our next steps

cyo

wonderful first reading of a piece guys!

so as we were rehearsing, I kept thinking about how all the pieces I pick, have certain things in common: for example, I always find myself conducting contrasts between heavy strings and light winds (in terms of sound quality, not mass), I guess except for the Satie piece we are working on right now. I wonder if it says anything about me... or maybe it's just one of those very common things that I had been taking for granted... gotta always appreciate the details.

So my big apology to the flute section. What I should have done is to prepare the parts with added notes for you before even the first rehearsal of the piece. I will get them to you ASAP!

Because the notes themselves don't seem to be an issue for anybody, and we are getting much better at ensemble playing, I feel that we are ready to move on to the next steps.

Here are a couple of things I want you guys to start thinking about:

one is the quality of sound itself as an expressive tool. On one single note, can you make a happy sound? and a sad sound on the same exact note?

second is being aware of tensions and releases in the music. for this, you must pay attention to the harmonies. some harmonies sound restless, while others feel stable. in most cases, the restless sound can build up, or be instantanious, but is almost always followed by a stable sound. look for these instances in music. It's everywhere, but really start paying attention to them.