Developing a Practice Plan

Hi everyone,

In todays post I will be talking about developing a practice plan and what to include within your practice plan.

For your practice plan you might choose to do yours on a weekly basis or a monthly basis, depending on works best for you. But, you may also want to include what you might to practice on a daily basis by breaking the weekly basis one down into smaller chunks.

What to Include in Your Practice Plan

- Scales & Arpeggios

- Studies, Etudes & Exercises

- Technique

- Tone

- Sight Reading

- Orchestral Excepts

- Exam Pieces

- Repertoire

Scales & Arpeggios

Scales and arpeggios should form the basis of any practice session, and it doesn't matter if you are a beginner or a more advanced player - scales and arpeggios form the basis of any musical journey, and are essentially the foundations of building a good musical understanding. You can use your scales and arpeggios in a various ways such as developing a technique such as staccato or slurring notes, or getting used to playing in various octaves.

Studies, Etudes & Exercises

Studies & etudes can be introduced at any stage of your musical journey, and these are short pieces of music with a few technical challenges thrown in to push you. You can get studies and etudes from a beginner level right the way up to advanced level. I've also mentioned exercises, and these are what Trinity offer as part of their technical graded exam syllabus. These exercises work in a similar way to a study or etude, but they are shorter in length compared to a study/ etude.

Technique

There's quite a few ways that you can develop your technique on your instrument, and most instruments offer books that will help you to develop your technique. They are usually short exercises that usually focus on one or two aspects of the different techniques you can learn and develop your instrument. You can also use your scales/ arpeggios or a study that focuses on a particular technique that you would like to develop. Also, developing your technique takes time; but the more you do it, the more refined your technique should become.

Tone

There's also quite a number of ways that you can develop your tonal qualities on your instrument, and they can range from doing long tones, harmonics or you can just use your scales and arpeggios. There's also books available that focuses on developing your tone on your instrument; and these books can be made up of either well known pieces of music or exercises. They should also explain what type of tonal quality your aiming for within these pieces/ exercises.

Sight Reading

Sight reading is an important part of developing as a musician, as it will help you to read from the stave more easily. Sight reading books are available across a range of instruments, and also from different exam boards and composers. They also range from beginner level right the way up to advanced level.

Orchestral Excerpts

Orchestral excerpts are for more advanced players, and these usually get introduced around Grade 6. An orchestral excerpt is a segment from a full orchestral score, and these pieces also work in a similar way to study. They are also used for orchestral auditions.

Exam Pieces

Please make sure that your practice plan includes all of the pieces that you are working on for your music exams, whether these are graded music exams, diploma exams or exams that will form part of your music degree.

Repertoire

These are any additional pieces that you may be learning either just for fun, or as part of your musical education.

Goal Setting - This is important, as you might have a timeline that your pieces will have to be learned by, or you might want to set yourself a series of short term and long term goals. It's also important to factor these into your practice plan, so then you can make the short term goals more attainable, while still working on your long term goals.

Also, your practice plan doesn't have to include everything off this list - start by choosing what is the most important areas from this list, and then take it from there. Try your best not to overwhelm yourself, as you can always leave areas out that don't apply to your learning for the time eg.) orchestral excerpts, as these are mainly aimed at more advancing players. But you can also do this 'rolling' style, and there's two ways that you can 'roll'.

 - The first way to 'roll' is within the specific area eg) Scales & Arpeggios. I've chosen Scales & Arpeggios as I can explain it a little better to you. So, for your first month; you might want to focus on three scales and arpeggios to work on; and then the following month 'roll in' three more scales and arpeggios to replace the ones that you have been working on.

- The second way to 'roll' is between each area. For example, for your first month you might want to focus working on Studies, Etudes & Exercises; and then for the second month, you might want to work on an orchestral excerpt.

My Henle Sheet Music Collection

Hi everyone,

In todays post I will be talking about my Henle flute & piccolo sheet music collection.

When it comes to sheet music; Henle are one of the 'top tier' music publishers, and they pride themselves on publishing sheet music to a very high standard. The quality of paper that they print their sheet music on is also a very high standard.

