Hey everyone, here is the homework for this week.

Susan:

  • Practice the B major scale, arpeggio and thirds full range of the instrument, along with the relative minor (Ab).
  • Practice the two Galper pieces we discussed. For the first one, keep working on over-exaggerating dynamics. For the second piece, focus on keeping the tone consistent/dynamics even throughout all registers of the instrument (unless you’re adding in intentional dynamics).
  • Keep working on the first Rose etude. Try working your way through the entire piece, bit by bit. For the rubato parts, try to figure out the most musical way to interpret them without completely losing the element of speed.

Jonathan:

  • Review C, F, G, and Bb major scales and arpeggios with the metronome at 70 bpm.
  • Work on Desafinado up until the second ending where we stopped. Try playing along with my recording some more, and when you’re not playing along with the recording make sure you are making your best effort to get the rhythms right. If you are lost, remember to figure out which beat/part of the beat each note is falling on (1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and).

Aubrey:

  • Review C, F, G, Bb, and D major scales and arpeggios.
  • Work on the four-part band piece we looked at, along with your other band music. Remember to only practice the parts that need work (generally the area above the break) and only run through the entire piece when you’ve finished isolating any problem areas.
  • Try out some different rhythms over There Will Never Be Another You. Remember – they must add up, but other than that you have free rein. A good starting point is replacing two quarter notes with a dotted quarter and an eighth note.
  • Review Blue Monk.
  • If possible, try to buy some new reeds this week – Vandoren 2 1/2.

Camille:

  • Camille should warm up with her major scales. This week we worked on C, G, F, Bb and D major and the arpeggios. Make sure she focuses specifically on Bb major, and that she is relaxing her jaw and staying loose like we’ve discussed. She should spend 10 or so minutes every practice session on this.
  • Pavane – make sure Camille isn’t rushing during the trickier section on page 2 (she knows where this is, and we’ve discussed it). Get her to play through the entire piece, both alone and with her sister as well.