Intervals 2 with Paul Edmund-Davies

In the latest video lesson on his Simply Flute website, Powell artist Paul Edmund-Davies tackles the topic of intervals. Although intervals may seem tedious to practice alone, Paul points out that they certainly demand attention as they will undoubtedly appear within quick passages, often times bringing us to a halt.  We can probably all identify with the following quote from the beginning of his lesson:

When we play pieces or studies, we are understandably eager to perform them at a good speed and with flow. Then, all of a sudden, a few beats or bars of intervals emerge from the page and that flow is instantly interrupted. We stumble our way through in a mild blind panic and once we can see daylight again, wipe the perspiration from our furrowed brows!

In a creative and practical approach to intervals, Paul composed a few short studies to train us to be both mentally and physically prepared for these large leaps within the context of various passages. These studies incorporate a simple melody and rhythmic variations that are perfect for working toward the goal of performing intervals smoothly.  His lesson begins with a video demonstration followed by text and downloadable sheet music. Follow this link to view the full lesson on Paul's Simply Flute website.

Sample exercise from the lesson.  Click here to download the complete set from his video lesson.

Articulation and Releases

By Cynthia Ellis

Your expressive vocabulary for music depends on every nuance you can find, and many opportunities exist within the realm of articulation. There are many different kinds of accents for example: ones that rely more heavily on a more round sound and vibrato for the accent, (adding weight to the note) versus accents that are sharp and most decidedly handled by the tongue on the attack (adding more point to the note). Releases can have many shapes: they can be square and sharply cut off (think 20th century music) or elegantly tapered (more Mozartian and 18th century). Listen to the beginning of each note and try several different attacks on for size as you practice...interpret the symbols for accents, staccato and legato in several different ways. You will be able to arrive at a creative solution that sounds beautiful. Same idea with releases...and always take care not to go flat on the ends of tapered notes.

*Note - This article first appeared on the "Teaching Tips" section of Cindy Ellis's website.

For more on Cindy, visit her Powell artist profile page, and follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

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.

Finger Gym 2 with Paul Edmund-Davies

Powell artist Paul Edmund-Davies has a series of posts titled "Finger Gym" on his personal blog. As you might suspect, these posts offer exercises and suggestions to help build finger control.  In the second post of the series, he discusses slow, legato practice and the corresponding technique of having your fingers respond "in a legato way."  He advises that one should focus on the feel of the finger motion as much as the actual "physical/mechanical technique."  The distance one lifts his/her fingers off the keys is also addressed.

For this installment of the "Finger Gym," Mr. Edmund-Davies presents one basic exercise in eight major keys: G, Ab, A, Bb, B, C, Cb, and D.  He suggests "continuing up the register of the flute, as this exercise becomes highly useful for those awkward top octave fingerings."  He also gives a few suggested fingerings for flute exercises and etudes in general.  Follow this link to read the complete Finger Gym #2 post on his blog.  It has a terrific tip at the very end!

Snapshot of the second Finger Gym exercise.

Finger Gym with Paul Edmund-Davies

Powell artist Paul Edmund-Davies has a new series of posts titled "Finger Gym" on his personal blog. As you might suspect, these posts offer exercises and suggestions to help build finger control.  In the first of the series, he presents one basic exercise in three major keys: G, Ab, and A.  He recommends continuing on with the exercise through all the keys, thinking them through rather than reading off of a page to help gain greater coordination and provide the brain with "an excellent work out!" Follow this link to view the exercise.

He advises:

Start off by practicing the exercise slowly and really concentrate on the finger or fingers that are lifting. After all, the muscles that close your hand are much stronger than those that open it! The fingers need to be positive, but also should never travel too far away from the keys……………the further they go away, the longer it takes to get back again. Not exactly ideal for the second or last movements of the Prokofiev Sonata! Once the thought/brain to finger connection feels more comfortable and positive, gradually increase the tempo.

Mr. Edmund-Davies offers additional tips on how to get the most our of these exercises, including suggestions on how long to practice as well as recommendations for rhythm and dynamics. Click here to read the full post on his page.

Andersen Etudes, Op.15, No. 2

In the video lesson below, Powell artist Paul Edmund-Davies discusses Andersen Studies, Op.15, No.2.  For this particular etude, he tells us that the biggest challenges are articulation and intervals, and he stresses the importance of practicing warm-up studies to focus on these areas.  Mr. Edmund-Davies explains that proper articulation on the flute must be learned because the English language, in particular, is a language that causes us to use our tongues very aggressively -- which is quite the opposite of the way we need to use the tongue for proper articulation.  He also helps us approach the etude in the most musical manner by making suggestions on note length and tempo.

