When I was putting this week together I envisioned EJ 3 taking twice as long and also giving me a ton of problems but at the end of the first day I discovered it wasnt bad a all and in fact was SUPER boring. To remedy this I ended up changing the articulation for each scale rather than by key to keep my interest and get more out of the exercise. Again, I found the flats harder than the sharps, but I was surprised to see that by the third day I was having little to no problem with high C# and D (save for D Major). Next time I do EJ 3 it will be MUCH faster.
EJ 8 and 9 also gave me less trouble than I thought (could it be that the first week of the challenge helped?!) and with this exercise I also ended up mixing the articulations a ton and deviated further by doing two letters a day for the whole week (rather than moving down to one on Wednesday).
Once I was through 3, 8, and 9, I felt incomplete so I finished the challenge portion of each day with two letters from EJ 5 and REALLY tried to push myself on the tempo and articulations doing each letter until I could achieve the 92 metronome marking I set for the week.
In spite of being sick, I feel like with my variations it was another successful technical week. Let me know how it went for you! (Scroll to the bottom of the post for a reminder of next weeks set).
Happy Practicing!
*Keep reading or a day by day detailed version of the above*
Day 1:
Wow EJ 3 is BORING! 80 was too easy and I ended up mixing the articulations more to keep myself into it. Can't believe how easy B-C# is! On EJ3 B - trouble with D Major combined with articulation 7.
EJ8 was not bad and I ended up being able to hit all the articulations for each line.
EJ9 not bad and kinda fun! Haven't really done the descending broken arpeggios before.
Decided to add two letters of EJ5.
EJ3 A - 80, EJ3 B - 60, EJ8 - 72, EJ9 - 72, EJ5 - 92
Day 2:
Bumped EJ3 up to 92 and really still not too bad. Again supervised by the high C#/D ease! In EJ3 B I kept the metronome at 60. Noticing how these exercises are making my tone REALLY suffer...note to do tone exercise after before practicing symphony music...My lips got TIRED. Gflat Major went WELL!
EJ8 - Easy and need to bump up tomorrow (did not bump up today).
EJ9 - This one was harder...keep at 72.
EJ5 - Letters C and D with articulations 7 & 8.
EJ3 A - 92, B - 60, EJ8 - 72, EJ9 - 72, EJ 5 - 92
Day 3:
EJ3 A - the sharps were EASY! Feels good to know that. B wasn't bad...it's getting easier and also getting better at high C#/D. Bumped metronome up today.
EJ8 - fine nothing significant to report
EJ9 - Fine, nothing major to say
EJ5 - Letters E and F with articulation 9 and 10
EJ3 A - 92, EJ3 B - 66, EJ8 - 80, EJ9 - 72
Day 4:
EJ3 A - Took up to 100 and it went really well! Deff gonna hit the goal even up to high C#/D! B - Harder but went well...can up the tempo now.
EJ 8 - Letter F was so easy I took the tempo up to 92.
EJ 9 - Took up to 80 with ease
EJ5 - Letters G and H - Articulations 1 and 2
EJ3 A - 100, EJ3 B - 66, EJ8 - 92, EJ9 - 80, EJ5 - 92
Day 5:
EJ3 A - Not bad but trying too hard to get out high D. B - going up to high D was ok but coming down from it was ROUGH...not going to hit goal with tempo on B.
EJ8 - Fine
EJ9 - Fine
EJ 5 - Letters I and J with articulations 3 and 4.
Had to cut the week short due to a double rehearsal/concert day. Feel good still!
Looking Ahead:
Taffanel et Gaubert Technique Challenge Week 3 Set:
Week 3 - January 16th through the 22nd
EJ4 - starting at half note = 120, goal is to achieve 132 by Saturday
*Skip articulation 1&2. Do one articulation a day starting with artic 3
EJ7 - Starting quarter note = comfy for you
*Consider doing with all breath attacks
*Do each indicate key a day (Day 1 - C, Day 2 - Dflat Day 3 - D, etc)
EJ10 - Starting quarter note = comfy for you
*Change the articulation at each double bar and don't always start with
articulation 1 each day.
Happy Practicing!!
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