Did you know that practicing technique isn’t just about the fingers?
I talk to my students with frequency about their practice time. I suggest that their technique practice should be tone practice at the same time. It’s what I do too. But I came to this realization one day as I was practicing a myriad of technical exercises (because they are fun!) and procrastinating about tone exercises (because they are not fun). That’s when I began to listen to my tone as I practiced my technique. I realized that while I was practicing technique that I was letting tone take a back seat because after all:
This was technique practice not tone practice!
But then the epiphany, my aha moment, a fresh insight – – what if I worked on my tone while I practiced technique? This opened up an entirely new world for me and my practice. I decided that I was going to work for the tone I wanted while practicing technique for two reasons:
- What if I don’t have time for the long tones? Something comes up and I don’t get back to it for the rest of the day. It happens people!
- I wanted to improve my tone when performing technical passages in solos. Have you ever felt that you aren’t getting the tone you want when you perform?
That #2 is a real issue. Don’t you think? We practice tone in the virtual vacuum. Yes, you do need to practice your tone out of a solo context – concentrate on the sound and breathing and embouchure.
But do you then take that sound into your technique? It has changed my practice sessions since thinking this way. I now approach technique as if it’s a passage in a solo. I ask myself: if I were to play this in a solo, what is the sound I’m going for? Can I get it with these scales or arpeggios or articulations?
Try it. This way of approaching your technique will change the way you play.
Have fun!
DoctorFlute
Watch me demonstrate this:
FluteTips 44 Improve Tone By Practicing Technique
