Monday, June 1, 2009
Practising
Today I practised for a solid 45 minutes, warm-up included. I then blogged for another half an hour. After finishing this post I will be working on my orchestration assignment. I practised all of my exam requirements and I am improving!! I really worked on my chromatic scales and I am confident in my ability to play them at a normal tempo. I need to practise more of the rhythm part of the exam, seeing as I sometimes struggle with pitch when concentrating on rhythm. I plan on practising a little bit more before I go to bed. As I am preparing for my exam, I am discovering, it is not too difficult once you play it through. The requirements appear scary, but it is all practise. There is nothing too specific I need to work on, I just need to play through it over, and over and over and I will be okay!
Band Questions
1. Throughout band I have noticed the musicality of my playing developing. After learning the correct fingering for the Bb french horn as opposed to the F French horn, I have discovered that notes above high C are not difficult! This improvment on range has in turn improved my musicality. I am more comfortable with my instrument, and I do not focus as much on the higher pitches as I do on the piece itself. I have most definately improved my confidence level, which really allows me to open up and really feel our repetoire.
2. The one struggle I really had this year was commitment, however this is an ongoing struggle. I am a very busy person, but I throroughly enjoy band, thus my involvment in band is desirable. I noticed that my practising was not at the calibre it should be. I do however have a french horn at home and once beginning instrumental class I have been practising a lot more, and noticing an improvement in my playing.
3. My musical highlight was most definately playing rumble on the high plains. (at every concert). The first time our band played it through witht he percussion it was magical, and I did not know that we had that many talented percussionists in our band. I was very excited everytime we had the opportunity to play this piece because it was impressive (even when chimes are missed :P). Overall Rumble on the High Plains was my favourite piece and a musical highlight of mine.
4. I was very impressed with the band`s ability to sight read. I really do believe our band accels in sight reading and we were very intuitive at nationals to the dynamics, phrases and overall musicality of the piece. Unfortunately our success is almost our downfall. The band struggles with practising (myself included) which in turn improves our sight reading at some expense. I firmly believe if the band practised maybe 10 more minutes a week it would make significant improvements to all of our repertoire.
2. The one struggle I really had this year was commitment, however this is an ongoing struggle. I am a very busy person, but I throroughly enjoy band, thus my involvment in band is desirable. I noticed that my practising was not at the calibre it should be. I do however have a french horn at home and once beginning instrumental class I have been practising a lot more, and noticing an improvement in my playing.
3. My musical highlight was most definately playing rumble on the high plains. (at every concert). The first time our band played it through witht he percussion it was magical, and I did not know that we had that many talented percussionists in our band. I was very excited everytime we had the opportunity to play this piece because it was impressive (even when chimes are missed :P). Overall Rumble on the High Plains was my favourite piece and a musical highlight of mine.
4. I was very impressed with the band`s ability to sight read. I really do believe our band accels in sight reading and we were very intuitive at nationals to the dynamics, phrases and overall musicality of the piece. Unfortunately our success is almost our downfall. The band struggles with practising (myself included) which in turn improves our sight reading at some expense. I firmly believe if the band practised maybe 10 more minutes a week it would make significant improvements to all of our repertoire.
Practising for Thursday May 28th
This is just a quick blog post for Thursday May 28th, I practised for approximately 20 minutes (warm-up icluded) for my band test. I had to play two exerpts from Chillers and Thrillers, one the first 10 bars of the piece and the second was from bar 191 to the end of the piece. Both sections were the "Imperial March (aka Darth vader's theme)". I was attempting to focus mainly on rhythm, because I notice at times I have difficulty with quick and short rhythms, and my playing becomes a jumled mess. I was also aware of the sfz on some notes and the accented (>) markings below certain repeated notes. I really emphasized the accented notes, in order to create diversity with repeated notes, and the strength that this song requires. The end section also had some difficult dynamics, such as sfz, fp cresc. to a ff. I worked on getting up to ff but not over blowing and sacrificing my pitch. By the end of my practising I concluded that yes, I am sacrificing some dynamic level for pitch, but that is better than vice versa!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
French Horn Player
Jacek Muzyk is a polish french horn player. Jacek was born in Ploland and lived in poland for most of his life. He began his career of playing the ferench horn at the age of seven. Jacek becan playing jazz piano and enjoyed it, however he began intensely studying the french horn at eighteen years of age.
Jacek Muzyk attemded the Academy of Music in Krakow and graduated with a Masters degree in music, with french horn as his principle instrument. Muzyk also completed anoth masters degree at Mannes College of Music in New York. In New York he studied with the famous soloist, David Jolley.
