Video Masterclass: Scherzo from A Midsummer Night's Dream with Joshua Smith

Click here to watch the full video masterclass.

In another excellent video from MUSAIC, Powell artist and Principal Flute of The Cleveland Orchestra, Joshua Smith, coaches flutist Matthew Roitstein on the Scherzo from Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream. One of the greatest challenges of the excerpt is breathing -- as we know, it's quite difficult to find a good place to breathe that does not disrupt the musical line.  Joshua addresses this, giving tips not only on where to breath, but also how to approach the breath and how to use air efficiently.  He discusses the importance of keeping a smooth rhythmic flow, suggesting a two-measure pulse to achieve this.  Another point he emphasizes is the need for clarity of articulation, which he illustrates by focusing on airspeed and the shape of the mouth.

The video clip features an introduction by Michael Tilson Thomas, Founder and Artistic Director of the New World Symphony, commenting on the excerpt as well.  Click here to view the full video masterclass on the MUSAIC website.

For more on Joshua Smith, follow this link to view his artist profile page on the Powell website, and visit his personal website at www.soloflute.com.

Joshua Smith on Technique

Joshua Smith © Frank J. Lanza, 2013

Powell artist Joshua Smith has held the position of Principal Flute with The Cleveland Orchestra since 1990.  We have enjoyed reading his blog, and in particular, a series of posts that share his terrific insight on flute playing and teaching.  These posts are segments of an interview with one of his former students, Madeline Lucas.  This week, we wanted to share his insight on developing technique and working through difficult passages:

ML: What are the basic building blocks of a good flute technique?

JS: I think there's a lot of room for possibility in that question. As far as developing finger technique goes, it's best to work slowly and steadily over a long period of time. I know, for example, that my technique is still getting better, and that there are things that I can do easily now that I couldn't do when I was your age. Physical growth comes from exercising muscles and becoming aware of how you're using them. Part of that is psychological, becoming conscious of how you use your body; that leads to the part that is physiological. Your muscles have to grow up and get the message that you're building them by practicing.

That said, it's important to have a stable practice routine. Scales and arpeggios are great for this, especially because they build an awareness of key areas. I'm going on a tangent away from your question, I know, but key areas are the root of what makes sound, or what makes music interesting; that's the language we speak-- in varying different keys. Using scales as a way not only to develop your fingers but also to be aware of color (that one key sounds different from another) makes practicing technique interesting.

ML: Other than slow practice, which hopefully everyone does, what do you do when you get a passage that you're just stuck on?

JS: A lot of the ways I fix problems are practice games that I made up when I was in high school and college. And since they worked, they became parts of my technical routine.

Slow, steady practice is great. The metronome helps by building a sense of pulse in everything that you do. Pulse runs music, so you can't let go of that. But the best reason to use a metronome for improving a technical passage is that it provides a goal: you know what tempo you need to reach, and you back off of that, building confidence and finger ability by degree.

Backing off and working slowly is also important because, when you get stuck with a problem, usually the reason lies in some sort of physical tension that you need to understand to get rid of. If you quickly just go over and over the problem spot, you're forcing your hands to do something that isn't working, and you're creating tension at the same time that you're reinforcing a bad habit. When you back off, you allow your mind time to process what is wrong, and to figure out how to fix it. Asking, "am I hearing every note cleanly, the way I want to?" is a way to build consciousness about what's happening.

While we're talking about slow practice, here's an example of a practice game for a tricky passage. Try a chain of beats, let's say A, B, and C, stopping at the downbeat of D. Work that out, then do B, C, and D, stopping at the downbeat of E. Then C, D, E, stopping at F, and so on. So you're working out segments, but always bridging the connection from one to the next. This is a very effective technique, and one I would do at any tempo, but certainly the best is gradually building it from a slow tempo towards your ultimate goal.