Also, with sheet music publications by Henle you also get performance notes, as well as history about the composers and the history of how that piece of music came to be. You can also find translations of these notes in French, German and English at the beginning of each piece of sheet music.

March of the Bluebirds (Janacek - Piccolo)

This is my only piece for the piccolo that I own from Henle, and this is a fun little piece for the piccolo. You can definitely hear the bluebirds chirping throughout this piece of music. This also has a part for piano accompaniment 

Partita in A Minor Flute Solo (J.S. Bach)

The Partita in A Minor by J.S. Bach features the extremely well known Allemande, and this forms the first movement of this partita. This partita is made up of four movements; and they are :-

- Allemande

- Corrente

- Sarabande

- Bourree Angloise

Flute Sonatas 1 - The Four Authentic Sonatas (J.S. Bach)

Flute Sonatas 1 features four of J.S Bach's flute sonatas, and they are as follows :-

- E Minor Flute Sonata

- E Major Flute Sonata

- B Minor Flute Sonata

- A Major Flute Sonata

* All of these flute sonatas have a piano accompaniment to go alongside them.

Flute Sonatas 2 - The Three Sonatas attributed to J.S. Bach (J.S. Bach)

Flute Sonatas 2 features three of J.S. Bach's flute sonatas, and they are as follows :-

- C Major Flute Sonata

- G Minor Flute Sonata

- Eb Major Flute Sonata

* All of these flute sonatas have a piano accompaniment to go alongside them.

Andante in C Major (Mozart)

Even though this piece is written for flute and orchestra, this version by Henle actually features a piano reduction. But, another little treat that this piece features is a choice of two cadenzas that have been composed by Robert D. Levin.

Flute Concerto in G Major (Mozart)

The introduction for this flute concerto is really well known, and this piece can be found within graded exam syllabuses and as an excerpt for various types of auditions. This version features a piano reduction and cadenzas that have been composed by Robert D. Levin. The cadenzas work slightly differently in this version, as there's two cadenzas per movement to choose from.

Flute Concerto in D Major (Mozart)

This flute concerto that has been published by Henle, works in a similar way to the G Major flute concerto by Mozart. In that it features cadenzas that have been composed by Robert D. Levin, and you get a choice of cadenzas per movement. It also includes additional information including where the cadenzas come in within this flute concerto.

Twelve Fantasias (Telemann)

The twelve fantasias by Telemann are written for solo flute, and there's some additional in both the front and back of this addition to help you to get the most out of this addition whilst you are studying and working on the Telemann Twelve Flute Fantasias. Also, the flute fantasias by Telemann are also really well known and very well respected, and these have also been used to form part of exam syllabuses and audition material.

Undine Flute Sonata (Reinecke)

The Undine flute sonata by Reinecke is an extremely well known flute sonata, and this version also features a piano accompaniment, as well as performance notes at the back.

Syrinx (Debussy)

Syrinx is a really well flute solo that was composed by Claude Debussy, and its also a really well respected solo piece of music within the classical world. I've definitely come across piece in current exam syllabuses, especially within the more advanced grades and performance diplomas.

There's a lot of work that Henle does behind the scenes to produce such a high standard of sheet music publications, and you can also tell how much has actually gone into these books. The sheet music from Henle that I own are just their standard sheet music books, not the specialist side of things which they also do.

I'm extremely proud of the small, but mighty collection of Henle sheet music books that I have purchased over the past few years; as it's mainly all 'core' flute repertoire which has a wealth of information alongside the sheet music.

I would highly recommend Henle editions to anyone whose looking to expand their own sheet music collection, and who may also be looking for a higher quality version of a piece of sheet music that they already own. Also, have a look into their more specialist 'score studies' that they also produce. If you wanted to delve more into the world of the Henle music publishers; I would recommend that you check out their website. 

Theme & Variations

Hi everyone,

In today's post I will be talking about 'Theme & Variations'.

The concept of 'Theme & Variations' can be found in both music and musical studies. It's also sometimes referred to as 'Variations on a Theme'.

A piece of music that is written in the format of 'Theme & Variations' will start of with a theme, and this theme will run through the entirety of the piece.

The variation aspect of piece in the 'theme & variation' format, will be a variation of the theme that was introduced at the start of the piece. They will also be a number of different variations based on the theme that will run throughout the piece.

