Riverbottom Euphonium Quartet

The Riverbottom Euphonium Quartet played a concert last night and did two masterclass sessions today for the students at OSU. Several points of their masterclass reminded me of several lessons that I have learned recently and bear repeating and posting here.

1. The dynamics that we as performers think that we are playing are probably not what the audience is hearing. For instance, what I think is pianissimo is probably "inaudible" to the audience and makes me sound overly timid and unsecure in my playing. Even though voices scream out to me that I am not playing a true soft dynamic (aka "I can play softer than that!"), it is what the audience or audition committee hears that matters!

2. One member of the REQ mentioned that "when we are rehearsing as a chamber music ensemble, we all choose to check our ego's at the door and agree to both give and accept criticism amongst each other freely." I think that this is not something that we should only do in chamber music. Regardless of whether or not I personally agree with/embrace what someone says about my playing, I should still give it fair consideration. This openness and ability to do whatever is asked of a musician is what will impress conductors and fellow musicians--resulting in a more likely possibility of being asked to play again or more often.

3. Another piece of advice which the REQ guys gave was to record yourself and your chamber music ensembles OFTEN. This is a great idea. You learn new things about your playing when you are able to have a third-person perspective of your own work. Great idea, but as they mentioned, it might be hard to afford for college music students.

4. When slurring and playing legato music, think of the back-end of each note pushing into the next note. This will ensure a smooth, connected sound. Also, when playing legato, make sure that the air never 'dips' or 'wanes'. This is true. We shouldn't let phrasing or dynamic nuances slow or cut-off the air. Keep it moving.

5. When speaking about dynamics, the statement was made that, 'the hardest thing to do on a brass instrument is play soft.' I don't know if I fully agree with that, but what they said about how to fix it is so true with most anything you try to do on your instrument...'if you don't go there each day, then it'll never happen.' What he means is this: if you don't attempt to DO the skill that you are trying to learn ON A DAILY BASIS, then you will never make progress. So if you are trying to gain more dynamic control, then you MUST practice playing soft each day and you will see progress. Simple concept, but buying into it is sometimes difficult.

So, that is what I took away from the Riverbottom Euphonium Quartet!

Happy New Year!

I haven't posted in a while...sorry. To those of you who might be receiving this via email subscription, just wanted to wish you all a very happy new year. 2009 should be a most interesting year!