Perform using text:
- Machiavellian Exercises II. For junior class (AM, CM, DJ, LD) please perform with all repeats. For senior/ grad class (VZ, CG, EW, PT/ HG, QZ and AQ) please perform as a continuous study (i.e., without any repeats). See pp. 28, 29, 30 in Trevor Wye’s A Practice Book for the Flute volume 2: Technique (in Omnibus edition, please see p. 74)
- Chromatic scale patterns as shown on pp. 86- 87 in Kujala’s Vade Mecum. Suggested approximate eventual speeds: quarter note= 80 for junior class, quarter note= 90-94 for senior class, 94-98 for grad class.
- Octatonic scale patterns as shown on p. 94 in Kujala’s Vade Mecum (please note: articulations on some patterns, such as #36, should be carefully monitored and addressed)
- Arpèges p. 46, 47, 48 and 49 in 17 Daily Exercises by Taffanel and Gaubert, prepare all eight articulation patterns (as shown in text). For junior class memorisation is encouraged but not a requirement for this item.
Perform from memory:
- All major scales and all minor scales in the most common articulation patterns (2sl, 2sl; 3sl,1t; 1t,3sl; all t; all sl, all DT) and different dynamics (pp, p, mp, mf, f, ff). Practice in two octaves, or three octaves when beginning on a b or c. Speed goals will be individually determined in consultation with instructor.
- For senior class and grad class only: please memorise Arpèges p. 46, 47, 48 and 49 in 17 Daily Exercises by Taffanel and Gaubert. Please prepare all eight articulation patterns (as shown in text).
Some practice tips and ideas:
- Start at whatever is an easy tempo for YOU, one you can play without unnecessary tension or strain. Only increase your speed at very small increments (no more than one click on metronome at a time) to maintain a physically and mentally relaxed approach.
- Less is more with these sorts of intensive exercises. Keep your practice to small efficient packages for short durations (i.e., fifteen minutes of productive and thoughtful practice is worth far more than an hour of distracted or stressed practice) .
- Choose a very small segment a day on which to focus (for example, just one pattern or even just a measure or two). After you have mastered one small segment start pulling short segments together into longer sections.
- Use your EYES as well as ears to achieve evenness (use a mirror to check what your fingers are actually doing).
- For technical passages it is usually helpful to focus on eliminating unnecessary motion (are your fingers rising higher than needed? are you “bouncing” unhelpfully on the beats?) Cultivate an easy efficiency for best results. Strive for a relaxed bodily position throughout your entire practice sessions.
- Feel the horizontal movement (ie., think of note groupings for a forward and natural feel to the phrase and line) rather than emphasising the vertical (beat).
- Always play with your very best tone! Think of cultivating a full and even tone between registers.
- Vary your practice in dynamics and colours as well as articulations.
- Think of this exam as a long term assignment best approached by reducing down to small (i.e., manageable) bits and pieces. To paraphrase the great French flutist Marcel Moyse, results are achieved through consistent, intelligent and patient daily work.