Category: Technique

Sight Reading: How Theory, Technical Studies, and Etudes Help

I’m putting together a new ensemble right now. We’re sightreading a bunch of music to see what we like from each other’s collection and trying to find a good flute/clarinet duet.

The other person in the ensemble is a doubler between the clarinet and the piano. I double with the flute and the piano. We’re both going to play both of our instruments (not at the same time) and we’re going to have a ton of fun!

Music Theory

How does music theory fit into what we’re doing right now? Seeing patterns.

As I’m reading through, I’m not necessarily reading all the note names. I’m thinking in my head things like, “scale going down starting on Bb,” “Fourth, bottom note F,” “octave jump.”

Technical Studies

How do technical studies fit into what we’re doing right now? Finger Patterns.

My fingers already know what do do with the patterns listed above because I’ve done and still do my technical studies during my regular practice times.

Do my fingers still get tangled on themselves? Absolutely.

Do I misread how many notes are in that scale? Yup.

I still do better than I would if I didn’t do the technical studies.

Etudes

How do etudes fit into what we’re doing right now? Rhythmic Patterns and Problem Patterns.

Etudes take whole problems that you see in music and repeat them over and over again in a melodious piece. I’ve tackled a ton of problems, especially rhythmic problems, through the etudes. I try to play at least one per week.

As I’m reading through, I’m thinking “Philadelphia” instead of a 16th note 5-tuplet in a grupetto pattern. I see a 16th note in the middle of the triplet and think Irish Jig. Triplets in one hand and 8th notes in the other? I’ve got this!

Confidence

What ends up happening is you develop confidence in sight reading through the weekly grind of learning your technical studies, etudes, and music theory. You realize that you’ve seen it all before, just not in this particular order.

It’s a good idea to make sure you sight read on a regular basis, too, but that’s for another post. 🙂

Popcorn for Scales

It’s an easy way to keep your scales memorized, yet not be bored. I call it popcorn. I sincerely hope this practice technique livens up your scale routine. The flute teacher I had back in college said that you should always find a way to challenge yourself with scales. This is definitely a new challenge!

It’s an easy way to keep your scales memorized, yet not be bored. I call it popcorn. I especially use popcorn when a competition is looming because usually competitions have you pick a scale out of a hat. As usual, when I say scales, I really mean scales, chords, cadences, and arpeggios (flutes would be chords and cadences in arpeggios, so they would skip the arpeggio category).

What do you have to do prior to Popcorn?

You have to have your scales, chords, cadences, and arpeggios memorized in each key.

Materials

You need flashcards. You could just grab some index cards and label them A-Gb. I like to use these for if a student is only doing scales that start with a natural note. I like to use these for if a student is doing all 12 keys.

The First Week

The first week of popcorn is tough because you thought you knew all your scales backwards and forwards. Popcorn brings any memory lapses to light.

Because of that, in the first week, I have them lay out three flashcards – those are the scales. Three different flashcards – those are the chords. Three different flashcards – those are the cadences. Three different flashcards – those are the arpeggios. Notice there’s 12?

In The Lesson

I only do one key per category, unless it’s the week or two before a competition, then I do three per category, just like the first week of learning popcorn.

Changing Things Up

In addition to the key signatures, you can also make a second stack of flashcards with different articulations, rhythms, dynamics, etc.

The second set of flashcards comes in handy for when you’re having a hard time with a certain concept. Sometimes you’ll take a certain concept all week, sometimes you’ll alternate between a few of them. It depends on what you’re struggling with.

Conclusion

I sincerely hope this practice technique livens up your scale routine. The flute teacher I had back in college said that you should always find a way to challenge yourself with scales. This is definitely a new challenge!

Technique: Your Secret Weapon

Ever have that friend who improves faster than you and you can’t figure out why? You know you’re both practicing the same amount of time every day. You’re working on a similar level of music in your ensemble. How is this possible?

Your friend has a secret – she is using a technique book during practice. Sometimes they’re called studies, sometimes they’re called journalliers. Whatever you want to call them, they work like magic.

