This isn't about leadership but on how to practise blahblah. This isn't meant for SLs only but for all members (: hopefully this will help. Today i'll just talk about running notes.
Running Notes (slurred):
Okay, who hates running notes? i do. haha, but yes, when played nicely you get this really nice sense of achievement right! haha, okay, the trick to playing running notes is to do what? yes, PRACTISE SLOW.
First, Sub-divide it. Play the running notes to the beat of quavers or semi-quavers instead of crochets. once it's clean, and can be played comfortably, go faster in that beat of quavers or semi-quavers. Go faster and faster but in a comfortable speed. If it's okay, continue on in the SAME SPEED but in crochets. That should help. If it's too fast, go slower. but make sure that all the small eenie notes can be heard. Then continue to increase the speed slowly until the desired speed.
What to do if your running notes are not even? or some notes can't be heard? messy? okay, this is what to do. You tongue all the notes. make sure it's even. again, practise at a slow tempo. Then after doing it about 5 times go back to slurring, it shld help to make it even. You can also do stuff like tongue,tongue,slurslur. so like tongue twice, slur twice. Or tongue once, slur twice, and tongue again. basically just fool around with the articulation. this will help with the even-ness.
Running Notes (tongued/slurred and tongued):
Okay, do the same as for the above. But do it with the articulation correctly. If the notes aren't even, do the same as above as well.
Okay, right, the tricky part for articulation is sometimes your fingers don't match your tongue. and you get weird sounds. so right, what you can do first is to SLUR everything together. make sure you're comfortable with the notes, you're playing in a relaxed manner, the sound that comes out is really pretty and all.
Okay, then once slurring is no problem, add in the articulation. BUT the sound must not change, it must be like slurring but with articulation. The tone must be the same and all. If cannot, go back to slur, try and recreate the same feeling. If can, then go faster, push the speed.
Okay, another problem is tongue and fingers don't match. Okay, i personally have that problem at times. Woodwinds, at A in Die Fledermaus? haha, yes, i love/hate that part. Okay, i learnt something today that helps in it. Okay, this is the trick: FINGERS FOLLOW TONGUE. Dont do tongue follow the fingers. It makes it harder. haha, i personally encounter that!
Okay, so yes, use the tongue to keep a steady beat. so yeah, as long as your tongue is even, on tempo, then just make sure your fingers is following it. if not you're hear funny noises.
Okay, one way to practise your fingers to follow your tongue is to SAY (no pitch eh! it's super hard to do this (: ) the rhythm and the articulation whilst fingering your notes on ur instrument. It's quite hard to do this actually, despite it sounding easy. go slowly at first. Once you can say it at a comfortably fast tempo, it's okay if your fingers are all over the place, most impt is you can SAY the rhythm with the articulation without the pitch. Then now, play it on your instrument, slowly at first. then go faster. it shld be easier to play (:
To make it even more ingrained in you, or if you just want to practise your tongueing, or to make it even difficult for yourself, you can try this: try to change the articulation of the rhythm. so instead of slurslurtonguetongue, you do tongueslurslurtongue or slurtongueslurtongue. or smth like this. basically the point of this is to make your fingers follow your tongue and not the other way round.
Okay, this might be quite confusing. If you have any queries, feel free to ask me (:
Okay, I'll post somemore up another time.
Xinhui (: