Posted by Scott Roberts on November 28, 1999 at 23:38:25:
I'm trying to clean this piece up prior juries. Actually I have to, but I'm having some trouble. I am playing all movements on a Mirafone 188-5u. I'll list some problems and any assistance from the audience would be greatly appreciated.
Mvt. 1 -- Not too bad, but am having some difficulties landing a good tempo. I've played around with a range of tempos, but am really unsatisfied with my results. Some minor interval/tuning issues, but those can be fixed quickly. Is rubato okay in this movment?
Mvt. 2 -- Sluring in some of the low range melody tends to get bumpy. I've been doing Clarke studies and have had some of the bumps/bad note starts there, too. How can I clean up those slurs?
Mvt. 3 -- I am exagerating some dynamics such as p to pp or pp to mp. I think it sounds very musical, but I don't feel as though all sections should have this effect. Agree/Disagree? Having a bit of trouble with the decrescendo (measure 1 through 3). That pedal D isn;t difficult, but getting it to sound good at piano which I play about mezzo piano there to start. Too much loud playing in the low register I guess... The Ride continues...
Mvt. 4 -- Major trouble in the last four bars --> I can't stabalize the d above the staff. I have tried 1 and open to see tonal differences, and I can buzz the note fine on the mouthpiece. It just becomes a huge challenge to center when on the tuba and along that line to make it sound nice without the dying elephant effect.
Mvt. 5 -- This ones okay. I'm trying to bring out the melody from the endless eighth notes and make it go somewhere.
Mvt. 6 -- Not too bad either. The only big problem I face here is getting a breath of air some the loud section (starting the 2/4 bar measure 17 ). I run out at about measure 20 and then I lose the E natural. At the legato section, should the notes touch or can I put more space between the notes because of the faster tempo? I've been toying with this one too long.
Thanks for any help on this. I just need to get some other peoples opinions and ideas.
Regards,
Scott