Posted by Aubrey Foard on January 01, 2000 at 23:51:46:
In Reply to: Re: Two quick questions posted by Tom Brekhus on January 01, 2000 at 22:18:30:
Joe,
Brian Bowman was recently in town (Milwaukee) and gave a masterclass at UW-Milwaukee. The two biggest pointers are :
1. Take the piece very slow if it is a fast piece so that you can get all the notes down and the pitches in your head, then gradually increase the speed.
2. When you take the piece at a slow tempo (i.e. quarter note = 60), play every passage and do not speed up until every note in a passage is clean and clear (good articulation, good rhythm, good decay, breaths taken in the right spots, etc..). After everything is perfect at a slow tempo, gradually increase the speed (10-15 notches) until it's perfect at that speed, then increase the speed further until you have it perfect up tempo and maybe even a little beyond.
I found these points to be EXTREMELY helpful when working through the Vaughan Williams concerto (esp. mvmt 3), because you really see and hear things to work on that you wouldn't see or hear at a faster tempo. You may try e-mailing Brian Bowman yourself, because I didn't get all the stuff from the masterclass. Anyway, for what it's worth, hope it helps.
Aubrey