Jan. 15 Nancy Lesson

Performance Challenges: Pedagogy and Repertoire

  • Musical Repertoire Demands:

    • Prokofiev Solo Sonata (Op. 115): A deep dive into the technical hurdles of this piece, specifically the juxtaposition of lyrical, neoclassic lines with harsh, biting mechanical rhythms. Key challenges include maintaining a clear pizzicato resonance and navigating the drive of the Allegro movements without sacrificing intonational purity.

    • Chamber Works Analysis: Navigating the social and musical complexities of rehearsal dynamics. This includes mastering non-verbal communication (breathing and visual cues) and addressing the challenges of intonation and rhythmic ensemble precision in un-conducted settings, such as string quartets where individual roles shift between melody and accompaniment.

  • Critique of Collegiate Instruction:

    • Pedagogical Gaps: A critical evaluation of instructors who emphasize performance outcomes (the "what") without providing the technical "toolbox" (the "how"). This includes a lack of instruction on ergonomic efficiency, specific fingerings to facilitate shifting, or bow distribution strategies based on phrasing requirements.

    • Communication Breakdown: Experiences with "abstract pedagogy" where feedback is vague (e.g., "make it more musical"). This lacks the concrete anatomical or mechanical instructions, such as "increase the weight of the index finger in the upper half of the bow" or "adjust the thumb position for a more relaxed vibrato," necessary for advanced mastery.

Bach and Technical Skills: Advanced Pedagogical Breakdown

  • Bowing Technique and Baroque Articulation:

    • The Rule of the Down bow: In-depth application of the hierarchy of the measure in Bach’s solo works (Sonatas and Partitas). Down bows are prioritized for strong beats and vertical chords to naturally reflect the dance rhythms inherent in the Gavotte en Rondau.

    • Emphasizing the importance of bow distribution: Careful attention to bow placement can enhance dynamics and phrasing, allowing for subtler expressions throughout the piece.

    • Practicing with varying bow speeds: This adjustment will help students develop a more nuanced interpretation, balancing between the crispness of articulation and the fluidity of musical lines.

  • Ornamentation and Trill Theory:

    • Historical Context: TRILL FROM AVOVE. Strict adherence to 18th18th-century performance practice, where trills must begin on the upper auxiliary note to create essential harmonic dissonance that resolves to the principal note.

    • Trill Speed and Termination: Instructions on varying the speed of the trill—often starting slower and accelerating—and the vital importance of the nachschlag (termination) to ensure a graceful finish to the ornament.

  • Phrasing

    • Harmonic Skeleton: Identifying the primary voice leading within a single-line melody. Players should lean into dissonances, such as appoggiaturas, to highlight the eventual resolutions, creating the illusion of multiple simultaneous voices.

    • Agogic Accents: Using micro-timing and weighted bow pressure rather than percussive accents to emphasize structural notes and important cadential points.

    • Urtec: The Urtec version is being used because it allows for your own interpretation. Don’t be scared of being musical incorrectly.

  • Intonation

    • Know your intervals or figure them out.

    • 5ths need to be higher and less flat.

    • Take time to tune intervals and don’t rush practice.

  • Practice Objectives

    • Practice until the end of page 2 slowly with a metronome keeping in mind the intonation of the chords and the style of the Gavotte being a strong down beat and stomping (not legato).