Playing Pointers
Frederick Fennell's Points for Performance
1. LISTEN!
2. Have some idea what the music should sound like before you play;
learn to listen for EVERYTHING – not just yourself
3. Line up your chair and stand so you look directly over the top of
the music at the conductor
4. The conductor must have your eyes before they begin the music --
especially if you do not play
5. Play your whole instrument -- learn to listen
6. Prepare! Be cocked and ready to play -- Listen
7. Play with intensity -- breath and finger support -- keep your
stomach in it
8. Resonance is the whole reason for your instrument to exists and for
you to play it in the first place
9. Learn to look at the conductor once every bar in music of a slow
pulse, frequently in music with a rapid pulse -- Listen
10. Music is also a waiting game -- wait for ONE!
11. Vibrate. Music is also controlled and ordered vibration; you,
too, must make it a vibrant sound; support your sound constantly.
12. Pulse is music's lifeblood as well as yours: learn to feel it --
it is always present. Seek to play by it.
13. Learn to listen and look for the phrase -- listen for phrase
endings.
14. Help stamp out mechanical error -- LISTEN
15. The perfection of ensemble playing is not a matter of acquisition.
Rather it is a matter of elimination -- of mechanical error,
unnecessary motion, the wandering mind, and all those things that get
in the way.
16. Don't repeat your mistakes – they become a disease
17. The group that plays together – Stays together
18. Get it the first time – get it right – LISTEN!
19. You can only read a piece of music for the first time once. Make
that time memorable.
20. Constantly widen your range of dynamics -- avoid mezzo-nothing –
LISTEN
21. At a pianissimo release, let the sound evaporate.
22. When the dynamic is fortissimo, hear only yourself; when the
dynamic is pianissimo, hear only your neighbor
23. Uncontrolled silence is the enemy of music
24. The group that breathes together – plays together – LISTEN
25. Music is not an art for the chicken-hearted: seek what is right,
but don't be afraid to be wrong.
26. Give all your energies to performance. Avoid fatigue; blow out
your chops; shake out your hands.
27. The music turns you on, but only you can wind yourself up for it.
28. Legato playing is mostly a thu-thu business
29. Blow through the whole passage
30. Beware of practice-room sound – get out of that telephone booth
31. Good performances are planned that way
32. Seek the style of the music – and this you can only do by
listening do and for everything.
Helpful Tips for Young Musicians
The simplest suggestion may make a big difference! Read the suggestions below and see if there is something that you might have overlooked or forgotten. Do not be afraid to try something new!
Article from May 2004 MEJ
Practice Tips for Students
~ Choose a quiet place to practice
~ Plan to take some short breaks during the practice session
~ Listen to a recording of the piece you are practicing
~ Set a specific amount of time for warm-ups
~ At the end of the practice time, play a favorite piece for parents or friends
~ Play along with a tape of simple chords or improvised accompaniments during warm-ups
~ With the help of your teacher, choose some music you enjoy to work on during each practice session
~ Take some time to create, improvise or compose your own music
~ Ask your teacher for suggestions on how to work on difficult passages
~ Record yourself playing
Weekly Practice Suggestion:
Day 1 = Play through page. Mark target areas.
Day 2 - 5 = Work on target areas. Use Practice tools.
Day 6 = Perform for family, friends, pets, etc.
Practice Toolbox
Fingerings
Whisper tongue
Name notes & Do fingerings
Name notes
Looping
Break it up!
