Author: Dutchy
Date: 2009-01-10 12:57
Second what John said about scales.
I've been doing this for 4 years now, come March, I don't have small hands, and Left-Hand Eb has always--always--been a chronic occasional offender for me at not sounding. The best thing I've found to rectify the situation is to play scales. Every day. Every single day. [weary sigh]
I've got the list of Major Scales And Arpeggios In All Keys Including Chromatic Scales from the back of this book (although it's nothing special, you can find them most anywhere), and I plod through those every day. It has made a difference, although sometimes I think my head will explode. I try to do them first, get them out of they way, so then the rest of my practice is like my reward for the scales. And I tell myself that it's like a ballet dancer doing "class" every day--you gotta stand there at the barre and do those exercises every day, or else.
Anyway. The times when I slack off and don't do them, when I just practice etudes and pieces, suddenly I start noticing that Left-Hand Eb is bein' cranky again, also the low notes C-B-Bb, so I go back to the scales. There's a lot to be said for patient, slow, technique-building exercise.
Someone was interviewing cellist Pablo Casals towards the end of his life, and he mentioned that he still played scales every day, and the interviewer expressed surprise and asked him why, after all this time. And he said, "Because there is still room for improvement".
So I guess if Pablo Casals still played scales, I probably ought to, too.
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