The Purpose of Technique

Technique takes the hard parts from most music and pulls them apart into easy exercises. The goal of technique is usually speed. How fast can you play this simple, little, nonsensical exercise?

Because you have pulled that tough portion apart and worked on it piece-by-piece, when you find it in music, you just breeze through it like it’s nothing.

When to Start on Technique

I usually don’t start my students on technique until I think they’re ready. For piano, that means they need to be reading the notes on the staff because I prefer the technique books that don’t go with the lesson books.

For flute, there are technique studies in the lesson books, so I start kids on separate technique books when they’re out of the lesson books. If you want to see my picks, check out my favorite repertoire page here for flute and here for piano. The piano page will be coming next week.

How Do I Start on Technique?

First contact your teacher. See if your teacher has a master plan for you, or has a preference on technique books. I will be posting my lists of favorites soon.

How Does Technique Fit into Practice?

In the order of your practice, technique should be played after scales and before etudes. It should be part of your warm-up, because scales don’t always completely warm up your muscles. It also helps you play your etudes and repertoire better.

When I started using technique, it was a difference of night and day. My musicianship exploded. I hope this helps you out.

How about you? Has technique affected your playing?

What Can You Learn from the Other Musical Instruments?

I teach both flute and piano. When I’m in piano world and tell people that I also play flute, pianists remark on how well flutists know their ornamentation. When I’m in flute world and tell people that I also play piano, the other flutists remark on how pianists tend to find patterns and think in chords.

It’s good to know who to talk to when you get stumped on something. Certain instruments are better at teaching certain things better than others for 3 reasons:

1.) The design of their instruments

2.) The most common music written for their instrument

3.) The types of people that certain instruments attract

Here’s a list of what I’ve observed. I’ll try to go in concert order, but there will be some skipped instruments because either I haven’t had enough access to them or because I haven’t had a recommendation.

Singers – Tone and Breathing.

Flutes – Ornamentation

Oboes – Anything about reeds

Clarinets – Organization (of anything)

Saxophones – Playing with attitude

Trumpets – Confidence (only ask the nice ones)

French Horns – Keeping off-beats from going onto the on-beats

Trombones – Articulation

Percussion – Rhythm

Pianos – Hearing the entire song, not just the melody. Thinking in chords and patterns.

What have you heard about the strengths of other instruments?

4 Reasons to do Scales Before Playing

Maybe they’re boring, but scales make the rest of the music more fun. It always helps to know the reason behind doing the boring thing so you can get to the fun stuff faster.

When I say scales, I mean the whole shebang – scales, chords, arpeggios, cadences, etc. Everything that you would find in a good scale book.

Why do we do them? What is their purpose? Can we skip them when we’re in a hurry?

Scales may be boring to some people, but I’ve noticed that the boring stuff is easier to do when I know the purpose behind it. There are more, technical, reasons behind it, but these are the philosophical reasons.

1. They make your music easier.

When you’re playing through the music and come across a fast passage, 9 out of 10 times, it’s just a scale or an arpeggio.

You can look at that tough passage and say, “Oh, that’s just a scale!” and play it like a champ.

2. It helps you get into the key signature.

6 flats. Oof.

Why can’t it be 7? It’s easier to remember.

Why can’t it be 5? It makes more sense.

Practicing the Gb Major scale/cadence/chords/arpeggios helps you get into the 6 flat monstrosity of a key signature. Do the relative minor, too, while you’re at it.

3. It helps your brain and your fingers talk to each other better.

Ever have one of those days when your fingers seem to get tangled on each other or won’t move the way you want? The scales help your fingers work smoother and better together.

4. It warms up the muscles in your hands.

You know how in sports, your muscles work better and you’re less likely to get injured if you do a proper warm-up? Scales work the same way. They prevent injury by bringing the blood to the area so the fingers work better.

Conclusion

After reading all these reasons to do scales, would you ever want to skip them? Maybe they’re boring, but scales make the rest of the music more fun. It always helps to know the reason behind doing the boring thing so you can get to the fun stuff faster.