Jacek Muzyk also attended Julliard with a full scholarship and continued studying at Rice University in Houston (TX).
Upon return to Poland, Muzyk began conducting well-known large orchestras. In Poland there is a group of Poland's finest musicians is called Krystian Zimerman's Polish Festival Orchestra. In 1999 Jacek was selected as the principal horn player and toured Europe and United States with the group. With this group Jacek won a grammy and was invited to join othere Orchestras.
Jacek continued being a principle horn player, or a featured horn player with American Orchestras and European Orchestras throughout his life.
Recently as a soloist, Jacek Muzyk recorded two cds. The first was all four Mozart concertos and the second was Bach cello suites in transcryption for French horn.
I chose to reserach him because he studied at not one post secondary school, but four. I also was interested in how Jacek studied in Europe and in America. Judging by his biography he is a well rounded musician and world renowned.
Sooooo it has been quite some time since I have last posted. In today's post I am going to reflect on the practising I have been doing for the last little while (I always forget to post). So far with my french horn I have attended Nationals and I have played at the spring concert. I still have yet to do my playing test (page 22 in the 3D Band Book). I have been constantly practising the scale, especially the thirds. The only difficulty I am having with this test is the fingering changes, because if I get too quick with my tempo I will use the wrong fingerings. The only way I can improve this is to slow down and start over, eventually I will be lightning fast given the amount of time I have been practising.
I have practised The Light Eternal, Rumble on the High Plains, Rhosymedre, Carmina Burana and Chillers and Thrillers. By now Rhosymedre has become second nature and my main focus was on musicality. The light Eternal is in the smae boat. I can achieve a higher level of musicality by moving phrases and using dynamic contrasts to add empahsis on the emotion meant to be evoked.
Rumble on the High Plains went well at Music Nationals and Spring Concert... the only problem I had was counting at Nationals! I came in a beat too early... now I really look out for the 5/4 bars!
Carmina Burana really needs more emphasis put on the musicality of the piece. With more time spent with that piece I'm sure the overall outcome of Carmina Burana's debut would have been different.
Chillers and Thrillers was a little more polished than Carmina Burana, however once again with more time it would have been spectacular.
For all of these pieces I play right through them at attempted fast tempos in order to build up my tolerance of playing the french horn for long periods of time.
Until tomorrow? (If I remember :P)
I have practised The Light Eternal, Rumble on the High Plains, Rhosymedre, Carmina Burana and Chillers and Thrillers. By now Rhosymedre has become second nature and my main focus was on musicality. The light Eternal is in the smae boat. I can achieve a higher level of musicality by moving phrases and using dynamic contrasts to add empahsis on the emotion meant to be evoked.
Rumble on the High Plains went well at Music Nationals and Spring Concert... the only problem I had was counting at Nationals! I came in a beat too early... now I really look out for the 5/4 bars!
Carmina Burana really needs more emphasis put on the musicality of the piece. With more time spent with that piece I'm sure the overall outcome of Carmina Burana's debut would have been different.
Chillers and Thrillers was a little more polished than Carmina Burana, however once again with more time it would have been spectacular.
For all of these pieces I play right through them at attempted fast tempos in order to build up my tolerance of playing the french horn for long periods of time.
Until tomorrow? (If I remember :P)
Friday, April 3, 2009
Thursday April 2nd
This post is for yesterday Thursday April 2nd.
Last night I practised for about 10 minutes plus warm-up. The only thing I really practised was the two second suite selections for the test today. I practised two parts in the fourth movement. The first, easy one being 3 bars after G for eight bars. The only thing I really need to focus on is the fff dynamic and the slurs, making sure all notes that need to be attached are. The second part is 4 bars after E. I have to work on the transition bear because this section incorperates 4 bars of trwo different sections. I have the repetitive eighth notes moving into the melody. All in all I worked on my speed and pitches.
Last night I practised for about 10 minutes plus warm-up. The only thing I really practised was the two second suite selections for the test today. I practised two parts in the fourth movement. The first, easy one being 3 bars after G for eight bars. The only thing I really need to focus on is the fff dynamic and the slurs, making sure all notes that need to be attached are. The second part is 4 bars after E. I have to work on the transition bear because this section incorperates 4 bars of trwo different sections. I have the repetitive eighth notes moving into the melody. All in all I worked on my speed and pitches.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Sunday MArch 29
This post is for Sunday March 29.
