Practice this week.

This week, monday and today that is, I practiced for an hour. On monday I spent 20 minutes playing through Pirates, going through some of the quick rythms and playing them slowly to try to get them down. I especially focused on the section "One Last Shot" as the rythms have triplets and are more comlex. I just played them one at a time, then two at a time etc. until they became easier. The other 10 minutes I played through my celtic pieces.

Today I only played my recital piece on flute and also my "Stairway to Heaven" on piano. It is really coming along nicely. The flute piece is getting faster and faster as I continue to play it and I really think it will be wonderful for the recital. I have been working on dynamics and now need to concentrate on accenting the first note of each bar, now that the rythms are easier to play. I can actually play the piece so accenting is crucial to making the piece absolutely perfect!

Practice this Weekend.

This weekend I practiced for a total of 1 hour. On Saturday I practiced my celtic music for half an hour. I played my recital piece, but also played a few other pieces in my book just for fun. The songs are all very fast and are excellent for sight reading. The rythms are usually quite similar but they are so fun and playful that you can't help loving playing them.

Today I practiced "Pirates", just for fun, and I also played through 'Bohemian Rhapsody" and "James Bond", trying to get the rythms down for if we play it in class. Taking the rythms slow is key, especially in Pirates, but once I have played them over slowly, they get easier.

practice.

Today i practiced for half an hour. I did rumble and light eternal for 20 minutes and played my celtic music for 10 minutes. I practiced just generally going over the two band pieces so that I feel comfortable for tomorrow night's show. In light eternal I went over the part on the third page that si really fast and has high rythms. It's sort of like a flute solo? At least you can really hear the flutes! In rumble I went over the chromatic up and down scale and the very last chromatic scale at the end of the piece. My celtic song I just played for fun, as always.

Youtube Assignment

James Galway-Annie's Song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkUpto_ohEc)

This is the name of the youtube video I selected. It is a celtic song which I really love and that is why I chose it for the assignment. Sir James Galway plays this piece, along with a band behind him. Sir James Galway is one of the first floutists to make an international career as a soloist for himself. He studied under John Franics at the Royal College of Music and then went to the Guildhall School of Music studying under Geoffery Gilbert. He then went to the Paris Conservatoire and studied under both Gaston Crunelle and Jean-Pierre Rampal. After this incredible education he became an orchestral player for 15 years. He was born in Belfast and launched his solo career in 1975. He has sold over 30 million albums and has made frequent television appearances. He is now nearly 70 years old.

The piece I chose by James Galway is "Annie's Song" which he first recorder in 1978. The piece was written originally be John Denver. This piece is quite repetetive, but still very beautiful. The band in the background makes it sound almost like an italian piece, but if you focus on the flute alone, you hear beautiful long notes and a perfect tone. It is very hard to play long notes on a flute and have them sound perfect from beginning to end but James Galway manages to do this. This is especially difficult to do when the notes get higher as it takes more air. The simplicity of the song is actually what makes it difficult to play as you have to play every note to perfection. The rythms are always perfect and always sound the same. He is a very consistent player and you can tell he has clearly been playing the flute for a long time and knows his instrument well. The band behind himd does make this song sound better, but his playing is the main focal point and it is really amazing.

pRaCtIcE

Today and yesterday I practiced for a total of 1 hour. Yesterday I practiced through the Holst and through my celtic music. I played through the 1st and 2nd movement, as I feel like I have the third movement down pat. I practiced through the high section at the end of movement one many many times as I want to have it perfect for kiwanis. I play it one note, then two notes, then three notes at a time etc. until I have it down perfectly.

Today I practiced through Rumble and through my celtic song. Rumble I have rpetty much got down, I just practiced the chromatic up and down scale a few times to make sure I can still do it. I also practiced the scale that goes up really fast at the very end that only the flutes play. My celtic song is really coming along nicely and I can't wait to play it for recital.

Practice

Today I practiced for an hour and a half! I had a music lesson for an hour, so I brought my Holst and practiced what I will be playing for the test tomorrow with Donna. I picked the end of the first movement for my "difficult part" and a piece fromt eh fourth movement for my "easy part". The difficult part is only difficult because I always play high A instead of high A flat. It is a new fingering for me so it is more difficult to play. I am playing through it slowly and getting better and better at it. Now I just need to increase my speed!

