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Method book based around orchestral excerpts

Discussion in 'Jazz Technique [DB]' started by dhosek, Nov 28, 2001.

  1. Nov 28, 2001 #1
    dhosek

    dhosek

    May 25, 2000
    Oak Park, IL
    While preparing for a performance of Handel's Messiah this Friday, I found myself thinking that some of the passages in this piece would make great exercises in developing technique, and it occurs to me that this would be a great format for a method book. Rather than the abstract and amusical pieces given in, say, Simandl and Sevcik, you instead give actual excerpts from the orchestral repertoire (or an edited version to isolate specific skills) as the exercises. Has anyone done this or should I get started so that "Hosek" can be the "Simandl" for the 21st century?

    -dh
     
  2. Nov 28, 2001 #2
    dhosek

    dhosek

    May 25, 2000
    Oak Park, IL
    Yes, I'm aware of the excerpts books, but I'm thinking something that is designed to fill the role of Simandl and Sevcik, but has more musical exercises, drawn from the repertoire. Perhaps I'll draw up a few pages so I can demonstrate what I'm thinking...

    Oh, and that oxenless carriage idea has some real promise... you should patent that before it's too late.

    -dh
     
  3. Nov 28, 2001 #3
    David Kaczorowski

    David Kaczorowski

    Apr 25, 2000
    South Jersey/Philadelphia
    The problem I see is that the first role of the method book is to teach the positions and the way logical fingerings are derived. All of the exercises in a method are written for that sole purpose and presented in a logical manner. For example, after extensive exercises in half and first positions, there are exercises that get the student shifting between the two. Sure they could be more musical sounding, but would they serve the purpose as well? There are a lot of funky intervals (eg. descending half steps) in Simandl that you won't usually find in music. But they are there to develop the left hand.
    If you can find something in the orchestral rep. that is in only half and first positions, would it serve the purpose as well as the established methods?

    I once had a similar thought to your's but in terms of etudes. There are a lot of orchestral excerpts that can serve as great exercises. But I don't think they could ever completely surplant etudes because etudes are written specifically to address certain problems. If you set out to work on Nanny Etude of Virtuosity #3, you're going to work on nothing but crazy-ass, diabolical arpeggios, no fluff or sugar coating. But for as diabolical as it is, that is something you're building for general application. Then you can use these general skills to help solve the specific problems encountered in real music.

    I think if real music is used as the sole means for building technique, your technique will have more gaps. And besides, if either of our ideas would actually work, it probably would have been done already by some long-time orchestra professional and pedagogue who knows all of the repetoire inside and out.