I practised for 40 minutes today. I worked once again on Second Suite. I practised Movement two Song Without Words. I really focused on keeping my dynamic level at a pp level. This was very difficult because I found my pitch would drop if I went too quiet. I also worked on having a smooth, soft sound throughout the whole movement. Eight bars before the end the french horn has moving quarter notes and I practised those attempting to lower my dynamic level and increase the smooth slurring and phrasing.
I also really worked on Section E of the fourth Movement. The french horn has moving eighth notes and it is difficult to change the fingering quickly and have the correct pitch/timing. I really worked on the correct pitches and gradually increased my speed. I feel much more confident at that section fo the movement.
At this time, my mouth was hurting and I was ready to take a break so I did.
question... is your mouth supposed to hurt after playing, and is it normal for your lips to become red and swollen? How do you prevent it?
I practised for 40 minutes today. I worked once again on Second Suite. I practised Movement two Song Without Words. I really focused on keeping my dynamic level at a pp level. This was very difficult because I found my pitch would drop if I went too quiet. I also worked on having a smooth, soft sound throughout the whole movement. Eight bars before the end the french horn has moving quarter notes and I practised those attempting to lower my dynamic level and increase the smooth slurring and phrasing.
I also really worked on Section E of the fourth Movement. The french horn has moving eighth notes and it is difficult to change the fingering quickly and have the correct pitch/timing. I really worked on the correct pitches and gradually increased my speed. I feel much more confident at that section fo the movement.
At this time, my mouth was hurting and I was ready to take a break so I did.
question... is your mouth supposed to hurt after playing, and is it normal for your lips to become red and swollen? How do you prevent it?
Thursday March 26
The blog post is for Thursday March 26.
I practised for a shorter period of time on thruday. I practised for probably 15 minutes. For this practising session I worked on the rest of the first movemnet for second suite. I practised from G-K. In these sections I just needed to work on pitch with speed. The rhythms are fairly straightforward throughout these sections and the pitches are very repetitive. The only thing I needed to really work on was adding dynamics and speed to the ryhthms and pitch. I discovered that my pitch suffered when my dynamics became too powerful. This especially occurred at K when the dynamic level is ff. The only way I could fix the problem was lower my dynamic level, but then I am too quiet. How do I fix this?
I practised for a shorter period of time on thruday. I practised for probably 15 minutes. For this practising session I worked on the rest of the first movemnet for second suite. I practised from G-K. In these sections I just needed to work on pitch with speed. The rhythms are fairly straightforward throughout these sections and the pitches are very repetitive. The only thing I needed to really work on was adding dynamics and speed to the ryhthms and pitch. I discovered that my pitch suffered when my dynamics became too powerful. This especially occurred at K when the dynamic level is ff. The only way I could fix the problem was lower my dynamic level, but then I am too quiet. How do I fix this?
Monday March 23
The blog is for monday March 23.
I practised for about 25 minutes last monday. I warmed up on the Bb concert scale up as high as i could go and as low as I could go. I am trying to incorperate the new Bb frech horn fingering into my practising because I am slowly discovering that the correct fingering, as hard as it is to remember, makes my upper register a much safer and easier territory to play in.
I mainly worked on Second Suite. I worked on the first movement from A-F I stopped at G because G was the section I found easiest. I uses my metronome set at a low tempo so I could attempt to get all the correct picthes and rhythms without the pressure of speed. As I improved I sped up the tempo. By the end of my practsing I was playing what I thought to be close to allegro. My main focuses for this practising session were rhythms, pitches and accents. I believe this session was a successful practising session.
I practised for about 25 minutes last monday. I warmed up on the Bb concert scale up as high as i could go and as low as I could go. I am trying to incorperate the new Bb frech horn fingering into my practising because I am slowly discovering that the correct fingering, as hard as it is to remember, makes my upper register a much safer and easier territory to play in.
I mainly worked on Second Suite. I worked on the first movement from A-F I stopped at G because G was the section I found easiest. I uses my metronome set at a low tempo so I could attempt to get all the correct picthes and rhythms without the pressure of speed. As I improved I sped up the tempo. By the end of my practsing I was playing what I thought to be close to allegro. My main focuses for this practising session were rhythms, pitches and accents. I believe this session was a successful practising session.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Okay, so I know you probably won't believe this Mr. Stevenson, But I have been Practising and I have completely forgot to post. Usually once I'm done practising I move on to some other form of homework and completely forget. So basically this week, I practised tuesday night, and wednesday night and last weekend I practised saturday and sunday. I cannot specifically remember what I practised however, I know I work on all music fest pieces and the playing test that was on thursday. The biggest challenges I have faced throughout the past week is
Rumble: Making sure I have my counting right and really focusing on dynamics and articulation. There are a lot of different rhythms in the piece and I need to make sure that I have them all down.
