Tag Archives: Andersen studies

Day 47 – November 16th – Sequences

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I’m still struggling to memorise the sequences that Trevor proposes in our warm-ups, and so today played them in each of my hours of technique practice. Hopefully the focus will make them stick a bit more, because I’m a bit sick of getting flustered in class as soon as the tempo goes up at notch. On the other hand (as I was reminded by a friend in Australia the other day), it’s not about learning it all right this minute, but about the improvement – if I can play them a bit faster in class tomorrow then I’m getting somewhere!

This week’s etudes are something of a mixed bag. I’ve done a lot of work on Andersen No. 6 before, and ended up winning the open study section of the Lesile Barklamb Scholarship (Victorian Flute Guild) with it in 2011. I feel like it’s come back together relatively easily over the past few days, but that Trevor will have a lot to say about ornaments, trills and expression. I’ve been trying to play grace notes and mordants as fast as possible, and to make sure that all dynamics are observed. After last week comments, I’ve also spent some time thinking about the large-scale picture, of harmonic direction and the overall structure of the piece.

I am, however, finding the Altès studies less appealing. I was asked to repeat the central section of No. 5 at the correct speed, which hasn’t been too difficult to achieve. Moving on to No. 6, and I can play both the articulation patterns, just not for three pages at the given speed! No. 7 is a similar story. I’ve been trying not to get too frustrated with these studies, and to embrace the challenge of maintaining the clarity of articulation, but definitely find them less appealing to practise than the Andersen.

Today I had my first experiment with the slow cooker, and was really happy with the result. Leftover sweet potatoes, cabbage, parsnips with veggie stock and some herbs came out five hours later tasting absolutely fantastic!

Day 41 – November 10th – Good, but…

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I’d prepared a lot of things for today’s class: two Moyse studies, two Andersen, two Altès and the traverso scale. It seemed that the overriding theme though, with regards to my playing at least, was that no matter how hight I tried to set the bar there was always a but. Here are some selected highlights:

Moyse #9 (theme): Rhythm was now fine (as opposed to last week) but there was no expression.

Moyse #10 (theme): Good forte sound, but the last note was cut.

Andersen #4b: The first four lines were some of my best playing so far, but them the staccato got sloppy.

Andersen #5: “Some quite good playing happening, and not too many wrong notes”, but I wasn’t showing a good enough understanding of the piece’s structure and key changes.

Altès #4: Good articulation, but I was skipping beats because hadn’t learned the notes well enough.

Altès #5: A section fine, but I hadn’t learned the B section fast enough.

Traverso scales of D and C major: Fine, but why couldn’t I play a Bb or G# yet?

I’ve noticed that this teaching method of never being satisfied doesn’t apply to everyone – some of the others were told for this or that piece that “there are some good things coming from your playing” and that was it. I hope this means Trevor can see I’m a hard and keen worker, and that he can push me a bit further than some of the others. The main point that came across today though was that I still need to work a lot on playing expressively rather than trying to follow g musical ‘rules’.

In the evening, I went for dinner (fish and chips!), wine and some good British comedy with the lovely Sue and Paul. It was great to get away from the flute class for a bit, share some laughs and good talk, and generally have a bit of down time. I’m also now two episodes into Cold Feet, and looking forward to more!

Day 34 – November 3rd – Planning a concert

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Today’s class went a lot better than I was expecting – all my articulation woes over the past few days had me totally prepared for a shredding. However, Andersen No. 4 was generally approved of, at least it was pronounced more staccato, more even and more musical than last week. Trevor’s one comment was that my dynamics weren’t either wide enough of consistent (the piano I started off with was not the one I came back to four lines later). Fair enough, but I was personally just happy that the notes were short enough! I still feel that this study is one that I need to keep returning to, and hopefully I’ll have the opportunity to play it again for Trevor near the end of my time here.

As for all the other studies, Altès was fine but No. 3 should have been faster (fair enough, I only learned it yesterday). My selection of Moyse studies met with a little more criticism, and I need to play both No. 9 and 10 again next week. No. 9, in Ab major, starts with a double-dotted theme, then goes on to two allegro variations that look simple but are an exercise in decrescendo-ing but not cutting slurs. Needless to say, I was both clipping and not decrescendo-ing enough! I also need to work on maintaining the rhythm throughout the theme. Moyse No. 10, on the other hand, is about playing loudly, crescendoing downwards and tenuto accents, and my fortes still need work.

