What do you do when you’ve been practicing a difficult passage – using all the methods that you know of to get that passage down, to get it in your fingers, but you still can’t get it? Sometimes working on it backwards and forwards is the answer to nailing it.
If there’s a note that is missing in that passage or your fingers just won’t do what they’re supposed to do at the speed of which you want them to go, then try this:
Play the Difficult Passage Backwards!
As an example, I have the Rivier Concerto in front of me and am going to use a short technical passage. When you’re playing backwards a shorter passage is better because it’s hard to keep track of the forwards and backwards once you get moving and change articulations.
The particular passage I am looking at is not an easy passage. There are a lot of accidentals. It’s not completely scaler or arpeggiated. Thus it doesn’t fit in the fingers beautifully. At this point let’s say I’ve worked on it a lot and it still isn’t clean at the tempo I want it to go. I am in need of some tricks to help me get all the notes cleanly. So, at this point, playing backwards is the way to go.
Do All the Taffanel & Gaubert Articulations
I will play the passage forward and then immediately take it backwards not stopping and restarting. The groups of 16th will be off which is exactly what I’m looking for in an technique exercise that will increase my fingers’ knowledge of the notes.
Now after I play it a couple times forwards and backwards and am comfortable with the rhythm, then I will change the articulation. Tongue one slur 3, slur 3 tongue one, tongue 2 slur 2, slur 2 tongue 2, basically go through the Taffanel and Gaubert articulations. Keep it slow. Only as fast as you can accomplish each articulation forwards and backwards evenely. Do each 2x or as many as needed to feel comfortable at the tempo that you are doing it at. Don’t worry about where you take a breath, you’re doing it slower than your goal tempo.
Take the Breath Where You Need To
Sometimes there are repeated notes that throw a kink into the backwards forwards thing or the rhythm doesn’t lend itself nicely to keep groups of 4 or 6. No worries. Modify as necessary, begin at a different spot add a note to let yourself do the necessary articulations.
It really works. It’s a brain thing. It’s really seeing what those notes are that maybe you didn’t comprehend before. Try this method on your difficult technique passages. Use those articulations forwards and backwards. Go right into backwards don’t stop turn it around and keep going. I think you should find that it is one more tool in your tool box to help clean up those runs. It helped me!
Have Fun!
DoctorFlute
Watch me demonstrate this: FluteTips 58 Practicing Technique Backwards
