After a long and precious summer, I'm sure many of you are once again busy preparing for the new concert season. I will be playing my first concert of the season in about two weeks and I'd like to share with you my process for getting ready and perhaps hear some of yours, if you'd care to leave a comment.
1. First Reading: I like to read through my part first without having listened to any recordings to see what I can pick up from the music itself. Then I'll know what to focus on when I...
2. Listen to a Recording: with a full score. This helps me to find out where my part fits in. If the piece is particularly complex, I'll follow along the score a few times over the following days, until I feel I have a good sense of the structure.
3. Practicing Excerpts: In the following order, openings, endings, fast sections, high fingerboard position sections.
4. Playing Along With The Recording: If steps 1-3 are solid, then I like to play along with the recording to get a sense of how it might feel in rehearsal and to get used to not going back to correct mistakes.
Also:
I think that's about it. Admittedly, since my life isn't filled with spare time, I'm usually this thorough when playing with a new ensemble for the first time. Is this similar to what you do? Feel free to share any tips you have in the comments section.
L.
Previous entries: April 2012
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