I also practiced my celtic song and my stairway to Heaven piece on Piano. The celtic song (on flute) is getting better and i am getting faster and faster at it. I am trying to work on dynamics now and keeping up a fast pace with it. My Stairway to Heaven still needs alot of work, but that will just come with more practice, getting all the notes and rythms down pat.

Practice this weekend

So today and yesterday I practiced a total of 40 minutes, 20 minutes each day. I played the first movement of Holst, mainly the ending where there is a key change. I also, as always, played my celtic music. The Holst is going well, it's just getting the high A flats and being able to play it all at a fast pace. I am playing through it slowly and starting to get it, but it is challenging. It goes so fast that your fingers are flying and getting that high A flat is a real challenge for me. But hopefully , as i continue to play through it slowly, it will improve!

My celtic song is coming along nicely. I basically have the rythms down, now I just need to work on dynamics, accents etc. It is a very prettys ong and I think it will be very nice for the recital.

I also played through my "stairway to heaven" which is getting easier as i play it. For now i am mainly working on just getting the notes and rythms down, and then i will concentrate on dynamics, phrasing etc.

I also played "hallelujah" (from shrek) on piano. This is a very basic song but I love playing it because of how beautful the melody is!

Practice

Today I practiced for half an hour. Half of this time was donated to band repetoire and the other half was my own personal music. I only practiced the Holst for the Band music as we are performing it tomorrow night and I feel it is the piece that I need to work on the most. I worked on end of the first movement where there is a key change. I am still having alot of trouble getting that high "a" AND being able to play it fast. I am taking it slowly and hopefully it will come. I practiced the third movement as well and, other than never seeming to have enough air in my lungs I find it fairly easy. I have the rythms down it's just playing them so fast that can be difficult as it takes so much air to play. For the 2nd movement I practiced playing slowly and quitely, but still smoothly. It can be difficult to get the notes out witht eh flute and play quietly but I am getting the hang of it. I just hope I can play it that well tomorrow night!

For my personal pieces I just played some of my celtic music and my "stairway to heaven" on piano. This music is just for fun and to keep my playing. Stairway to Heaven is really coming along nicely and I think it will sound amazing at the recital. The first page has some difficult parts as there are many accidentals in some sections but as I continue to play it more and more I am improving. The rest of it is just practicing and getting the notes and rythms down perfectly. My celtic song is getting better and better every time I play it. I have practiced it so much that I find that I often know the next note before I see it (sounds wierd I know!). I am getting faster and faster and, although not quite at the pace i want yet, I am slowly getting there. Once i do get there, I will work on dynamics, accents etc.

Practice

This morning I practiced for 20 minutes, 10 minutes of band music and 10 music of personal music. For band music I played through the Holst a few times. Now that the rythms are getting easier I am trying to "phrase" them better. I don't want to just play the notes, I want the whole piece to really come across beautifully. The second movement is a prime example of this. It is such a sad song/story that I really want the piece to be "felt" by the audience.

For personal music I played out of my celtic book. I played "Jefferson's Gallop", which is really quick and helps me with quick rythms. I also played "Down by the Galley Gardens" which is a really beautfiul piece and has slow rythms somewhat like the second movement in Holst. Finally, I played "Carter's Red Mare" which is just a fun quick piece to improve my playing.

Practice

So Today I practiced for an hour. I did mostly personal music and some band music. I played the Holst for about ten minutes, once again practicing the rythms in the first movement down. I am working on getting the rythms quick "tight" and perfect so they don't sound at all sloppy. I also played through "The Light Eternal" as I hadn't played it for a while. Also I practiced the end of Rumble on the high planes, playing the scale one note at a time. I played the firstnote, then the first two, then the first three etc.

I also played a bit through Bohemian Rhapsody and Pirates. I really enjoy playing them and can't wait to be able to fully play both as a class. I was playing these pieces just for fun, but they both do have their challenging bits.

I also played through my Irish Celtic Song. The rythms, although fast, are slowly getting easier and I find that every day that I play it it gets quicker. It is nowhere near perfect but I am improving. I am playing through it slowly for now and once I get the rythms fully down I will pick up the pace as the song is meant to be played quite fast.