Band Response

1. What has been your biggest improvement this year?
My biggest improvement this year has been the amount of time I spent practicing band music. Last year I barely ever practiced band music but this year, due to the “blogging” we are doing, I was forced to and I really think it showed. At first, senior band was a bit overwhelming as the music was such a step up from last year, but as I kept playing and practicing the music I got better and by the end of it had no problem keeping up. Practicing makes such a big difference that I never quite realized and I will be sure to do it next year. At first I was upset about having to blog but overall I think it really improved my playing and helped me be a better flute player.

2. What is the area you most struggle with?
The area I most struggle with would have to be the really quick sections with lots and lots of sixteenth notes. Examples of this are 199-end that we played for our playing section of the band requirements. Especially when these sections are high, they are quick and it can be tough to get all the notes in. Also, the notes are so close together that sometimes they can be hard to read. I definitely need to work on these areas and find as I practice these sections SLOWLY I can get them down, but it definitely takes a bit of work!

3. What was your greatest musical highlight this year and why?
My greatest musical highlight this year would have to be playing “Rumble on the High Planes” at the Spring Concert. It may not have been the best we ever played it, but you could tell everyone was emotional, including Mr. Stevenson, as it was many people’s last year. It was so emotional as the percussion continued to get louder and louder at the end and when I went in to play I felt so proud to have played for Oakridge and so happy to have played for Mr. Stevenson! At the end of that song, It really felt like the band was a family, everyone crying together and playing a fantastic song together.

4. What areas do you feel the band accelerates at and what areas do we struggle with? Give examples.
Areas I feel the band accelerates at are percussion, for obvious reason. We have a very well stacked percussion and the never let the band down (other than possibly playing a little too loud in Rumble!!!). The band is excellent at showing a balance, and dynamics, and overall we just have a really nice sound. The “ending” section of Rumble is a prime example of this. Our brass section is powerful and our flute section is light and beautiful. Areas we need to work on are accents, especially from trumpets from songs like Chillers (Darth Vader’s theme). The trumpets sound good, but if they could all get that little bit more of articulation they would sound phenomenal. The saxophone’s need to work on their confidence and being loud as they play. The flutes also need to work on articulation and not sounding to shrill on entries, like in Rosymedre.

Practice this Week

SO this week I mainly practiced music for recital and music for the playing exam next week. I just never got a chance to actually blog but I did practice all week!

So...every day since wednesday I have been going through what I will be playing for the playing exam. This includes the 8 chromatic scales, Concert D major, lines 3,4,5 (I chose this one over the concert E minor), and the study #8 in the red book. Most of these are not too difficult and just take a bit of practice to get the fingerings and rythmse tc. The only thing I am having trouble with is the study #8 as the up and down sixteenth and eighth notes are somewhat awkaward and I'm not quite sure what the speed is supposed to be. Also the time signature isn't "four four" which we are so used to playing. I am going to ask Mr. Stevenson to go over it in class and then it shouldn't be a problem playing it. Just getting the general idea of how it is supposed to sound will be helpful.

For my recital pieces my flute piece has really come along and I am now basically just playing it to attempt to somewhat memorize it for the recital. My piano piece is good except for two parts. The introduction and one section in the middle. To improve upon this I play each of these sections hands seperate, then three times each slowly, then 2 times faster, then I play through the entire piece. This technique seems to be working well as my hands get used to the fingerings really well as i am playing those trouble sections sooo much. I will continue to use this technique and hopefully get those sections perfect for the recital!

Practice This Weekend

So this weekend I practiced for a total of 45 minutes. I played through scales and personal songs/songs for my recital coming up. For scales I play through, as usual, B flat to warm up, then I just choose different ones for different days so I don't get bored. Some of them are really easy, so I can play right through them. Some of them are more difficult when there are more flats so I play them one note at a time, two notes individually, three notes individually, play the whole thing, then move onto the fifth note etc. This helps getting the notes just right because if I just try to "wing" the whole thing, usually i get stuck and have to stop or start over.

