AIR and bouree


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Posted by Dan Malcore on May 04, 2002 at 23:19:03:

Today was my state solo-ensemble, and I played Air and Bouree. Simply put, everything that I played was about two levels below my ability because I was unable to get enough air. I have never had to play something that demanded such an exchange of air, and I am sure that is part of the problem, and I just want to know how to improve.

Ive been playing since 7th grade (now a high school senior) and I'm pretty good as far as high school tuba players go, but I think today's performance of Air and Bouree (along with hours of practicing the song) has shown that I have a way to go if I am going to do the song any justice.

Air and Bouree is probably the most challenging piece I've ever played. It looks easy enough, and when I break it down, maybe when working out a few numbers, I can play it really well, but when I play the song straight through, I cannot keep up with the air to make the same sort of sound and feeling that I can in chunks because I'm just not taking in enough air.

My judge today said I should work on overall expression and phrasing, and not taking breaths at every little breath mark indicated. I can certainly see how he would see those points as my weaknesses, but I think my problems were mostly a direct result of having too little air. The song just doesn't let a guy stop for a bit to catch his breath. When I could, I managed to get full breaths, but the song just cooks along, and for the most part, I was just getting catch breaths here and there.

Does all this mean that I have some major work to do as far as lung capacity goes? Or is Bill Bell just asking too much of me on my Conn-20J?

If it means working on breathing in general, where do I start? Does this mean that I have some major work to do to reach the next level? Is this too broad of an area for me to grasp from a Tubenet post, something that I should be learning in a lesson? Or is Air and Bouree just too demanding of a song for a high schooler who plays a great deal of band literature that teaches him that breathing every offbeat is perfectly acceptable?

Dan "Looking to put the AIR into Air and Bouree" Malcore


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