I can't play the piece " Valse Gracieuse ", I need to pl

[krzymunkey]

I''m trying out for my school''s
wind ensemble, which is really really good, i mean, they went to carnegie hall
and japan before, so i don''t know how to do so, i''m only thirteen, and in
7th grade!!!! [:((]

[tarzaflute]

Hi. In the way of the piece, is it much
above your usual level? I personally don't know the piece myself but I'm
assuming its difficult. Is it a set piece? When I was in grade 7 the only thing
I thought about was finding the hardest piece possible for me and mastering it.
Since then I've definately grown as a flute player. I'm not saying you can't
play hard pieces, so I hope it doesn't sound like I'm doubting your playing
ability because of your age. Anyway back to what I was saying. If your trying to
get into an ensemble, it would be good for you to show a variety of styles in
your playing. When I was first looking for an audition piece, I looked for a
piece with a million fast runs thinking it looked impressive. Fast runs are
great, but tone is also an important issue in flute playing, as well as
different techniques. Quantz has composed some amazing pieces, he would be one
to look at for technique. Pieces from Carmen, a spanish gypsy opera by Georges
Bizet, also vary. Anyway if Valse Gracieuse is your set piece just start slowly
with a metronome and go up by a few beats each time, practicing section by
section. But remember tone is a very important issue in flute playing. Play long
notes and listen to them, trying to make the sound more impressive each time,
adjusting in the embochure and breathing is important for this. Hope this info
all helps you, bye! [8)]

[krzymunkey]

Uh.. thanks. That is my set piece,
actually.It's not that hard (the notes) but it goes too fast for me. I don't
know what it is supposed to soundlike, so i can't play it right.anyway, i have
a beginner;s flute (yamaha 200 series), and i don't know if i can do much with
it. my band director says i need at least a 400 series to make the ensemble,
unless i'm really good. but im not very good, so i think i would need a flute.
but it cost toooo much. well, thanks

[Penny]

Color me surprised [:0] to hear your
Band directory told you which level flute you HAD to have to play a piece. Also
don't see any reason you can't play a 200 level Yamaha fast enough for that
piece

[krzymunkey]

he din't say i HAD to, but he said if i
get it, i have a better chance of making it, and playing the piece well

[krzymunkey]

great, just when im about to be save by
my teacher, she does not come. am a cursed or somethin? i got my first teacher,
who came a few days later, on time. i was satisfied with that. he comes again .
im satisfied with tat too. then, i go to lake arrowhead with school,so i miss a
week, then he has to do something, so another week, then i look forward to him
coming, then last minute, he calls and says he can't make it. he finally comes
again the next week, and after that, he change the price (which used to be 30
per hour, to 40 per hour)so i quit using him.by the way, he is a good teacher, i
got better during the 3 lessons he came to. anyway, 2 months later, my mom found
another teacher that was cheaper, then she called the teacher. she says that she
is booked. three weeks ago, she called and said she had a spot, so i arranged
it. then the week after that was july 4th, so she could not come, though i
wanted her to. the week after that she has to do something. 2 weeks missed
already. the week after that, i looked forward to her coming. i waited,waited,
waited[:((] .we checked our answering machine, and there is a message: " HI!
This is Catherine, your new flute teacher. call me if u have any prob with the
schedule today, or else i'll come at 4:30!" I'm so mad. then i call her, she
says that she said to call to comfirm, or she won't come. she did?? nope. she
said " o, im sorry, i thought i said that"

[tarzaflute]

I was surprised too to hear that you
director said yoiu would have more chance of getting in if u had a 400 series
yamaha flute, sounds like they are concentrating on material rather than talent.
Does you director just want a band full of sparkling solid silver flutes or
something, no offence to your teacher but if you're a good player you should
get in because of that, anyway why don't you try find a recording of the piece.
Playing along with a CD often helps to speed up the learning process, well for
me it does anyway. Anyway just play sections and speed it up each time you go
until you get that part up to speed, then move on and do the some thing with
another section, using a metronome will assist you with this. Best of luck with
it all! [8)]

[tarzaflute]

Just an add on to what I was saying
about flutes. I recently upgraded to a higher intermediate flute and to be
honest, after playing that, my sound on my student flute is outstanding compared
to what it was before I got my new one. So if anything, I reckon you will
perform best on a flute that u are used to and comfortable with, if your
director expects you to be able to adjust to a new flute in a couple of weeks
and sound fabulous they are most likely in for a shock. It takes a lot of time
and effort to adjust, not just for beginners, but for advanced players too.
Everyone needs to learn to adjust to new things

[krzymunkey]

yeah, i know he said ( in his own words)
," You probably can't make it if you don't have at least 400 series."

[tarzaflute]

Dang hey! If that was the case with
anything we had at school, I'd be the only one that would be in anything.
Luckily, I was able to purchase a high intermediate model, but the other flute
players don't take flute as seriously so they just use their student models. If
someone else at school has a 400 series flute they could lend u, u should play
both your flute and a 400 series flute and then get him to tell you every
difference. In opinion, I would think that the only thing that would be
different is tone, unless psychologically thinking, you played better on the 400
because it is a better flute. Try that and see what he says, but be calm and
kind about it or he might get a bit edgy.

[krzymunkey]

sorry, i accidentally hit send before i
was done saying that, and i forgot to finish it. he said that the tone would
sound better, and u'd have better finger positions (with the open holed)and
that is alot of what he is looking for. (tone, position) i think that is
reasonable... though i think u're right,,,thanks!

[tarzaflute]

Hi again Now that you've put it more
specifically I can see where he's coming from, but does he realise that there
are professional models with closed holes? Anyway, if you have a heavy wall
headjoint, or a solid silver headjoint over a silver plated headjoint you are
bound to sound better, so really, if he's only looking for tone quality you may
only need to buy a new headjoint, afterall, 80% or more of you sound is produced
from your headjoint, if you put a silver plated headjoint on one flute, then
changed over to a solid silver headjoint on the exact flute, you'll hear
differences in tone quality. Anyway bye, and good luck with it all! [8)]