I had a great session with G today - first my reeds were good, and although he did take a bit off the tips I feel like I'm really getting them in the ballpark. Then when we were playing some Telemann duets (for pitch, which he said was really good too!) he pointed out I was using a stupid fingering for B-Bb (which is an awful trill). I just used the normal one, I know about the little plate you should hold down but I never manage to slide over for it while I'm sightreading. But he told me to hold down the Ab key and trill the A finger - wow!! Works great, is kinda like the Ab -Bb trill so it's easy to remember; and it sets you up perfectly for the naschlag at the end of the trill (lower neighbor, which is Ab in this case). YAY!!! I'm so excited I want to play the Mozart again just so I can nail that stupid trill (not really).
The third thing I was working on was my articulation - esp low notes, and I felt I made significant progress there also. I will play this etude (Singer IV, #10) again for him in two weeks, feeling really good about it.
2 comments:
That's a new fingering for me, too. Thanks for sharing it! I'll have to try it when I get to campus (I'm sitting in a coffee shop in Santa Cruz). I don't have any trouble with the usual trill fingering, but I'm always up for trying something new!
Just wait 'til you encounter my douçaine. In July I had a lesson with Joan Kimball, co-director of Piffaro. I was informed to never slur on a wind instrument in Medieval and Renaissance music. My wrong reeds (the ones made from shaped and profiled contrabassoon cane) would not lt me tongue legato and it was very difficult to play in tune. I did play in tune, but I had to really fight to get it. Now I just make right reeds. I profile by hand without a profiler and shape without a shaper, but the result is so much more satisfying. When Jen and I are done with our tour dates in Oregon this week I will spend some time with my instrument maker and his wife. I attended her reedmaking workshop earlier this year, but have never had the chance to sit down and play with them. It will be nice to discuss reedmaking now that I have a slight clue about what I'm doing.
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