We also received our allocations for the Christmas concert, with the repertoire mostly Trevor’s flute ensemble arrangements of jazz pieces. After dinner, we all read through them at the Old Dairy. I’ve got a smattering of piccolo and a couple of nasty little runs, but nothing too tricky. All the pieces are upbeat and crowd-pleasing with catchy tunes. I feel like I’m going to be utterly sick of them by the time Christmas comes round!

I’ve been trying to remember to write down some of Trevor’s quotes, with today’s pick being: “When you die, you either go to a flute recital or heaven”. I really do wonder sometimes whether he actually likes flutes at all!

Day 33 – November 2nd – Wet weather

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I think a proper autumn might finally have arrived. While I made it out for a rather blustery run at 6:45am and our walk also went ahead at 7:42pm, most of the time in between was very wet and windy. Ah well, I have a good stock of tea and plenty to do!

I feel like I’m getting through more in my practice sessions these days, partly because both scales and Moyse exercises are both happening a lot faster than a month ago. It also helps that I’m almost there with memorising the Reichert exercises – even if they’re not perfect, gone at least are the days of spending 15min trying to work out what on earth is going on in Bb minor.

My plan with the augmented and diminished arpeggios was somewhat successful, in that I think playing them at the beginning of my scales session helped with focus. There aren’t any good exercises for them in Complete Daily Exercises, though I remembered later in the day that there are a few in Exercises Journaliers which I’ll try. I ended up playing cascades of augmented arpeggios for a little while, which is easier ascending than descending.

The painful part of the day was most certainly studies and my articulation battles as a result. I am making progress, but slowly. Altes No. 2 is now up to speed, and the outer sections of No. 3 are fine, but there is a rather nasty B section in that one with lots of leaps. The Moyse studies I’ve been working on are like the Altes ones in miniature – No. 9 is an excellent exercise in making a slur a decrescendo but not cutting off the note. As for the dreaded Andersen No. 4, it is certainly better than last week in that I am playing shorter staccatos. However, I think my overall dynamic plan has suffered as a result, and I’m still not good at maintaining the super-short staccato for extended periods of time. My ideal for tomorrow would be being told that I can move on from the study for now, but need to return to it in a month or so when I’ve had the chance for the articulation exercises to sink in a little more.

Finally, various listening projects today have unearthed two very inspiring (though very different recordings). The first, as part of my flute CD listening, was a recording of William Bennett speaking on BBC radio about the history of the French Flute school and his experiences in Paris. It was fascinating to hear his thoughts on different players, and Fernand Dufrene’s recording of the Jolivet Concerto included in the broadcast was superb.

Then I’ve been doing a little searching for flute and bass trombone repertoire for a potential concert in Australia next year. It’s a tricky one, but I found this piece by Gyorgy Kurtag for piccolo, trombone and guitar. I always find Kurtag’s music fascinating, and have had this video on repeat while writing today’s post!

 

Day 27 – October 27th – Articulation

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Mixed success in class today, though no excruciating moments. I started out well, getting through the Moyse 24 Melodic Studies nos 5, 8 and the variation of no. 4 (carried over from last week) with pretty good feedback. In the variations of no. 8, I still need to work on totally equal triplets, as well as good phrase endings (not chopping) and clear re-articulation of repeated notes. Most importantly, though, I didn’t get one negative comment about expression.

Then came the trickier part in the form of Andersen no. 4, which opened up the can of worms that is articulation. The main feedback for the study itself was that notes weren’t staccato throughout, with other additional comments being made about the relative dynamics of notes and evenness, which I knew still needed work before I played it!

Articulation has never been a strong point, and this study rather highlighted my inability to maintain a short, light staccato, let alone one that allows me a good control of dynamics. It’s my own fault, I have never been a consistent practiser of articulation exercises for single tonguing, and have tended to work on it only when required. Along with re-doing the study next week (as expected!), I have been prescribed work on Trevor’s Practice Book 3 which deals with articulation. Lots of tongue-free abdominal muscle work in store for me! I need to make sure not to move anything when doing these exercises, not my lips, mouth, shoulders or flute. Challenge accepted.

My bash through Altès no. 2 was mostly fine, although there is a rather tricky high sequence in the middle that I hadn’t done enough work on. Interestingly, the class said that the articulation was better when I played it faster. In some ways I shot myself in the foot with this study, but I really had no choice. Everyone else repeated Andersen no. 3 from last week and didn’t have to do battle with no. 4, so had more time for Altès. Oh well, hopefully I’ll be able to redeem myself on that front next week.

Finally, I played the first two movements of Handel’s sonata in F major in the recorder, which Trevor approved of. So I’ve ticked that box (with very minimal practice) and can hopefully get the Baroque flute next month.