These variations can also include different techniques and technical difficulties throughout the piece. But, it usually does this gradually; not all at once.

Another thing to remember, is that both the theme and variations have to remain at the same tempo.

My Chopin Sheet Music Collection

Hi everyone,

In todays post I will be talking about my collection of Chopin sheet music for the flute.

Nocturne in C# Sharp Minor (IMC)

This was the first piece of Chopin sheet music for the flute that I ever purchased. I came across this piece of music whilst I was learning the violin 10+ years ago, and it was Itzhak Perlman playing for President Reagan at the White House. I was thrilled to bits when I found that there's a transcription for the flute and piano. This version has been transcribed for the flute by John Wummer.

Variations on a Theme by Rossini (IMC)

This is such a fun piece for the flute, and it will challenge you; especially the last two variations as they are on the more technical side. I actually found this by stumbling across an early recording by James Galway; and its still one of favourite versions of this piece to listen too. This piece can also be found on current exam syllabuses for both graded music exam, and music performance diplomas.

Chopin for Flute & Piano Famous Transcriptions Volume 1 (PWM Edition)

This features a series of Chopin's well known works that have been transcribed for the flute. This book features the Preludes in E Minor & A Major, Impromptu in A Flat Major, Nocturnes in F Major & F Sharp Major, Polonaise in C Sharp Minor, Waltz in A Minor & B Minor, Mazurka in F Sharp Minor & C Sharp Minor.

Chopin for Flute & Piano Famous Transcriptions Volume 2 (PWM Edition)

This is the second book of Chopin's well known works that have been transcribed for the flute. This book includes Prelude in D Flat Major, Study in E Major, Nocturne in E Flat Major (the famous one), Polonaise in A Major, Waltz in D Flat Major, Mazurka in B Flat Major & D Major, and A Young Girl's Wish in G Major.

* The Famous Transcription books are available for a range of instruments.

The Romantic Flutist Chopin (Carl Fischer)

The book features 10 Waltzes and 10 Nocturnes, which have been arranged and transcribed by Robert Stallman. 

The Waltzes are :-

- Waltz in C Minor

- Grande Valse Brilliante in F Major

- "MInute Waltz" in D Major

- Waltz in F# Minor

- Waltz in Db Major

- Waltz in A Major

- Waltz in B Minor

- Waltz in F Major

- Waltz in A Minor

- Waltz in E Minor

The Nocturnes are :-

- Nocturne in Bb Minor

- Nocturne in Eb Major

- Nocturne in F Major

- Nocturne in F# Major

- Nocturne in C# Minor

- Nocturne in Db Major

- Nocturne in B Major

- Nocturne in G Minor

- Nocturne in F# Minor

- Nocturne in C# Minor

There's quite a few options for the flute if you ever fancied delving into the world of Chopin. There's a few arrangements of pieces that may crossover, but these arrangements are by different composers; so different arrangements might bring something a little different to your practice sessions.

My First Time Seeing an Orchestra Live!

Hi everyone,

In todays post I will talking about the time that I went to see an orchestra perform live for the very time, and oh boy! It was an experience, but not in a good way.

I went to see my very first Orchestra back in 2010; and I was really excited to go as I had never seen an orchestra live before. This was also my very first visit to the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester.

  The performance was entitled 'Friday Fright Night', and it was held on the Friday 29th October 2010 at 7.30pm. We were sat in the stalls, four rows from the stage.

'Friday Fright Night' was an evening of spooky themed classical music, which I thought would be a great introduced for myself to go and see an orchestra, as I'm familiar with quite a lot of well known spooky classical music.

I was looking forward to this performance for about six months, as I think we booked the tickets in March 2010.

It's the day of the performance, and everything was fine before the performance started and everything was fine upon taking our seats in auditorium. The start of the first half was absolutely fine; and then the young child who was sat at the side of me wouldn't sit still and I can remember their parent was trying to get them to sit still. So, during the intermission the parents changed seats with the child. This wasn't even the worst of it. 

