The practising dilemma is a real dilemma, but rather a dilemma of WRONG TEACHING. It is not necessary to practice everything on & on, but it is necessary to concentrate the practising efort to the things which dont work as good as desired. One must also be aware of ones own (physical)limitations. It is never necessary to play continuously for one hour, as there are rests always interspersed in the music. This means, playing one etude, but rest a few minutes after the etude, reflect your playing & practise the delicate or difficult spots again. Rest again. Practise a solo piece, movement by movement, rest again. What do during the rests ? Read the next music & prepare it brainwise while your lip muscles pause. What do during the next rest ? Erase all the fingering markings FOREVER. Learn to memorize certain fingerings e.g. the f2 on topline with 1Bb if it is flat as open Bb, do the g 2nd line from bottom on open F, if the a1 (2nd space from below) is sharp on a well hear held note, finger it with 3 on F & on Bb, if the written Eb is sharp on the F, play it on the Bb no matter in what range, etc
Worst would be, if you practise entire symphonies as a tutti player. This is absolutely unnecessary. Practice with your eyes & sing the particular passage. It helps to get things into your brain, but saves energy. If you move your fingers if you were using your horn the same time, you will get the things into your fingers also. Very important might be, how you build up your EGO, just as you like including exaggerating your ambitions OR rather realistic, knowing what you can do well & what less good. If you have not the chops for the real high passages (means up from written e2 - first space from top - to high c & more), leave the higher notes alone & let the colleagues take over that part. This is not coward, it is smart. If you cannot reach down to the deep ground and you are better firm in the middle to higher range, try to swap your part with the other player, who struggles with the high notes, but would do it easier in the bottom area ? It is not a shame to do so. But remember, you cannot force things NEVER, things you are not built for. Why practice in the stratosphere if you get giddy too easy in the high altitude ???? You will ruin everything. Why practice in the low, very low, if you play on a tiny mouthpiece. You will profit nothing, but you embouchure will become wobbling without any centered note. Remain realistic about yourself. Put your targets not higher than your potentials. Place the targets lower & increase just step by step. Check about your mouthpiece if it is a real horn mouthpiece not a hidden cornet or bugle mouthpiece with thicker rim & narrow bore. Do long note exercises, but remember, going up 1/2 step will be followed by 1/2 step down. Do not exceed g2 (on top of the staff) but no limit for the bottom. It will increase tone quality, endurance, security, breath control: start the not at 3 - 4 - go command ALWAYS. Count 4 measures at 4/4 in Andante (speed 72 beats per minute). Practice long notes with crescendo & decrescendo, Fp & held, ff & held, pp increse to f & decrease to pp. There are so many variations, explore them. Followed all by a 5 min. rest, then continue with arpeggios in staccato or slurred, plain rhythm or triplets, alsways ending on the good note (tonica). If you cannot remember the single exercises, get a music paper or load it down & write your own exercises. See the profit in a while. -----Original Message----- Date: Wed, 10 Dec 2008 21:45:18 +0100 Subject: [Hornlist] A Practicing dilemma From: sirgallihad <sirgalli...@gmail.com> To: "The Horn List" <horn@music.memphis.edu> Hi horn listers, I've been having a sort of practicing dilemma for the past couple weeks, and I was hoping someone could shed some light on my problem. Lately, it seems like the more I practice during a day, the more I loose the feeling of how I "should" play horn (ie airflow, tone, embrosure pressure, musicality, high range, the list goes on) and I begin to feel like I'm regressing in technique rather than getting better. I am currently practicing for about 2 and 1/2 hrs a day, and the effect is a LOT more pronounced when I try and ease into 3 hours a day (spread into 1 hour chunks). When I do this, my abilities suffer greatly for the next two days or so, and I'm forced to play very little in order to get my sound and endurance back. Additionally, I develop an air leak on one side of my mouth, which is sort of a red flag as to when I'm too tired. If anyone could shed some light on this problem, it would be a huge help for me, Sirgallihad _______________________________________________ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/hans%40pizka.de _______________________________________________ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
