Abi:

Try to smooth out those 5 note lip slurs this week. Use your air to support the sound & go slow; the slurring was much cleaner when you took your time. It will also benefit you to do each interval individually.

Nice job with Mountain King. The accel and dynamic contrast were much more present this week. You can use those concepts – to a more subtle degree – in many other pieces of music. I’d like to hear Turkey In The Straw & line 140 for next week. Try to have all the rhythms and notes ironed out by then.

Matt:

All of your RCM rep is coming together nicely!

Thanks for working through those minor scales with me today. Its best to get a jump on the rest of the RCM requirements before it’s too late! We looked at B minor and D minor today. As a refresher, B minor has 2 sharps (just like D major), the notes are B C# D E F# G A B. D minor has one flat (like F major), the notes are D E F G A Bb C D.

Etude in G/ D are both improving quite a bit every week. This week you had much more of the articulation together which makes such a huge difference. Pay a little closer attention to dynamics this week, and take everything slow! Remember to always take big breaths and play with a beautiful sound.

Also, be aware of when you start to pull in your chin. This creates a lot of tension in your body and sound making it much more difficult to play beautifully for extended periods of time. You want to always have optimal air flow from your core -> open throat -> mouth -> out the horn.