Last evening I went and heard a trombone recital by Peter Ellefson. The cool thing about it was that it wasn't just a recital. It was a recital / master class. I love listening to other teachers teach and wonder where they were when I was in school.
He said something that would have made me feel really good as a student. I wish I heard it then...
He said (roughly) "Do not play for perfection. You'll never be happy. Play for improvment." This makes a lot of sense. He also went on to say that some musicians will listen to CDs and hear perfection. On a recording "you only need to get it right once." CDs are a great resourse, but they are deceptive to those who aspire to be professional musicians.
His choices of pieces to play were interesting as well. Mr. Ellefson opened with a trombone solo that required many challenging techniques. At one point in the music, it calls for "screaming, followed by hysterical laughter and trailing off." I really enjoyed this work and wish I had a program to know what it was called (no programs were offered for the evening.)
He then played an etude three times. The first time he played musically, second as written and finally, over the top. Very interesting to us music dorks.
He also played a couple of orchestral excerpts to demonstrate how playing an orchestral audition needs to be perfect without embellishment, in comparison to that of a soloist who can play an "over the top etude."
We listened to Peter work with two OSU trombone students and could hear how their sound and musicianship grew within just a half an hour... what a treat.
If you are interested, you should check out Peter Ellefsons website.
the,
~ch
1 comment:
Went to Peter Ellefson's website and used up my whole available morning time. Mrs. Staggs is back, so you can visit her now.
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