To practice articulation and prepare for this Andersen study, Mr. Edmund-Davies recommends the Bach Sonata in A Minor, BWV 1013 for unaccompanied flute.  He also recommends etudes from his own publication, The 28 Day Warm Up Book, to address articulation (etude number 4) and intervals (etude number 7). 

Focus! Making the Most out of Lessons

By Morgann Davis

Morgann Davis

Every year I find myself facing this time of year with an added sense of pressure to make lessons challenging, exciting, and fun. This year I tackled part of the issue head on by scheduling a recital at the end of February and assigning everyone new solos and duets to prepare. So, now we have a timestamp in place, a concert goal to focus toward. For many of my students this year, however, this is their first real recital. Expectations and preparation is different for these students as they don’t quite know what to expect.

Another way I try to build momentum and focus following the holidays is by creating structure and routine. I tackle lessons each week in the same order, meaning students know what to expect. Tuning, warm-ups and scales, etudes/technique, solos, duets. This is a serious time-saver in 30 minute lessons. Without having to discuss or decide what happens next there is less wasted time.

Ok, so we have two great steps to follow that will provide a great foundation for focus. Problem solved, right? Not quite. The real “meat” of the solution comes next. Now that there is structure and a performance date to aim for, I do my best to use the room made by lack of other projects to focus on each students’ weaknesses. I am very careful not to point out flaws from the start. Rather, I ask questions before each exercise to help the students open their ears, and provide very specific small goals for each as well. By working on a minuscule scale we are capitalizing on the lack of colossal goals like school concerts.

An example of this would be asking a student to listen to note lengths. What do they notice about the half notes in an exercise? (Perhaps they are too short, or they are inconsistent lengths). Let the student answer, even if it takes them some time - they might not be used to listening to themselves in this way! Acknowledge their answer, especially if it was difficult for them to discern, as noticing what they hear when they play can serve as an excellent diagnostic tool for the teacher. Then, ask them how they might remedy the issue, and have them play the same excerpt again.

I also provide small over-arching goals for each student. If a student struggles with keeping their headjoint rolled out, I will address this as our main goal at the beginning of the lesson, finding fun ways to provide gentle reminders throughout the lesson. I make sure this goal is written somewhere prominent in their lesson notebook or on a post-it before they leave their lesson.

By structuring lessons in this way, with one large goal (the recital), and more smaller, minute points of focus, I find it easier to build momentum for growth in the winter months. The added benefit is that with a disciplined approach to lessons and practice coming out of the beginning of the new year, it often feels like less work to students when they have to prepare for auditions and concerts in the spring!

*For more posts by Morgann Davis, visit her personal blog at http://joyfulflutist.tumblr.com/.

Andersen Etudes, Op.15, No.1

Powell artist Paul Edmund-Davies takes a closer look at the Andersen Studies, Op. 15, No.1 in a video lesson designed to help us play the etude with musicality and technical proficiency.  He discusses a few points to consider to ensure success with the studies in general.  First, Mr. Edmund-Davies tells us that each study has a specific technical challenge, so we must look at it to discover this -- asking ourselves, "why are we playing this?"  He says that it is always important to play an etude with a good tone and to play it musically.  He suggests visually inspecting the etude to uncover difficult passages ahead of time.  Finally, he recommends playing some warm-up exercises before tackling the Andersen studies.

With Etude No.1 of the Op.15 studies, Mr. Edmund-Davies mentions that the study falls mostly within the flute's low to middle range.  He suggests adding depth to the lower range and then working your way up.  You will find the complete lesson in the video clip below:

Let's Get This Poulenc Started - Cindy Ellis

The Poulenc Sonata for Flute and Piano is a staple of the flute repertoire, and as Powell player Cindy Ellis notes, "the opening is one of our most beloved passages...and one of our trickiest as well."  The opening's high E is particularly a challenging point, but Ms. Ellis demonstrates some techniques for performing the opening with ease.  In the video below, she demonstrates technical exercises using longtones to build control and explains some mechanical options for facilitating the high E (the split-E mechanism and the G disc).

Click here to view the video by Cindy Ellis.

To read more about Cindy Ellis visit:
http://cindyellisflute.com/
https://powellflutes.com/academy/masters/cynthia-ellis

Tips on How to Tap into Your Musical Side While Performing!