Sing melody
Clap the rhythm
Piano
Mouthpiece
Clap & Count
Use a mirror
Read the directions
Solfege
Flute
1. Flute parallel with lips.
2. Flute to head, not head to flute.
3. Relaxed embouchure, slight frown.
4. Flat fingers, do not over reach!
5. Open mouth and throat. Create a full tone.
6. To raise pitch, adjust jaw forward, or roll flute out.
7. To lower pitch, drop jaw, or roll in flute.
8. Tuning problem? Double check position of head cork.
Clarinet
1. Head up.
2. Chin down flat, corners back.
3. Do not overwrap bottom lip.
4. Fingers flat, angled down.
5. Tongue light, quick.
6. Upper teeth on mouthpiece.
7. Embouchure firm, clarinet in center of mouth.
8. Squeaks? Try less mouthpiece, check reed for chips, cracks, warped etc.
Saxophone
1. Lower jaw, somewhat relaxed.
2. Tongue lightly.
3. Fill horn with air, practice extreme dynamics.
4. Sax to mouth, not mouth to sax-adjust sax strap to bring the horn to correct position.
5. Sit up straight, head up, not sideways.
Oboe
1. Reed placed between lips which are slightly rolled in over the teeth.
2. Lips close around the reed, no leaks.
3. Lips firm, do not pinch, allow the reed to vibrate.
4. Tip of the tongue touches reed when tonguing.
Bassoon
1. Lips are pushed forward, not rolled over teeth.
2. Do not pinch!
3. Allow lower jaw to recede, upper teeth forward-overbite position.
4. Sit upright, bring bassoon to mouth.
5. Use strap that works best for you-Seat strap or neck strap.
Trumpet
1. Head up.
2. Position mouthpiece 50/50 (half upper lip, half lower).
3. Light pressure, do not pinch.
4. Chin flat.
5. Tongue lightly.
6. Open throat, horn parallel with floor.
7. Fill horn with air, do not overblow!
8. Trumpet supported by the left hand.
9. Finger tips on valve buttons for best fingering technique.
French Horn
1. Two thirds, upper lip, one third, lower.
2. Pressure more on lower lip.
3. Do not suck in lower lip.
4. Head up, BLOW!
5. Sit forward in the chair, face director.
6. Back of right hand against bell.
7. Use right hand to help regulate pitch (intermediate/advanced level).
Trombone/Tuba/Euphonium
1. Open lips-Space between.
2. Blow!
3. Trombone-relaxed wrist, quick.
4. Do not puff cheeks!
5. Open throat.
Excellent Suggestions for Everyone
1. Be patient! Success takes time
2. Practice make permanent!
3. Due diligence-if something doesn't come right away, move on and come back to it later.
4. Experiment-if something doesn't work for you, try a new technique, position, mouthpiece, reed etc.
5. Question experts-can't figure it out? Consult a recognized professional.
6. Practice dynamics regularly (softs & louds) The best musicians can play any selection at any volume with ease.
7. Take lessons! One lesson is better than none. Get someone who can help you start correctly. Bad habits will limit your success, and they are hard to break!
8. Practice all tempos. Many people can play notes quickly. A professional can also play it slowly with expression.
9. Practice different styles of music. Jazz, classical, rock, pop, folk, sacred. It will make you a better, well-rounded musician and improve your technique.
10. Proficiency with scales will improve your technique.
11. Practice Everyday.
12. Practice Listening.
13. Model the Masters.
Quote from Phil Smith
“You can have oodles of technique, but if you've got no tone, it's not going to be attractive to the person hearing it. First is hearing it in your head; the other part is your heart -- having this innate part of our soul that needs to express itself. Music is not just the black dots on the white paper -- it's what happens when those black dots on the white paper go into your heart, and come out again.”
~ Phil Smith
Some suggestions for better tone production
Clarinet: From Ms. Miller (CMSS)
- Be sure that the reed is intact, working and that the mouthpiece is clean and not chipped.
- Position the reed correctly on the mouthpiece.
- If possible, play on a quality mouthpiece (the best student mouthpiece is a Vandoren 5RV Lyre 13)
- Use quality reeds - Rico Reserve, Rico Royal, Grand Concert, VanDoren V12
- Reed strength should be 2.5 or 3
- The basic embouchure is crucial for good tone. i.e., stretched, pointed chin, sides of mouth forward, open throat.
- Practice breathing slowly in and out. Let the exhale be effortless. The breath contains the energy for there to be tone. Let the ribs move out and in during breathing - they are the key to good breathing.
- Play one tone as long as you can in one breath. Follow the sound and breath. Listen and watch where the tone vibrates in your body. The tone will sound "centered". Direct the tone outward.
- Another excercise: play 4 beat notes followed by 4 beats of rest. Don't always play a familiar "scale" pattern. Then connect 2 tones (slurred) together. (Again, watching the breath, being mindful to where the tone vibrates in your body, moving the breath, moving the energy of the breath, through the notes.)
- Stay in the low register.
Saxophone: from Mr. Dean
- Warm air = warm sound.
- Good tone comes from warm air.
- The sound has to be supported.
- Keep the throat open.
- Keep the mouth set when playing because if there is a lot of jaw movement the reed won't vibrate consistently.
Flute: from Ms. Brodeur
- Relax the lips.
- Never push the flute into the lips but very lightly rest on the mouth.
- Angle the air up to the tip of the nose.
- Practice with just the head joint in front of a mirror. Adjust the placement of the lips on the mouthpiece for the best possible sound.
- Air should be fairly quiet when it passes through the lips. The lips could be too tense if you hear too much air.