#Moyse

Etude Encounters

Elizabeth Jolly

Jun 12, 2020

Book Finish! Moyse: 24 Petites Études Mélodiques – No. 22-24

TGIF! I wanted to hurry up and get to the end of this book, so here are three etudes in one day. Number 22 in B minor was definitely the most fun of these last three, though I found it challenging to keep the tempo steady and not slow down during the syncopated quarter notes. It was also a really good exercise in practicing alternate F-sharp and A-sharp fingerings back-to-back with the standard fingerings. Number 23 was another one of the long repetitive etudes that seem so c

Elizabeth Jolly

Jun 5, 2020

Moyse: 24 Petites Études Mélodiques – No. 20

I know I said i was going to try to post an etude a day through the end of this book, but it seems that life has gotten in the way. This has been a really challenging week for everyone, and it’s been difficult to focus on etudes when the world is facing huge issues that demand our attention and support. I found this particular etude to be a bit repetitive, so with that in mind I tried to work on shaping each phrase. This one is a really good example of how to practice four-no

Elizabeth Jolly

Jun 1, 2020

Moyse: 24 Petites Études Mélodiques – No. 19

After several shorter etudes, here’s a longer one. This one isn’t as complex as some of the ones I’ve done recently but I had the hardest time getting a good recording. My left pinky was a bit sloppy all day today, and that became a real problem for this particular key. Looks like it’s time to revisit some of the Trevor Wye finger exercises tomorrow! #Moyse

Elizabeth Jolly

May 30, 2020

Moyse: 24 Petites Études Mélodiques – No. 18

Hello on a very stormy Saturday! Since today’s etude is another very short one, I decided this would be a good time to play back-to-back on both head joints. I’ve mostly been playing the Rodger Young grenadilla head joint lately, but today I did my entire warm up on the Powell 14K Arumite head joint that came with my flute. I hadn’t planned to play on the wood head joint at all today but as I was finishing up the first part of the recording I decided to give it a shot. The s

Elizabeth Jolly

May 29, 2020

Moyse: 24 Petites Études Mélodiques – No. 17

Here’s the shortest and fastest etude yet! Since this one is all chromatic scales and therefore not a huge challenge for the brain, I wanted to try to push for a faster tempo while still keeping everything clean. This is a good one to practice tongued as well! See you tomorrow! #Moyse

Elizabeth Jolly

May 28, 2020

Moyse & Donjon Double Header!

I was feeling good during today’s recording, so you get two etudes today! First up, from Moyse 24 Petites Études Mélodiques, here’s Number 16: This one is a great low register exercise (students: it’s about aim, not force!) especially for the double tonguing variation. It kind of feels like playing Chant de Linos but less fun- I’m glad to be done untangling all the A sharps in this one! It was a great articulation warm up for this week’s Etude of the Week, Donjon No. 7 Le Fo

Elizabeth Jolly

May 27, 2020

Moyse: 24 Petites Études Mélodiques – No. 15

Things I learned while working on this etude: Make sure it’s light enough inside so your video doesn’t come out blurry and weird. Don’t skip your articulation warm ups! Probably a good idea not to skip the harmonics either. Record your etude earlier in the day instead of when you’re tired from teaching all your Zoom lessons. Don’t declare to your blog/the world that you’ll post an etude a day on the eve of your busiest day of the week. This one was a little repetitive, but s

Elizabeth Jolly

May 26, 2020

Moyse: 24 Petites Études Mélodiques – No. 14

Here’s the shortest etude yet! That’s probably a good thing, since D sharp minor is everyone’s favorite key. The big challenges in this one were making sure the intervals stayed as smooth as possible and keeping track of all those pesky double sharps. Despite its length, this one felt like a real workout! I’d like to try to maintain an etude-per-day pace through the rest of this book and other books with shorter studies, so I’ll see you tomorrow for the next one! #Moyse

