You are what you practice.

You are what you practice.

by

"A few days ago while practicing, I started to think:

- why sometimes we do not practice a lot but we improve significantly

- and sometimes we practice hard and we have no improvements.

So I asked myself the following questions:

1) What makes practice productive?

2) What makes practice to not be productive?

I was reading a book by Jazz Saxophonist Legenday John Coltrane entitled "A Love Supreme", and I faced this quote:

“Do right. Live right. Play right”.

To me, this quote makes so much sense.

We are a result of habits, meaning that whatever you do daily will have its results and/or consequences. It is the famous “whatever you plant, you will harvest”.

Think about it for a minute:

We know that eating healthy and exercising regularly will probably result in excellent health conditions.

If you practice music with precision, and good technique, always aiming to achieve the best result in your practice session, you will certainly do well in your performance.

Let's say that you are practicing dartboard. When playing a dartboard, it is better to throw 10 darts and get 9 right than it is to throw 100 darts and get only 9 right.

It gives us an interesting perspective: It means that the quality of your practice is far more important than the number of hours spent practicing.

Quality matters more than quantity and the way you practice will directly impact your results.

If you practice the wrong way, the result will not be good. However, if you practice correctly, the result will be excellent.

When practicing always ask yourself how you are practicing.

"Am I practicing in the best way, the most efficient way? Am I doing my movements with accuracy and quality? Or do I keep going back to square one, not making any progress, and wasting my time?"

When you practice efficiently, you feel good, your entire body can feel it. Always aim for perfect movements, and quality of the performance, and have a positive attitude.

Try to find moments of your practice session that are very enjoyable, fun, and with quality. Always have those things in mind and your practice sessions will be more efficient.

After all, you are what you practice.

🇧🇷

Você é o que você pratica.

Um dia desses estava praticando e comecei a refletir:

  • porquê que às vezes estudamos pouco e rendemos muito, com grandes progressos,
  • e outras vezes estudamos muitas horas exaustivamente e nem sempre saímos do lugar. E me perguntei:

1) O que faz o estudo render?

2) E o que faz o estudo não render?

Estava lendo um livro, uma biografia do legendário saxofonista de jazz John  Coltrane ("A Love Supreme", Ashley Kahn) e me deparei com uma frase dele:

"Faça certo. Viva certo. Toque certo."

Pra mim, essa frase faz muito sentido.

O homem é o ser do hábito. O que você faz diariamente é o que te fará chegar em um resultado. É o famoso "o que você plantar, colherá."

E é isso mesmo. Pare para pensar:

Sabe-se que se você se alimentar bem e fazer exercícios com regularidade, provavelmente terá como resultado uma saúde excelente.

Se você estudar música com perfeição, qualidade técnica, procurando tocar tudo da melhor maneira possível na sessão de prática, certamente você vai se sair muito bem na sua apresentação.

Pense num jogo de dardos: mais vale lançar 10 flechas e acertar 9 do que lançar 100 e acertar apenas 9.

Isso nos faz chegar numa perspectiva: O que mais importa é a qualidade do que você faz, e não apenas a quantidade de horas.

Acertar mais, reforça em você a imagem do vencedor. Assim como errar mais, reforça a imagem do perdedor.

Porque?

É simples: Treinou errado, o resultado será ruim. Treinou certo, o resultado será excelente.

Quando for praticar, sempre se questione como você está praticando.

"Estou praticando da melhor maneira, a mais eficiente? Estou fazendo movimentos precisos e com qualidade? Ou estou apenas dando murro em ponta de faca, perdendo meu tempo?"

Quando você tem uma prática eficiente, você se sente bem, o seu corpo todo se sente melhor. Técnica perfeita, qualidade na execução, atitude positiva...Procure sempre que o seu momento de estudo seja prazeiroso, divertido e com qualidade.

Tenha sempre isso em mente e sua prática será muito mais eficiente.

Afinal, você é o que você pratica.

The John Coltrane Biography - Book Cover

 

“Le Sacre du Printemps”

by

Osasco, March 26th, 2023

This week I’m playing Igor Stravinsky’s masterpiece “Le Sacre du Printemps” with my orchestra Osesp + Marc Albrecht (German conductor), at the Sala São Paulo, in São Paulo, Brazil

It’s been a very intense week! In addition to the search to play the perfect solo, there is always something to learn when playing a complex piece like this.

I’ve already played this solo many times before (three performances of it in my life) but it never gets easy. Every time is different, it’s always a challenge.

One challenge is that it is a solo in the highest register of the bassoon.
Another challenge is that it’s a big solo, and all eyes and ears will be on you.
Another challenge is that it is a well-known solo, it’s become very famous over the years, and even today it is one of the most daunting for bassoonists.

The responsibility of playing such a solo is tremendous!

The preparation

For most people, the main goal is to be able to play the perfect solo, with absolute control.

It’s something that doesn’t seem so difficult when we play it informally while practicing.

But when it comes to a performance at the orchestra, in an orchestral hall, everything changes. You have to have a lot of control for the notes to come out well and hit all the passages.

To perform well, I had to search for the perfect reed, as well as for the best bocal to play the solo easily.

I prepared some reeds with Danzi canes and avoided touching the collar area. I left more wood there, and I made the first wire tight, to help with the high notes.

This time I made a few reeds to play the solo, I had about three good ones to play. So I wasn’t too worried about reeds.

I also experimented with using a good bocal for the high register. So, the challenge was more psychological than anything else.

