Played Milde 3. Went a little better than I was expecting, but since I was expecting pretty terrible, that's not saying much. M then complained about my tone, and we spent 10-15 minutes working on the first note, G3. I guess my worry about the notes turned into tension, which turned into bad tone. So I spent that time in relaxation and breathing exercises. I have a hard time believing that tension, say in my shoulders, can affect the tone directly; after all, how much are my shoulders vibrating? But I guess everything is connected. And the way that the air moves matters. I know that the oral cavity has an impact, and can consciously arch my soft palate and open my throat, but this is an intentional tensing of certain muscles, not a relaxed state. So it's all a little confusing, if you think too hard about it. The right approach is to have a conception of the sound in your head *before* you play, and then everything comes naturally.
We also spent time, yet again, on my embouchure. Wrapped around teeth, thin, to dampen the vibrations as little as possible. If I take a "natural" position, just put my lips on the reed, I get the fleshy red part of the lip, which is wrong; I need to have them drawn in further, so that the outer edge, where the skin begins, is just touching the reed. I can do it if I'm thinking about it, but that's kind of the problem; if I'm struggling to play something it'll slip and return to the incorrect posture. I should really record my lessons, to see if I can hear all these changes on tape. I think the overall effect is positive, but it goes away the further off the lesson becomes. I guess that's why lessons are recurring.
What else. Started playing Mozart. Lots to learn there. And oh yeah, Milde 3 got reassigned, so I'll have another shot in a week.
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