Rhosymedre:The french horn does have the melody a lot in this piece so I have been working on my breathing and have been attempting to stretch out the phrases. I have been trying this because the melody sounds awul when a random breath is taken in the missle of a phrase
Light Eternal: The two sections I have been working on are 40 and 157. I have been working on these sections because the french horn has mainly a solo part, and I do not want it to sound muddy. Although at band on thursday you did say 40 needed work, back to the drawing board.
Playing test: Mainly with this playing test I tried to learn the fingering for the Bb french horn (since I'm playing one). The fingerings do make a difference, with a nicer pitch and it is easier to reach higher notes, I just have to memorize them and getused to them without returning to my old ways of playing.
Rumble: Making sure I have my counting right and really focusing on dynamics and articulation. There are a lot of different rhythms in the piece and I need to make sure that I have them all down.
Rhosymedre:The french horn does have the melody a lot in this piece so I have been working on my breathing and have been attempting to stretch out the phrases. I have been trying this because the melody sounds awul when a random breath is taken in the missle of a phrase
Light Eternal: The two sections I have been working on are 40 and 157. I have been working on these sections because the french horn has mainly a solo part, and I do not want it to sound muddy. Although at band on thursday you did say 40 needed work, back to the drawing board.
Playing test: Mainly with this playing test I tried to learn the fingering for the Bb french horn (since I'm playing one). The fingerings do make a difference, with a nicer pitch and it is easier to reach higher notes, I just have to memorize them and getused to them without returning to my old ways of playing.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
practising
My absence in band today, due to a volleyball practise, inspired me to really work on my music fest pieces tonight. I practised for 45-50 ish minutes.
Rhosymedre: This piece has a very comfortable range for the frech horn, however most of the time the french horn has the meleody therefore having the correct timing and a nice full sound is ideal for this piece. In Rhosymedre I play 2nd french horn so I practised the second last bar where I have the moving eighth notes at a pp dynamic level while gradually slowing down (rall.) Throughout this piece there are some dynamic contrasts (i.e. bar 19 cresc. 23 cresc, 24 dim, f at bar 35, 37-38 cresc, 44 dim)
Second Suite: I mainly worked on Song without words (2nd movement) because I know at rehearsal Mr. Stevenson usually works on this piece ( quote: "the second movement is the movement that will set aside the winning band from the others" ... or something like that) I really focused on pitches while practising this piece. The french horn is constantly at a low/quiet dynamic throughout the piece, which can cause the pitch to drop.
The Light Eternal: By using a metronome I gradually increased my tempo at bar 150, where the french horn has the melody with the saxes. By gradually increasing the tempo I knew that I was hitting the pitches, the right accents, and the slurs without speed covering up my mistakes.
After practising I realized that my mouth was very sore, and I drew the conclusion that I have to work on my playing endurance so my ability does not decrease as I play songs in a performance.
Rhosymedre: This piece has a very comfortable range for the frech horn, however most of the time the french horn has the meleody therefore having the correct timing and a nice full sound is ideal for this piece. In Rhosymedre I play 2nd french horn so I practised the second last bar where I have the moving eighth notes at a pp dynamic level while gradually slowing down (rall.) Throughout this piece there are some dynamic contrasts (i.e. bar 19 cresc. 23 cresc, 24 dim, f at bar 35, 37-38 cresc, 44 dim)
Second Suite: I mainly worked on Song without words (2nd movement) because I know at rehearsal Mr. Stevenson usually works on this piece ( quote: "the second movement is the movement that will set aside the winning band from the others" ... or something like that) I really focused on pitches while practising this piece. The french horn is constantly at a low/quiet dynamic throughout the piece, which can cause the pitch to drop.
The Light Eternal: By using a metronome I gradually increased my tempo at bar 150, where the french horn has the melody with the saxes. By gradually increasing the tempo I knew that I was hitting the pitches, the right accents, and the slurs without speed covering up my mistakes.
After practising I realized that my mouth was very sore, and I drew the conclusion that I have to work on my playing endurance so my ability does not decrease as I play songs in a performance.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
practising
My practising actually happened on friday, but i forgot to post. I practised for 45 minutes on different repertoire. I mainly focused on The light Eternal because I have a lot of solos in that piece. I discovered the more I practised the easier the transitions between my high register and low register became. Along with The Light Eternal, I practised my chromatic scales. I practised these at a higher calibre than on my playing test. As I warmed up the scales became easier and easier. Hopefully, on Monday I will be allowed to do my retest :P
Monday, February 2, 2009
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