This was the week that got me my first G in many years. To some that might not seem like much of an accomplishment but to me it was a welcome occurrence. My F and F# got much easier and after finally breaking into the G, I have been able to go up to a very think A above high C. Review of this week’s work. 1. I was able to use last week’s recording for this week’s material. In Part I, I hold the first two half notes out for four counts each and the last half note for…
When I first listened to Mr. Haskins play, I was instantly reminded of the great rock guitar player Jimi Hendrix. You might wonder what the two musicians could have in common. Both musicians impressed me as being able to instantly move from mental creation to artistic technique. Both players, even though using different instruments and styles of music are/were able to perform whatever comes/came to mind without any technical difficulty. When listening to most musicians, I hear the same licks and worn out patterns but in Mr. Haskins case, he seems to be free to reach down into his deepest…
Music and the Internet are two elements which have worked well together for through the marvel of science, we are able to share performances with likeminded musicians throughout the world Such is the case here where a good friend from Australia has allowed us to attend, if only second handedly, a recent concert in the far off continent. Elaine Johnson has been very active in sharing her musical talents as well as her true love for music with musicians around the world and for that reason I wanted to applaud her for her endless drive and refreshing enthusiasm for our…
This completes the first full week on Lesson #2 of the Claude Gordon book and most of you have been finding some improvement. What have we learned? Some have reported that they have gained more range than they expected in one week. Some have reported that their range has remained the same but their original high note has improved both in consistency and sound. And some have found that their range had actually gone down. All of these reports are common and I will explain each as we go through this post. “After one week of regular practice on the…
I have included two recorded samples with this lesson for two reasons. Most players who begin these exercises, have a difficult time keeping their notes in tune when playing pedal tones and when playing in the upper register, struggle with hearing the higher notes. For those reasons I have recorded these samples for you to practice with. Another advantage of playing along with a recorded example is that it will dictate the amount of time to play as well as rest during your practice time. This is very important for many players actually overdo the playing and underdo the resting.…
We have spent a large amount of time explaining some of the ideas in the Claude Gordon “Systematic Approach To Daily Practice” and now it is time to start our weekly assignments. Please note that I am still making reference to “OUR” lessons for I am on this journey as well. My goal is to break the range barrier I am faced with. As you heard on the last recording, my range is passable up to an F# but the G is still not my friend. Some of you are working to gain access to the “G” below and others…
Those that have been with us from the beginning of this project should be able now to play down into the pedal range with ease, at least down to the notes that make your lips a little puffy after you are finished. The reason you should not start playing right away after the pedal tones is that your lips are susceptible to damage because of the extreme relaxation they have gone through. It is very important to rest the suggested 15 minutes before you begin the higher or part two of this exercise. Those who have just found us and…
Now that we have our material, downloaded our practice sheet, marked our highest note with the date and have begun to play and improve our pedal tones, it’s time now to see if we have made any improvement. I posted a recording which took us down from C, third space to some very low pedal tones. By playing the recording and repeating the note in the spaces provided, you should now have some control of these notes. Some of you may have been able to reach the second level of pedal tones which is more easily played and some of…