By Dr. Naomi Seidman - Associate Professor of Flute, Penn State University

Naomi Seidman

I am listening to one of my online Pandora radio stations while I type this blog. I love the capability of music to color my perspective on the world when I listen with headphones. The mood of the music I select streaming through my headphones can make me bounce on my walk to work (which is incredibly useful when it is only 20 degrees outside!) Obviously I am not the only one who enjoys listening to music in this way. All you have to do to confirm this theory is to take a look out my office window and count the multitudes of students accompanying their walks with their own personal soundtracks on their wireless devices. As listening to music on headphones is so common, it’s surprising that it is often difficult to stress the importance of listening to my studio when they are putting the finishing touches on pieces they are getting ready to perform.  The common scenario that brings this topic up is after a student has played through their entire jury piece with piano. The performance may have gone technically well but the student does not seem satisfied with the performance. When I question the student on why they do not feel great about the performance, they usually dwell on minor technical issues. It is only after we examine the lack of musical elements that the student becomes aware of how important these elements are to feeling fulfilled about a performance. Whether you are getting ready for your end of the semester jury, college auditions, or All State audition, you have probably spent 99 percent of your practice time on learning the notes and rhythms, all the technical stuff, and only 1 percent on the musical side. 

Not to worry - you still have time to fix this! Luckily, there are some great ways to make you sound not only technically fabulous but also musical!! 

All performers struggle with the balance of execution and musicality. Some students are granted more musical talent than others, while others are better at technique. I remember my struggle to expose the musical side of my playing and how much more personal my playing became once I became more concerned with how my performances where making my audience feel, rather than whether or not I nailed a passage. Of course you want to find a balance between the technical and the musical - the music that really moves you (the stuff that you love to listen to) is a musical marriage between the two!

Here are ten tips that will help you to bring out your more musical side!!

1)    Sing through your phrases

Your inner voice is most exposed when you sing. In order to be more musical you must take a risk and expose it. For example, take the first phrase in the piece you are working on. Sing through the phrase, exaggerating the musical gestures you would like to bring out (add lyrics if you like). Does this experience make you aware of phrasing elements you were not including? Did you notice that you were chopping the first phrase up too much? After singing through the phrase a couple of times, play it on your flute. Notice any differences? Be sure to include the musical gestures from your singing in your flute playing!

2)    Dance to recordings of your piece

We all learn in different ways. Some of us are visual learners while others rely more on aural directions. A few of us are kinesthetic in our learning - what better way to explore this path than to dance to the piece you are working on.  I know you may feel silly at first, but it is very much worth the experiment. I bet you dance to music when you listen on your headphones!

3)    Supportive sound

How engaged are you physically when you are playing? A great way to test your physical engagement or support is to have a friend press against your left shoulder (pushing you backwards) while you play. If your friend can easily push you over while you are playing you need to engage more. Try the experiment again and this time, push back at your friend so you are meeting the resistance. Notice the difference in your tone! Now recreate this feeling when you are performing!

4)    Record yourself

If you love listening to music on your headphones, it’s time to start listening to your performances with headphones. Record yourself playing your prepared piece and then take the time to listen to it with headphones. Check and make sure your musicality is coming through. Most often I find that I have to exaggerate my musical gestures so much more than I originally thought (think stage makeup).

5)    Find colors and contrast

If you listened to yourself on your headphones and found that you did not sound as musical as you would like, it’s time to find parts of your piece where you could incorporate more colors and contrasts! Incorporating tone colors as well as dynamic contrasts frees up your interpretation ten-fold.

6)    Rubato if possible

Have you ever seen a person walking a dog where it clearly seems as if the dog is in control of the walk and not vice-versa. You want to be in control of your performance, and not the other way around. This type of control requires a lot of leading. In some pieces this leading requires rubato in order for the musical gestures to come alive.  A great piece for this type of rubato is the Charles Widor suite. However, in order for this type of rubato to come alive it must come from you, and your musical direction must be clear to your pianist in order for this to work.

7)    Memorize passages

My students often focus so much on this technique that they already have most of their jury pieces memorized by the second month of lessons. If this is also the case for you, take away the music when you practice. Keep the passages fresh and give yourself the freedom to explore what the musical passages are trying to say instead of reading the notes on the page (which you already know).

8)    Articulation

Good articulation is like good diction. I am sure you have heard many pop singers with bad diction and you end up singing the lyrics incorrectly for months before you realize it. If you are clear with your articulation you will leave no room for misinterpretations and your audience will be able to tune in 100 percent to your musical phrases!

9)    Find a story

I am sure you have heard this idea before, but not only should you find a story that you can tell in your performance, but try to make it a personal story. This is similar to actors who think of a specific moment that made them cry when they have to reproduce crying in a scene. If you are playing a movement of a work that is sad in tone then try and connect to that emotion with a personal story of your own while you play. Usually this works incredibly well.

10) Pick your musical idol and become them when you perform

I am sure you have a musical idol (if not 20) in your playlists. Pick one and become them when you play. This way you still have a little room to hide and yet you have the freedom of being this confident performer that you so admire while you perform.