  So, the second act of the performance starts and it opens with 'Hedwig's Theme' from Harry Potter; there's a mother and daughter sat at the other side of me. So, while the orchestra are playing 'Hedwig's Theme'; the mother says quite loudly to the daughter "Have you still got Harry Potter?". Because it was said so loudly quite a few turned around to see who it was. Also, when the mother asked her daughter this question; they then started to have a full on conversation in the middle of the performance, and they didn't care that they was other people around them trying to watch the rest of the performance. Then to top it off, after the orchestra had finished their performance for the evening and everyone was leaving the auditorium to go home; a full on argument broke out between the first few rows of seats regarding the way that mother and daughter behaved during the second part of the performance. I genuinely couldn't believe what I was witnessing, and all I wanted to do was leave.

It took nine years to get myself back to the Bridgewater Hall, and that was I got the heads up that 'Breaking the Rules' was doing a performance at the Bridgewater Hall for one night only.

If you ever go to a theatre production, orchestra performance or a concert; please just respect the other people around you. As it can have a similar affect on other people to what I had, and this isn't fair on other people around you who have also paid money to see the performance.

Music Literature: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Classical Music by Darren Henley & Sam Jackson

Hi everyone,

In todays post I will be talking about the book 'Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Classical Music' by Darren Henley & Sam Jackson; and its in association with Classic FM.

This book is absolutely brilliant if you want to gain more understanding of the world of classical music. 

The book starts off by explaining how you should listen to classical music, and what to expect; and then it has a glossary of musical terms with easy to understand definitions. 

  From there it then goes on to what to expect from a classical concert, as well as the do's and don'ts at a classical concert; which I think is a great addition as my first experience of going to a classical concert actually got ruined by other people who didn't know how to behave during a classical performance. It also goes into depth about the authors ten favourite concert halls within the UK, as well as record labels and well known composers. The book also goes through the periods of classical music, and highlights a few well known composers from those periods of classical music.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone whose interested in the world of classical music, but isn't too sure on how to go about it. This book is filled with really useful information to get you started on exploring the world of classical music, and it's also written in a really approachable manner.

GCSE: Arts, Crafts & Design

Hi everyone,

In todays post I will be talking about the Arts, Crafts and Design GCSE. This GCSE works ever so slightly different from the rest, as you need to take up TWO OR MORE specialist areas that are required for this GCSE.

The Arts, Crafts and Design GCSE lets you to explore a variety of different arts and crafts experiences through learning and exploring the different processes, tools, techniques, materials and resources to enable you to explore different kinds of working and gain different outcomes.

Within this GCSE your work can be described as art based, crafts based and/ or design based.

Areas of Study (You must choose at least TWO)

- Fine Art

- Graphic Communication

- Textile Design

- 3D Design

- Photography

Fine Art

This includes drawing, painting, sculpture, installation, lens/ light based media, photography and the moving image, printmaking, mixed media and land art

Graphic Communication

This includes communication graphics, design for print, advertising and branding, illustration, package design, typography, interactive design (including web, app and game), multimedia, motion graphics, signage and exhibition graphics

Textile Design

This includes art textiles, fashion design and illustration, costume design, constructed textiles, printed and dyed textiles, surface pattern, stitched and/ or embellished textiles, soft furnishings and/ or textiles for interiors, digital textiles and installed textiles

3D Design

- This includes architectural design, sculpture, ceramics, product design, jewellery and body adornment, interior design, environmental landscape/ garden design, exhibition design, 3D digital design, and designs for theatre, film and TV

Photography

- This includes portraiture, location photography, studio photography, experimental imagery, installation, documentary photography, photo journalism, moving image: film, video and animation, fashion photography

Component 1

You must show evidence of areas of study drawn from two or more of the above areas of study, and also taking into account the different aspects of arts, crafts and design.

Component 2

You must show evidence of areas of study drawn from one or more of the selected areas.

* The areas of study that you have selected for Component 1 can either be the same as/ or different from those you have selected for Component 2.

As a GCSE Arts, Crafts and Design student you must explore 2D & 3D processes and media, practical application of skills and relevant critical and contextual sources such as work of contemporary artists, crafts people and designers; and the different purposes, intentions and functions of arts, crafts and design which is appropriate to your own work.

You will also develop and apply knowledge, understanding and skills which are specific to the areas of study that you choose for this GCSE.