Middle School Region Recordings - Technical

Monday, August 29, 2016 by Laura Erickson | Region Recordings

MS Technical Etude - First Half - mm = 50

MS Technical Etude - Second Half - mm = 50

Middle School Region Recordings - Lyrical

Monday, August 29, 2016 by Laura Erickson | Region Recordings

MS Region 2 Lyrical - First 8 measures with subdivision


MS Region 2 Lyrical - Second Half, mm=46, pulsing subdivision. 



Beginning/Marching Flutes for Sale

Sunday, August 28, 2016 by Laura Erickson | For Sale

There are currently two Hebron HS flutists looking to sell their old flutes.  I have never tried these flutes personally.  If you are interested in purchasing one please send me a message and I will put you in touch with the sellers.

Flute 1 is a Yamaha 281.  Recently repaired, new cork, pads checked, etc...  Student is asking $200

Flute 2 is an Armstrong flute.  The student did not know the model, but will contact me when she has it. She is asking $275.  The photos below are of the ARMSTRONG flute ONLY. 


Lone Star Youth Winds to Hold Auditions

Tuesday, August 16, 2016 by Laura Erickson | Auditions, Honors Band

Auditions for the Lone Star Youth Wind Orchestra will be coming up in the next few months.  This is a fantastic organization for talented young musicians.  

  • Audition music is the same as all-state music
  • you get to play your all-state music for a judge before the real audition!
  • If you are selected to play with the ensemble you get to work with other talented musicians in the metroplex! 
  • Special guest conductors, guest artists, coachings, and a concerto competition!

LoneStarWindOrchestra.com

Texas All State Music Errata

Tuesday, August 16, 2016 by Laura Erickson | All State

Be sure to double check the following for an updated list of errors in this years All-state music!  The Performance Guide was written by this year's TMEA presenter, Melissa Colgin-Abeln. 

Flute and Piccolo
Book - Editor Title Publisher Edition
Mills and Cole Famous Flute Works - An Anthology of Studies for Flute Southern Music Company B2009

Selection 1
Page(s): 6-7
Key: E Major
Etude Title: Etude 3
Tempo: Quarter Note = 110-120
Play from Beginning to the end of m. 60. No repeats..
Errata:
Ms. 7 - 4th should be C#. (revised 8/15 for new edition)
Piccolo, M. 22 - play C# one octave higher

Performance Guide:
This study for double tonguing provides also a fun workout in the thirds, scales and arpeggios in three keys. Prepare your music in advance with a pencil and brightly colored highlighters. Carefully and lightly pencil in a “smart stick”--a vertical line--above each downbeat. Highlight dynamics, printed breaths, and difficult passages. (“Mental practice,” reading/studying the music without your instrument, stimulates the brain for deeper learning.) Practice the corresponding major-key and chromatic scales (in eighth notes), considered an important part of practice for this—and all—music. If double-tonguing is new to you (or not your favorite skill), use this formula to develop it: one group at a time--SLOWLY—play 4 notes + a downbeat, DDDD|D, GGGG|G, DGDG|D, GDGD|D. (Practice saying the syllables as well.) Use the metronome every time for the best outcome. Work in short sections, perhaps one to two measures at a time. Begin at half tempo (or slower) and proceed with standard metronome markings, moving “up two-back one.” Changing how you practice selected passages (practice rhythms, moving the downbeats) further stimulates your brain, allows for seeing and hearing the notes differently, and for catching mistakes. Start at a different spot every day. The music is composed in mostly 4-bar and 8-bar phrases; the ending eighth notes allow for natural breaths. However, from m. 36 onward, one must choose breaths as needed. Practice your breathing choices until they sound natural and musical. Record short passages and listen for accuracy, dynamics, and above all, musicality.

