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Scary Music on the Stand

I'm taking a brief break from horn lessons while my teacher vacations in Florida and does whatever else he does when he isn't teaching, but while I'm waiting for a lesson in June, I am supposed to be buying new music. The man didn't tell me what, exactly—he just said to go buy stuff.

I found a list of essential pieces every horn player at a certain skill level should know, and I chose three things pretty much sight unseen. Well, one of them arrived just yesterday, and I'm thinking I overshot my skill level. Holy moly.

For the last couple of weeks, I have been playing through things I keep on my music stand all the time—Strauss' Nocturno because it's beautiful, Vinter's Hunter's Moon because it's spritely and an emotional antidote to the Nocturno, the Beethoven sonata, Mozart concertos and other things I enjoy playing even if I will not allow anyone else to listen in. On some level, I can handle the notes and rhythms and tempos (sort of) on every piece in the collection, but now I've contaminated my stash with something new that looks daunting.

I have Gabelles' Concertino, and when I look at the first page, I see too much black and not enough white on the paper. It's got lots of sixteenth notes and notations I'll have to look up, and it's all so unfamiliar. I'm considering sticking this thing at the back of my stack of music and not telling my teacher I bought it. What Concertino?

Or maybe I should just suck it up, accept the challenge and chip away at the stupid thing one measure at a time. Sometimes after I hear a recording of a piece that seems intimidating on the surface, it suddenly sounds less unapproachable, so I suppose I should look for it on iTunes. I'm hoping the other things I ordered won't be so difficult, but then I won't be pushed as much as I need to be pushed, and I won't learn as much as I need to learn.

It's a conundrum. Should I hide the scary music or face it head on?

Afternoon update: OK, so it's not quite as bad as I thought. (feeling sheepish) Who would have thought a metronome would help?

Comments

kyle@sift said…
Face it head on! No doubt about it.
9:19 AM
Shan said…
Ditto what Kyle said. This IS YOU we're talking about right. I have full confidence.
11:44 AM
Magpie said…
Good luck with it!
11:55 AM
Neponset River Bridge Dig said…
Burn it and never mention it again.
12:34 PM
Scout said…
Kyle, but it's hard.

Shan, I'm just looking at it and thinking I should give it away.

Magpie, thanks.

Richard, you're supposed to provide brass-playing support! I'm surprised at you.
12:46 PM
kyle@sift said…
They're just notes. You can do it. Mary Had a Little Lamb was difficult when you first played it, right?
3:52 PM
Cheltenhamdailyphoto said…
'too much black' lol.... Just take a little black at a time, I would, perfect that, feel pleased with it and move on to the next tiny bit of black. :)
3:59 AM
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