For personal songs I played through my celtic song, stairway to heaven and also the sesame street song and pirates of the carribean, just for fun! Stairway to heaven is coming along really nicely, but I am still struggling with the first page. To fix this, I play through my trouble sections before I even attempt to play the entire piece at once. If I continue to practice this way, the first page should come along in no time. My cetlic song is really becoming amazing. I am just practicing to almost try to memorize the music, as this will be better for recital in case i am nervous or lose my place. The accents and dynamics are coming along as I have been going over them in practice and with Donna. For sesame street and pirates I just played through them for fun.

pppprrrraaaaccccttttiiiiccceeee.......

today i practiced for half an hour. Seeing as the spring concert is over, I didn't "practice" anything, I merely played what I wanted to for fun. I played through Pirates of the carribean, Sesame Street, Chillers and THrillers (I LOVE playing it! Especially Voldemort's theme!) and my 2 recital songs. For my recital songs, I am just playing through the sections that I find difficult. For stairway to heaven this incldues the introduction, especially the left hand. I will either play it hands seperately or play through it very very slowly with hands together. For my celtic song, the middle section is difficult because there are alot of HIGH sixteenth notes. I just play this part one note at a time, two notes, three notes etc. and put the entire thing together. I find this really helps to make these sections easier!

Practice

This Weekend I practiced for a total of an hour and a half. I played varous pieces, such as Carmina Burana, Thrillers and Chillers, Pirates of the Carribean, Sesame Street, Stairway to Heaven and my celtic piece.

For Carmina Burana I, as always, played thorugh the middle part with sixteenth notes. This is the only area I struggle with, so I made sure to focus on it. As I continue to play it more often, it is getting easier and, seeing as the concert is in two days, that is a good thing!

For Thrillers and Chillers, I practiced the sixteenth notes at the end in 'Darth vaider's theme". I also played through "Lord Voldemort's Theme". For this part I am just trying to get the dynamics correct so it will osund as mysterious as possible for the concert.

For Pirates of the Carribean, I just played through this one for fun. We aren't performing it so I do not need to perfect it. I am merely just playing rhough it as I love the piece.

For Sesame Street,w e only read through it once so playing it is like sight reading to me. I played through it just a few times so that the next time we play through it in class the rythms will be more familiar to me.

And ifnally, my recital pieces. As always, I am just working on getting the rythms down and getting them quicker. I am also focusing on dynamics and accents, so that the piece wil be absolutely perfect for the recital!

PRACTICE

Today I practiced for an hour. I played thorugh carmina burana, thrillers and chillers, my irish celtic song and finally stairway to heaven. Carmina burana is really coming along well. The first page is very simple but the second page, but it is difficult where there are teh divided flute parts joining together are more difficult and the quick sixteenth note section as well. I play the sixteenth notes one at a time, then two at a time etc. as always as i find this the best way to really get the notes and fingerings into my head so it will be more natural for me to play. I am really looking forward to the concert next wednesday as i feel our song selections are really fun and the audience will really enjoy them!

In thrillers and chillers I worked especially on the "darth vader theme", the ending rythms and the "lord voldemort's theme". The darth vader has some awkward rythms, so I practiced those. The entrance for the flutes is what I need to work on the most.

I also played my stairway to heaven and celtic song. On my stairway to heaven I need to work on the first page, where teh left hand fingering is more complex. It is higher and has alot of accidentals so I will go through that page individually a few times before playing the whole through in practice. In my celtic song, I just need to keep practicing to get the rythms as fast as I possibly can, and focus on getting dynamics and accents!

Practice This Weekend

So this weekend I had a basketall tournament in Kitchener so I didn't have alot of time to practice as I wasn't home at all. I did however practice today (Sunday) for half an hour. I went through Carmina Burana, especially the ending with all the crazy triplet scales that have lots of accidentals. I played it one note, then two notes then three notes etc. through the entire thing then took the entire thing slowly. I also played through Thrillers and Chillers, just for fun as I really enjoy playing this piece. I absolutely love John Williams so it is really cool to be playing his music. I especially love the "Lord Voldemort" section. I also played through Rumble and Rosymedre, as i assume we are playing it on Tuesday at nationals so I just wanted to run through them one more time as it has been awhile since I have played them (especially Rosymedre!)

Practice THis Week

So I have been sick for the last few days so I haven't gottent he chance to blog for a while. I practiced for half an hour on saturday, 20 minutes on Sunday and half an hour today. I played through my celtic song each day, practicing the rythms faster and faster as I continue to get better. I also played through Pirates Just for fun and the new band piece that we got on thursday, Carmina Burana. I practiced the really quick part near the end that the flutes play that is like the "team section"(some flutes play one note, then others play the three high ones just that you have to play all the parts. I played through Bohemian Rhapsody, as well as some of the studies from the red and purple book, focusing on songs with sixteenth notes, because I feel that I need to improve on my ability to articulate quickly. I found that by the end of practicig the songs came more comfortably.