One challenge I’ve noticed when practicing the solo a lot in the high register, the mouth is at serious risk of becoming weak and even cutting the lip.

With a tired mouth and a cut lip, the challenge becomes even more difficult.

Yes, you guessed it: I cut my lip…🫤🤦🏻‍♂️

Bocal choice is a deciding factor for hitting the high notes more easily

 

 

 

Time to play/ The first rehearsal

At Osesp, the week starts with rehearsals on Tuesdays. In general, the rehearsals are on Tuesday and Wednesday, in the morning and afternoon.

Thursday morning is the dress rehearsal, and we usually do three concerts: Thursday and Friday at night, and Saturday in the afternoon.

The first day of rehearsal was very tiring for me.

I woke up a little tired, I hadn’t slept well. I arrived at Osesp around 8:30 in the morning, rehearsed the solo a lot in the practice room, and spent the day rehearsing with the orchestra.

The solo came out well the first time, but I felt like I still didn’t have enough control. I needed more energy and more practice.

After finishing the first day of rehearsal, I went home exhausted. When I got home, I laid down on the couch and took a nap.

When I woke up, I realized that I had a sudden sore throat, a mild fever, and zero energy to play.

I even thought about giving up playing, but that would be inconsiderate toward my friend, the other 1st Bassoon, who was off for the week.

So I decided to go to the doctor. The doctor told me it was tonsillitis and that I needed to take some medicine. After taking the prescription, I felt great relief from the sore throat and started to feel much better.

The energy to practice and play miraculously returned. 🙏

 

 

On the second day 

On the second day, I didn’t play once as I would have liked. I tried another mouthpiece, but it was much more difficult to attack the first note in pppp.

I didn’t really like my performance today. The acoustic sensation of starting the solo all alone and with everyone listening is not easy.

At the end of the rehearsal, I stayed on stage practicing the solo exhaustively, trying to get used to the feeling of emptiness that is playing the solo in absolute silence and with acoustics that betray any imperfection.

I practiced it for about one hour extra, after the orchestra rehearsal.

 

 

 

Taking advantage of the empty and totally silent room to practice the solo with and get used to the feeling of emptiness.

 

My choice was the Bocal Mossman A2B. The Heckel CC1 wasn't even close in terms of ease.

The Great Day/ Dress Rehearsal

The great day has come!

Absurd traffic in the city, and it took me a while to get to the Room.

Rehearsal started punctually at 10 am. I decided to go back to the brass bocal. It worked well! The solo came out nicely, and I got more confidence to play.

I tried to keep a positive attitude for the rest of the day. I rested well in the afternoon and ate well.

Two hours before the concert, I started with meditation to focus. Then, I played some long notes and the solo several times.

 

The Mental Training

In addition to practicing the solo a lot, the mental state also has to be developed. That's why I like to meditate.

The meditation method I use is to close my eyes and try not to think about anything for 15 minutes. It's enough to calm the mind. But it takes time and practice to learn to master the mind.

For those who have never meditated, I recommend starting with 5 minutes of meditation.

Go to a quiet place, close your eyes, Concentrate on your breathing, and try to not think of anything.

It requires practice, but the benefit is amazing. I highly recommend it!

Show time! The concert days

The first concert day went well! I managed to concentrate well, and the solo came out well. No mistakes, good control. The opening attack didn’t seem perfect on stage, but it probably sounded good to the audience.

The second day of the concert also went well. I lost concentration slightly after the first fermata, and unfortunately, there was a little glissando at the beginning of the second phrase, but I don’t think the public noticed it in the concert hall.

Third day: good performance, maybe it was the best version, I was calmer because there was no audio recording and no footage on this day.

Unbelievable detail: believe it or not, but…on the third concert day I played the solo with the whisper key closed! 🤷🏻‍♂️😲

I only realized that the whisper key was closed in the middle of the solo. Luckily it went well again… Thank God! 🙏😅

 

 

Conclusion

The “Le Sacre du Printemps” bassoon excerpt is a solo that doesn’t seem all that difficult until you actually play it.

And then it’s easy to start freaking out, testing different techniques, reeds, and bocals.

My lesson is that you shouldn’t exaggerate, and the preparation to play this solo should be done about two months in advance, and gradually strengthen the embouchure and the general control of the solo.

About the performances, I was satisfied.

I got so much positive feedback from the bassoonists and people that were at the concerts, so I think I did a good job. I don’t think I played perfectly, so I give myself an 8.

Maybe I should have prepared my embouchure longer, maybe for two months. And maybe making more reeds to have more options to choose from.

And yet, I think I overdid it physically and I tired my embouchure a lot, and mentally too, in addition to not being 100% healthy that week. For me it was very difficult, it got harder as the week went on.

But that’s life, there are times when we have to make do with what we have. We don’t always have the best situation, the important thing is to always give your best.

 

Anyway, the solo that more than 100 years ago was very difficult, continues to be a challenge for any bassoonist.

Maybe that's exactly what Stravinsky wanted after all. That beginning, a painful birth, the rise of the earth, the uncertainty...

So much so that Saint Saens did not even recognize that it was a bassoon at the premiere of the work in Paris in 1913.

But that this solo is one of the most beautiful of the entire orchestral repertoire, there is no doubt.

And we will always continue to learn and discover from this marvelous bassoon excerpt.

 

The bassoon section of the week. From left to right: Romeu Rabelo, Weslley Moura (double bassoon), João Luis Maciel, Francisco Formiga, and me.

And there was the television interview! Hehehe….

With bassoonist friends who came to the concerts