We should all be grateful that we don't have to play those darn circus gallops with the Ringling Brothers/Barnum and Bailey Band with Merle Evans. Those may well be the hardest parts I've ever had to play. He would conduct those gallops at tempi approaching half note at 120 (with eighth note after beats)
I once asked Harvey Phillips how the guys in the touring band did it. He remembered very well being amazed at the horn players' ability and inquired. Their response was interesting and helped me considerably. They said that they never thought of playing "after beats" but rather concentrated on playing "before beats." Perhaps not scientific, but it worked for me. c >>> Steve Haflich <[email protected]> 5/18/2011 1:34 PM >>> Daniel Canarutto <[email protected]> wrote: I'm trying to study this piece with a metronome, starting from a slower tempo and increasing it, or playing a few measures at a time, but it seems I'm still far from the goal. I'd say it's not a strictly technical issue, since if I play the beats, instead than afterbeats, everything goes smoothly. So it should be a mainly mental problem. I'm wondering which exercises or tricks could help. You must not practice a passage like this faster than you can play it correctly and _comfortably_. Playing it faster will only repeatedly practice how to get it wrong, with all the accompanying tensions and compromised technique. Just like practicing anything else, if you practice not being able to play the passage long enough, you will get very good at not being able to play the passage. If you consistently play as slow as necessary such that you have no difficulty, the speed at which you can accomplish this will gradually increase. But you must resolve not to exceed your comfort range during this process. It may take a while, of course, but not as long as you think. _______________________________________________ post: [email protected] unsubscribe or set options at https://pegasus.memphis.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/options/horn/cwilhjelm%40pascack.k12.nj.us _______________________________________________ post: [email protected] unsubscribe or set options at https://pegasus.memphis.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