Selection 2
Page(s): 64
Key: A Minor
Etude Title: Etude 38
Tempo: Eighth Note = 68-80
Play from Beginning to end.
Errata:
Accidentals do not apply to octaves....except in mea. 11. (revised 8/15)
Ms. 3, the sharp between beats 4 and 5 pertains to the turn, (revised 7/21)
Ms. 11, last two notes should be slurred (revised 8/2)
In m. 18, the third ornamental note should be an A natural.
Ms. 19, the sharp between beats 4 and 5 should be placed below the turn. (revised 7/21)
Add a slight ritard at end of m. 44.
Piccolo:
Ms. 5 - Play C# one octave higher (revised 8/2)
Ms. 10 play C natural one octave higher.

Performance Guide:
This etude demonstrates 19th-century French “salon-music” style in 6/8 meter, which tests the ability to perform ornamented musical lines in correct rhythm while sounding effortless and elastic. Prepare your music in advance as discussed in Selection 1. Understand the numerous foreign terms (http://dictionary.onmusic.org). It’s wise to practice first the “skeleton of the melody” (the eighth-note beats without any ornamentation). The “turn” or “gruppetto” is a five-note ornament that turns around its first note within the key signature, unless an accidental is indicated (m. 1: E-F-E-D#-E). This first turn falls on beat three. Most of the turns fall on the last part of the eighth-note beat. Opportunities abound for breaths, but avoid breathing on a bar line unless it occurs at a rest or cadence. Choose breaths tastefully, and practice them. Experiment with changes in vibrato speeds to elevate expressiveness. Isolate and practice groupings one at a time; notice the frequent “turnarounds.” These consist of three notes, the middle note goes up or down.) Isolating these musical fragments is good for your ears and eyes and can help make the overall lines smoother. M. 24-28, m. 28 and mm. 39-44, have similar indications to quicken the tempo, just how much is a matter of musical taste (keep in mind the overall mood). Add a slight ritard just before the fermata at m. 45, to introduce the cadenza that follows. Here, the “ad lib” allows the freedom to move the tempo forward and backward at will. The final four bars offer a somber farewell.

Selection 3
Page(s): 12
Key: F# Minor
Etude Title: Etude 6
Tempo: Dotted Quarter Note = 60-72
Play from Beginning to end.
Errata:
Ms. 10 - the last note should be included in the slur (revised 7/27)
Ms. 11 - third note should be F natural (revised 8/2)
Ms.14 - The last note should be included in the slur
Ms. 17 - Slur the chromatic scale in triplets
Ms. 19- The sixth note of the first grouping should be included in the slur (revised 7/27)
Ms. 31- Should be slurred (revised 7/21)
Ms. 27 - 7th note should be E-natural (revised 7/21)

Performance Guide:
This etude, a challenging and diverse study in 6/8 time, provides ample opportunity to develop technique. The scattered passages of both double- and triple-tonguing will require daily practice. Prepare your music in advance as discussed in Selection 1. Helpful advice includes highlighting the double-tongued passages in one color and triple-tongued spots in a contrasting color. For doubles, alternate practice using DD|D, GG|G, DG|D, GD|D (2 notes + a downbeat). For triples, practice using DDD|D, GGG|G, DGD|G, GDG|D (3 notes + a downbeat). Practice saying the syllables as well. Make a close friend of your metronome! Give the slurred passages a third color and practice them separately to imbed the crescendos/decrescendos. Begin practice with the eighth-note beat (metronome range = 60-196). Slower practice is better for learning the notes, articulations and dynamics accurately, so resist the flutist’s tendency to put speed ahead of everything else! When sections are correct, clean and stable, transition to a dotted-quarter-note metronome marking. Throughout the months of preparation, continue to isolate and practice together the color-coded passages as you refine the dynamics, which range from pianissimo to fortissimo. If wide leaps give you trouble (measures 1 21, 26, etc.), practice these notes inside the staff so to better hear the arpeggios. These passages will become easier to play in their original placement. As you improve and inch the tempo upward, keep the tongue light as you imagine dots, sparkles or bubbles. For the slurred passages, imagine ribbons flowing in a breeze.