Doing the same thing in reverse, starting at the end of a passage and going backwards (the last beat, the last two beats, the last three beats, until you've started at the beginning and played through it) also tends to be really effective. But always start with a question that forces you to listen and focus: "What note am I not hearing? Why? What do I need to do to fix that?" And then you're on your way.

Visit Joshua Smith's website at www.soloflute.com and follow this link to his artist profile page on the Powell website.

Joshua Smith on Section Playing and Projection

Joshua Smith © Frank J. Lanza, 2013

Powell artist Joshua Smith has held the position of Principal Flute with The Cleveland Orchestra since 1990.  We have enjoyed reading his blog, and in particular, a series of posts that share his terrific insight on flute playing and teaching.  These posts are segments of an interview with one of his former students, Madeline Lucas.  This week, we wanted to share his insight on section playing and projection, as you will see in the questions and responses below:

ML: So often in a lesson, you only get to hear a student's sound as he plays by himself. How would you counsel him about playing in a wind section, about playing with others?

JS: That's something that develops over time, and again goes back to that idea of specific contexts. You start to become aware of what is possible by hearing great orchestras and chamber musicians, and using those experiences as arbiters of what can be possible, developing personal goals for yourself. Generally speaking, in a wind section, the most important thing is to find a way towards cohesion so that all of the instruments have their own individual colors when they need to, but manage to sound blended when they're playing together, especially in octaves or unisons. Somehow, what you end up creating is a sound that is a combination of two colors-- because of the way a flute and clarinet combine, for example, you get a new color that is the result of blending both separate colors. That's something that can only be done if you really understand the qualities of the other instrument you're playing with.

ML: How does one go from just playing loudly to projecting, especially in a large ensemble?

JS: That has a lot to do with air-speed, actually, and what I talked about earlier in terms of resonance. Sound goes the wrong direction if it has an edge or is forced, because when you start forcing air, you're not actually supporting it; rather than channeling the air column so that it's coming out of you quickly and steadily, you're anchoring something in your body so that the column tightens. Yelling might sound loud, but it doesn't necessarily carry the same weight underneath it that speaking resonantly can.

From all the experience I've had, both listening to myself and my students play, hearing people both in big halls and small rooms, I know that a sound that is focused and round is what carries; again, that has a lot to do with air speed: what projects into a space from a wind instrument is sound created with round and spinning air. Just like with a voice, focusing your energy on depth and enunciation is what carries the sound forward.

Back to that book, Bruser's The Art of Practicing. As I try to explain this to you, I find myself listening carefully to my own voice, exactly in the moment, while I'm speaking. That's such a great practicing technique, becoming aware of what you sound like, because as you listen, you start to learn what is possible. Having feedback from others helps, too: "When you do that it doesn't carry into the hall as much as when you do this" is helpful, and having gotten a lot of feedback like that, I know that projecting takes a lot less effort than most people think it does. The effort is meditative more than forceful, so that you end up expressing yourself rather than yelling.

Joshua Smith on Warm-Ups

Joshua Smith © Frank J. Lanza, 2013

Powell artist Joshua Smith has held the position of Principal Flute with The Cleveland Orchestra since 1990.  We have enjoyed reading his blog, and in particular, a series of posts that share his terrific insight on flute playing and teaching.  These posts are segments of an interview with one of his former students, Madeline Lucas.  This week, we wanted to share his insight on warm-up exercises, as you will see in the question and response below:

Madeline Lucas: What kind of warm-up exercises do you do, or recommend?

Joshua Smith: I have been interested in some new ones lately; I'm always changing them around. Recently, I found a couple of really great tone-opening and body-relaxing exercises in Moyse's book How I Stayed in Shape, and also some great ones in Trevor Wye's tone development book. The Moyse exercises throw interval jumps at you that are uncomfortable, where one or both of the notes won't easily speak, in keys that are difficult to play in, so you have to figure out how to navigate your airstream so that the interval won't break. The ultimate goal, then, is to figure out how to make the phrase sound smooth and beautifully sung. The Wye exercises are similar, but involve closer intervals, with the goal of consistency and color development. These ideas are wonderful to include in the morning exercise routine. Long tones and half steps are great, too, in pairs or in longer strings of notes. Here, you're listening to how notes sound next to each other and how well they match as you go along.

