Moyse: 24 Petites Études Mélodiques – No. 7

Hello again! I’ve had a bit more time off from Moyse than intended, but here’s Number 7 in E flat Major. I’m hitting the point in this book where most of the etudes have more variations and are therefore a bit longer. This one was deceptively difficult- the theme and first variation are fine, but I had real trouble with the second variation. The big challenge for me was keeping the articulation and rhythm accurate while keeping up the tempo. This is why Mr. Metronome is my best friend!

See you tomorrow for number 8!

#Moyse

Donjon: Etudes de Salon – No. 4 Volubile

Hey students- you know how I’m always going on about how we should aim for beautiful, accurate musicianship but how we also live in reality and have to practice how to make mistakes nicely? Yeah, this recording is that second thing.

Some nights you sleep on your shoulder funny and it makes your left hand feel weird. Some days you take shortcuts when you warm up because it’s warm and the flute is slippery. Some days are just bad flute days and today was one of them.

Bad flute day or not, this was the day I needed to record my Etude of the Week. When all the bad flute stuff happens, sometimes you just have to live with what comes out. Overall this was probably not my worst performance ever, but I will be happy to try this one again on a better day.

See you soon for more Moyse!

#Donjon #EOTW

Moyse: 24 Petites Études Mélodiques – No. 6

This was done at the end of a marathon recording session for a Jolly Jones Duo project, so I’ve got the metal head joint today because of that. I had thought of doing a back-to-back recording comparing this with my wood head joint, but that will have to wait for another etude. My face was pretty tired by this point in my day, and I think that’s pretty obvious in this recording. I still love this head joint and it’s definitely the right one for some situations, but at this point I’m more comfortable on the wood one and it definitely affects my endurance after I’ve switched back to metal. Since I’m pretty much only playing by myself these days (thanks quarantine) I’m going to have to make sure to even out my practicing just a bit so I’m not totally out of shape on this head joint when I get to play with other people again!

#Moyse