On 26 August 2011 11:48, Hans Pizka <[email protected]> wrote: > How did I learn to study technically difficult passages ? > > As Jonathan said it well: study set particular passage slow first, so to > get the melody in your memory. o.k. > But to make it run at the requested speed, make your study somewhat harder > by yourself by > playing it in awkward transpositions. > > If the passage gives difficulties because relatively high range, > study it in A or if your personal range will allow even in Bb alto. > > If the passage is quite low, study it in E-flat or D or C-basso. > > If the fingering is difficult, try it on the F-side. > > Whether you do this depends on your immediate objective. If you are looking to improve overall facility - then yes, by all means practice a something (an etude for instance) in different ways, different transpositions, different sides of the horn etc.
But if you have a particular difficult passage they you have to prepare for performance in the minimum time, then it seems to me that the most effective technique is to choose a single approach, practice it slowly to get used to getting it right slowly, and then gradually increase the speed, making sure that you do enough *correct *repetitions at each new speed that it has become familiar. They key is making sure that you don't merely make a large number of repetitions, but rather that at each speed you make a number of *consecutive correct repetitions*. This is what achieves the familiarity. You get familiar with what you play repeatedly, and so if you repeatedly play something wrong, you'll simply get very good at playing it wrong! Your description "One afternoon I played the entire Long Call about 50-times until I got it right ten times in a row. Well, there were some breaks after every ten takes, but I played all on the single F Viennese." is a perfect example of what I'm trying to describe. This *is *the magic bullet in terms of an approach to better playing. But it requires effort, applicatiation, and more improtantly, intelligent direction of your effort. In particular, it requires that you overcome the understandable habit of wishful thinking, along the lines of "If I play that passage up to speed just one more time, maybe it will come right" when you have played it wrong four times out of the last six. Regards Jonathan West _______________________________________________ post: [email protected] unsubscribe or set options at https://pegasus.memphis.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