I have always rotated my warm-ups. When I first realized that it was important to improve and that exercising would help me to do so, I had a need for variety. I'm the kind of person who does not like to do the same thing in the same way every day; I resist routine. I also realize that there can be some comfort in routine, but balancing this with my personality is a good trick. Most important, your exercises need to address real issues in your playing. The minute I realize I'm having a particular problem, like, "gee, my middle register doesn't sound good today," I start looking for an exercise that will help me to improve that aspect. Tailor your warm-ups to what you need in real time.

*For more on Joshua Smith, visit his website and Powell artist profile page.

Artist Spotlight: Joshua Smith

Joshua Smith © Frank J. Lanza, 2013

Powell Artist Joshua Smith was appointed Principal Flute of The Cleveland Orchestra by Maestro Christoph von Dohnányi in 1990 -- when Smith was just 20 years old.  He has performed as a soloist, recitalist, chamber musician, and orchestral musician across the country and around the globe.  His commitment to chamber music -- and desire to engage new audiences -- led him to develop Ensemble HD along with five Cleveland Orchestra colleagues.  The group's first album, Live at the Happy Dog, was named Best Chamber Music Recording of 2013 by Voix des Arts.

Smith also has a terrific website and blog -- titled "Soloflute?Joshua Smith on playing with love."  Smith posted an interview with one of his former CIM (Cleveland Institute of Music) students, Madeline Lucas.  The interview is in three parts, and we were particularly inspired by one of his responses in Part Three: Teaching and Artistry:

ML: If a student isn't playing expressively, or doesn't seem to be really engaged, how do you motivate her?

JS: Well, you can't really make someone be more musical. But you can, I hope, encourage the possibility by demonstrating that it's possible to be interesting, possible to be committed, and that it's actually more fun to be so. What can irritate me the most when listening to musicians who are recognized for what they do is the realization that there is a lack of personal investment. What this whole thing is about is communication, communicating with passion and intensity, communicating creatively and beautifully. I mean beautifully in a broad sense, here, not that it always has to be pretty. That it certainly always has to be artistically driven. When I begin to sense that someone is not taking the risk to go for that kind of expression, I get frustrated. I share that with students. But, how to help them get better? Everyone is creative. Some people need to be invited to become vulnerable, encouraged to take risks, applauded when they say something in an interesting way. Sometimes, it's a matter of inviting someone to discover something he hadn't considered before, something that can open doors.

Click here to read the full interview on Joshua Smith's blog.

Joshua Smith on Performance Anxiety

Joshua Smith

Performance anxiety is a challenge for many instrumentalists.  Just how can one conquer their nerves?  Powell artist Joshua Smith, Principal Flute of The Cleveland Orchestra, addressed this issue in an interview on the Conversation page of his website.  When asked how he handles nervousness, Joshua answered with the following:

I don't think nervousness in performance ever really goes away. I hope it doesn't, actually, because I'm not sure I would perform with much interest or excitement without it ... Learning how to deal with nerves is what gets easier over time and with experience ... I think it's important to strive to find balance and perspective in one's approach to communicating and performing. How? Maybe start with asking basic (yet complex) questions, like "What am I doing here?," "What am I trying to say?," even "Why am I musician?" Answering questions like these brings perspective that helps to minimize the distractions that students (in fact, any of us) tend to feel about performance - doubts about ourselves, thoughts about who is listening to us, fears about living up to particular expectations ... Effort (trying to please, trying to do your best) often gets in the way ... Sometimes the most inspired performances seem to come when you withdraw your self and your fears and remember that the essence of what you're trying to communicate is the bottom line, the only thing that matters at the moment.

To hear more from Joshua, make sure to visit his website at http://www.soloflute.com/home.html.