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Welcome, this is Terry Ewell. This is another study in which to practice several techniques
we have learned in the earlier lessons. First try to minimize the movement of your
jaw when tonguing the arpeggios. The bassoon is much more forgiving of jaw motion than
the oboe or clarinet. However, we should still practice efficient techniques of performance.
Play the arpeggios "on the wind." Let's go into more detail.
Every motion of the jaw will change either the pitch or the timbre of the note. I suggest
you review the "articulation experiments" I gave in my beginning bassoon lesson number
3: For many students the movement of the jaw
hinders varied tonguing patterns. Practice Study # 7 with five tonguing patterns, 1-2-3-4-5.
Start with "5," which is legato tonguing. Then progress through the numbers, each shorter
and shorter until "1," which is as short as possible.
Here is number 5.
Here is number 4.
Here is number 3.
Here is number 2.
Here is number 1.
Practice in front of a mirror. The goal is to move the embouchure no more than when playing
the pattern with a slur.
Of course the embouchure will need to move to adjust for the intonation of each note.
However, we are trying to avoid extra movement during the note.
The second item to practice is rapid breathing. The quickest way to breathe is by dropping
the jaw. Most bassoonists breathe by raising their heads, which takes longer for a breath.
See how rapidly you can breathe in order to avoid a break in the rhythm.
The third item is the use of flick or venting keys. Please see the prior videos for fingerings.
When there are two notes in a row that need flicking, you can just hold down the C flick
key. For instance, in m. 1 with A3 and C4 hold down the C flick key for both.
Also in the first measure of the third line, Bb3 (B flat 3) and C4, hold down the C flick
key.
And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely
eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day
that you eat of it you shall surely die." (NKJV, Genesis 2:16-17)
Expectations for performance are high in many aspects of life. Eating the wrong fruit in
the Garden of Eden changed the lives of Adam and Eve. Similarly a single wrong note in
a beautiful melody damages the whole melody. Study 7 in particular is difficult because
every note should be clear and clean. Try to remove the bad notes, leaving only beauty.