. I happen to have found a wonderful book of easy pieces by Ivan Pushechnikov (in Russian, but my mother-in-law translated the directions for me) that are not boring and keep me honest. More tape recorder.
Then maybe some scales or scale studies out of the David Hite "Melodious and Progressive" Book I. These are enjoyable. Some are actually musical. And I use the Barrett studies (not the Grand Studies right now), but I don't particularly like them.
About this point, I take a break.
When I come back, I will most likely work on repertoire, either things I am learning on my own, for a lesson, or for band. If I have any exposed or outright solo passages in the community band music, I give them the full tape recorder treatment. (Got a couple of doozies coming up for the April 23rd concert.)
My biggest challenge with repertoire is to not gloss over things that aren't quite right. In band, with the trumpets blaring, it doesn't really matter if the oboes are getting every note. But in my own repertoire, I have found that I don't grow (i.e., get better) if I don't actually hold my own feet to the fire and work every passage until it is clean.
For intonation work, I have found that using the "Music Minus One" type material (prerecorded accompaniments) is invaluable. This also helps my reading. I notice that when I have been working with the prerecorded accompaniments, Tuesday night rehearsals (of completely different material) are much easier.
I play (or play at playing) probably three hours a day, not counting lessons or rehearsals. Time really does fly when I'm having this kind of fun, and I get grouchy (withdrawal?) if I can't get my time in.
It's getting better.
Susan
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