Bugleboy21

How in the hell do you get the TTK fast enough for the Tpt1 and Tpt2 pass-off lines? :)

Been wondering for years. I asked my old teacher Jack Laumer he said that they have to cheat in symphony sometimes when conductors go a ridiculous speed! LOL

Manny Laureano

Arban's page 162, lines 27 and 28. Over and over and over. Start at dotted quarter equals 80 and work your way up to 92. Then start again when you've got it up to 92, go back to 80 and put in triplets where there are only eigths originally. Work your way back up to 92. Stop whenever you have to. In two weeks you'll be blazing ( if you practice this everyday and you take breaks when you're tired). Don't spend more than twenty minutes a day.

ML

MrClean

Start slowly. Over the course of several weeks bump it up one notch at a time on your metronome. Concentrate less on the tongue than the air - the tongue will merely flick at the airstream to interupt, but not stop, the flow of air. You'd be surprised how quickly you can tongue if you try not to be heavy-handed with your articulation.

J

Alex Yates

A helpful little hint also is to think "DDG" rather than "TTK" when tonguing fast passages. That helps take away some of the heaviness Mr.Clean is talking about. The tempo takes care of the clarity/length of the notes, so there is no need to tongue harder as you go faster. Keep the airstream constant and skip across it with your tongue thinking "DDG", like skipping a stone across water.

robertwhite

Manny, Jim, and others who've played this: what's the fastest dotted quarter tempo you've ever had to play this (approximately)? Does working it up to 92 provide a reasonable comfort zone? None of my recordings seem to go faster than that, but I was curious nonetheless.

Manny Laureano

We wound up recording it at about 86 but I worked it up to almost 96 because I didn't want to get caught with my pants down in the middle of a session. But then, I have the easy part. It's harder for the second player.

ML

MrClean

I think if you can play it at the indicated tempo, you're in pretty good shape, and well ahead of most players. 92 is quick, probably a good 4 to 8 clicks faster than I have had to play it.

Conductors are usually aware of the difficulties of this piece and will adjust as needed, unless you either have someone who doesn't know any better or has an agenda...

J

robertwhite

Thanks for the input!

Manny Laureano

... or his name happens to be Fritz Reiner. I clocked it. 92 on the button.

ML

Rimshot

Is there a Fritz Reiner version of this on record? The CSO version from the mid-60s is Martinon (and superb), but a Reiner would be interesting...