help....highschool freshman getting dogged for scales...

[drumsaresoooobetter]

well hello
all...in class we must know all our scales...and with the metronome going at
100...i know all the notes in my scales very well-almost perfect. i rarely miss
a note or squeak...its just that whats holding me back is not playing with the
metronome. our teachers very strict and i could name you the names of the half
the band that has the same problem i do...so does anyone out there have any
helpful ideas????? PLEASE HELP!

[sakuramimato]

[quote]
---------------- On 2/22/2004 5:35:30 PM well hello all...in class we must know
all our scales...and with the metronome going at 100...i know all the notes in
my scales very well-almost perfect. i rarely miss a note or squeak...its just
that whats holding me back is not playing with the metronome. our teachers very
strict and i could name you the names of the half the band that has the same
problem i do...so does anyone out there have any helpful ideas????? PLEASE HELP!
---------------- [/quote]I didn't start playing with the metronome (nor was I
introduced to it) until freshman year in field show/marching season, so I'm
assuming you've been taught how to play with the metronome. It seems that your
teacher has been teaching you guys how to play with the metronome, and I can see
where your problem is: you and your peers have become dependent on playing with
the metronome. Added, I'm assuming you (as well as your peers) probably own
your own metronomes and practice with that outside of school. Since being taught
how to do something wrong and doing something wrong for an extended period of
time (yet, I am still assuming), it will take a while before you grow out of
being dependent of the metronome and developing a sense of rhythm (although, the
metronome should help you with estabilishing rhythm). To begin playing your
scales with consistency, you will have to start with the basics to achieve your
goal: 1. Play your (chromatic) scales at whole notes, possibly around 60 beats
per quarter note [b]without[/b] the metronome. You can use the metronome as a
means to establish rhythm, but don't leave the metronome on so that you can
just play along to the beat; that won't achieve much more from your regular
scale studies with your teachers. Also, playing whole notes will help to improve
intonation and tone. Be sure to have a tuner handy. * subdivide while you play
and count in your head the beats while you play. 2. Once you are consistent with
playing on whole notes, move to half notes then quarter notes then eigth notes
then 16th notes, making sure to keep consistent with the rhythm. (Still, playing
without the metronome.) 3. Also, consider doing tetrachords to establish speed
once you get your rhythm into mind. Mainly, your inability to play without the
metronome is caused by dependence on the device. It really isn't a good idea to
conduct (your director) and practice (students) with the metronome droning on
continually just to play notes evenly and on time. For one, it doesn't
establish rhythm if students are just being dependent by the clicks. To ask a
question, does the band play consistently without the metronome? while playing
pieces conducted by the director? and does your director conduct pieces with the
metronome blaring? I would suggest that you ask your teacher to use the
metronome less and less throughout the practices. Use of the metronome should
establish rhythm, especially when playing scales. If you're unable to play
scales consistently without the metronome, then either (a) the students aren't
getting enough practice with the scales (b) the students don't use the
metronome as a device to aid them with establishing rhythm and only use it to
play along with or (c) the tempo is too fast for you guys to keep up. I suggest
walking before you run: start slow, then speed up accordingly. Subdivide and
count while you play, as well. I hope this helps~

[drumsaresoooobetter]

thank you sooo
much for your advice...and to answer your questions about the band playing
consistently with/without the metronome...it really depends on if the
percussionists are in there (ha ha) really, i can play without the metronome, to
tell you the truth, i dont practice with a metronome. and i think i may have
wrote my post wrong. when expected to play with the metronome blaring, i dont go
with it. i tend to go at my own speed at which i think is right, but of course
its not. and well while practicing, our director conducts with the metronome.
sometimes he turns it off but thats not usually typical. hes a perfectionist and
all of the notes have to be played at the right time..."a right note played at
the wrong time is still a wrong note" as he says. really, my "inability" is
playing with the metronome not without the metronome....any more advice now that
i got my head straight...?? hahaha thank you sooooooo much

[sakuramimato]

[quote]
---------------- On 2/22/2004 10:18:14 PM thank you sooo much for your
advice...and to answer your questions about the band playing consistently
with/without the metronome...it really depends on if the percussionists are in
there (ha ha) really, i can play without the metronome, to tell you the truth, i
dont practice with a metronome. and i think i may have wrote my post wrong. when
expected to play with the metronome blaring, i dont go with it. i tend to go at
my own speed at which i think is right, but of course its not. and well while
practicing, our director conducts with the metronome. sometimes he turns it off
but thats not usually typical. hes a perfectionist and all of the notes have to
be played at the right time..."a right note played at the wrong time is
still a wrong note" as he says. really, my
"inability" is playing with the metronome not without the
metronome....any more advice now that i got my head straight...?? hahaha thank
you sooooooo much ---------------- [/quote]Another difference. The
percussionists are all bunched up into their own class, so we never rehearse in
class with percussionists. As with helping you play with the metronome rather
than wander off in your own tempo, first listen to the tempo the met beats out
for you and try to get it running through your head for a while. It's really a
matter of being aware of the tempo and trying to focus on listening through the
other musical voices to hear the met while also focusing on listening to the
intonation, etc. that's going on. In my experience, I can't stand playing
while a metronome is going on, and I only tolerate it during marching season
when your strides count with stop and go and step, etc. That's probably the
only purpose I find metronomes extremely useful for. As for playing scales,
there's a routine I read online called 3-2. You start off playing half time (if
at 120 beats to a quarter note, start at 60 bps). You first start off by going
up three notches on the metronome after finishing playing at 60. Then, go down
two after you finish playing when you kick the tempo up three notches. This will
be a rather large leap, depending on the tempo you start off, but going down two
notchess will give you a bit of a break. Just keep repeating going up 3 notches
in tempo then down 2 then up 3 and you'll get to the desired tempo you want as
well as get those scales engraved even more in your memory. As for your
instructor, he is right about "a right note played at the wrong time is still a
wrong note", dependency on a something like a metronome doesn't contribute any
more to musicality than it does tuning individual instruments on a tuner at
440hz. Why so? Tune all instruments to "correct pitch" at B-flat concert, go
outside, and everyone is out of tune again. Go by ear. Sometimes, it's better
to go natural rather than get yourself dependent on technology like tuners and
metronomes. Hopefully, you were first taught to play music without a metronome
and by following the movements of the hands of your conductor (and no, not the
taps of your conductor's want on the podium). Your teacher should follow that..
You don't hear a metronome going off while orchestras are performing. As my
former instructor stated (though I despise him), "Every rehearsal is a
performance. Practice is done at home, and not in the classroom. Treat classroom
rehearsals as the real performance, and you will perform that way on stage." In
short, in performances, the metronome wouldn't be going off in the back so that
the band plays every note on time. Now, in my words: Music isn't about
perfection, it's how you interpret the imperfections that make it 'perfect'.
And yet, whoever said there was a "perfect way" to play a piece? You don't see
professional musicians mimicking the playing of others so that it's perfect.
No, they make their playing seem perfect because they interpret the music in
their own way. Music is never to be interpreted alike as it ruins its purpose.
Sure, perfection is a positive attitude your instructor has towards music, but
it's not worth listening to a band who sounds like a monotonic robot. Try some
suggestions, I'm sure your instructor will be open to the idea. Happy
playing~

[woof]

considering
all the permutations in a piece of music it is probably true that no piece of
music is ever played exactly the same- unless by computer? i.e. each piece of
music we play is our own and unique!!