Author: vboboe
Date: 2008-01-28 05:23
<<Wouldn't it be better to work on long tones, these two scales and their arpeggio studies until I can consistently play these in tune, while also concentrating on breathing and correct embochure development rather than just slogging through playing more tunes and new notes?>>
Good question. How long are you hoping it'll take you to play these two keys in tune consistently? The reed you're using now will wear out and you'll be using lots of other reeds, and each one of them will challenge you to play in tune consistently in different ways {:-}
Scales, arpeggios and scale exercise are vital work, part of a daily hour's workout, but are you going to perform only scales in public? Meanwhile you're only training your muscle memory to sequence specific tones and semitones in a standard order. Melodies challenge you to practice other intervals as well. Plan on playing many merry melodies in the same key signatures :-)
Remember to practice relative minors with all majors, they're like right and left shoes, the fingering goes in different directions like the toes, and some of those finger sequences can be quite a surprising challenge
<<I question just going through the lessons numerically>>
It's just easier to keep track of doing everything in the book, that's all.
It's methodical. It's mechanical, like clockwork, like the metronome ...
Don't skip lessons just because they look easy. Can you actually play them as easy as they look? If you don't play them at all, how will you ever really know, 100% sure? Self-confidence doesn't rest easy on assumptions.
When you close Book 1 you want to be able to say 'I've DONE everything in it, cover to cover', otherwise you don't really 'know' that book as intimately as you could and you may never discover your weaknesses hidden in those supposedly 'easy' skipped lessons !
Try playing every 'easy' melody 3 times with different emphasis, for example do it at different tempos -- largo, the speed it sounds best at, and the fastest your fingers can do it
Largo will give you practice sustaining your air, blowing long tones evenly in tune, pace your breathing and challenge you to play long phrases on one breath without losing consciousness
playing the tune the best it can be helps you practice co-ordinating all your technical skills
playing it faster challenges you to upgrade all your technical skills
Every melody can be turned into other kinds of exercises to further your goals of playing in tune, breathing effectively and developing your embouchure, for example you could add 'wah-wahs' to every note to exercise your embouchure
Doing that is seriously goofy, makes practising lots of fun and businesslike at the same time
... uh, we haven't even discussed articulations yet [:-}
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