Elizabeth Jolly

May 23, 2020

Moyse: 24 Petites Études Mélodiques – No. 13

With etude number 13, I’m past the halfway point for this book! I really loved playing this one. It’s a lovely melody and this one is great for experimenting with different tone colors. I tried to do something different with each variation, which I hope came through a bit in the recording. The high F sharps (always treacherous!) could have been smoother and clearer, so I’ll have to keep revisiting this with that goal in mind. Extra special bonus: the beginning of the last var

Elizabeth Jolly

May 22, 2020

Moyse: 24 Petites Études Mélodiques – No. 12

Another very short etude today! I love that the etudes in this book cram a lot of musical and technical challenges into such small, elegant packages. This one in particular fits in nicely with the other practicing I did today for Etude of the Week. Both this and the current Donjon etude need beautiful light tonguing without too much force- this one has the added bonus of being in my least favorite register of the flute. Top of the staff = lots of cracks if I’m not very carefu

Elizabeth Jolly

May 20, 2020

Moyse: 24 Petites Études Mélodiques – No. 11

Another quick one-take recording before lessons today! Wednesdays are typically my busiest day and I keep finding myself running out of time to do a solid warm up, and I think that’s evident here in some of the higher notes. Still, this is a pretty little etude and I sure was happy to come back to the wooden head joint after a few days away from it. Thanks for listening, and see you tomorrow! #Moyse

Elizabeth Jolly

May 19, 2020

Moyse: 24 Petites Études Mélodiques – No. 10

Hello on a metal head joint day! This etude is great for working on the low register, which I feel is weaker on this head joint than on my wooden one. As always with all these octave leap variations, lots of chances to check intonation! This one also has an interesting phrasing challenge- it has two measure phrases throughout, so keeping the last three measure phrase from feeling lopsided was on my mind at the end of each variation. Thanks for listening, and see you tomorrow

Elizabeth Jolly

May 15, 2020

Moyse: 24 Petites Études Mélodiques – No. 9

Another quick post today- I only had time for one take before lessons today, so there are a couple things I would probably do differently next time. This etude is great for working on consistent articulations throughout each variation, and the bigger leaps provide lots of opportunities to make sure both hands are working together. Have a great weekend, and I’ll see you soon for another Etude of the Week video! #Moyse

Elizabeth Jolly

May 14, 2020

Moyse: 24 Petites Études Mélodiques – No.8

Welcome to C minor! So far, this has been my favorite etude of this book. It’s pretty and fun to play, and it’s really nice for working on keeping a beautiful connected sound throughout the faster parts. There are a couple spots where I notice my right pinky isn’t moving as evenly as I’d like, so I’ll definitely keep revisiting that issue as I keep working. See you tomorrow! #Moyse

Elizabeth Jolly

May 12, 2020

Moyse: 24 Petites Études Mélodiques – No. 7

Hello again! I’ve had a bit more time off from Moyse than intended, but here’s Number 7 in E flat Major. I’m hitting the point in this book where most of the etudes have more variations and are therefore a bit longer. This one was deceptively difficult- the theme and first variation are fine, but I had real trouble with the second variation. The big challenge for me was keeping the articulation and rhythm accurate while keeping up the tempo. This is why Mr. Metronome is my b

Elizabeth Jolly

May 7, 2020

Moyse: 24 Petites Études Mélodiques – No. 6

This was done at the end of a marathon recording session for a Jolly Jones Duo project, so I’ve got the metal head joint today because of that. I had thought of doing a back-to-back recording comparing this with my wood head joint, but that will have to wait for another etude. My face was pretty tired by this point in my day, and I think that’s pretty obvious in this recording. I still love this head joint and it’s definitely the right one for some situations, but at this poi

Elizabeth Jolly

May 5, 2020

Moyse: 24 Petites Études Mélodiques – No. 5

Short and sweet! This one was great for me to work on clear triple tonguing. Quite a lot of this etude is in the range where I find I have the most trouble with clear sound (D-F at the top of the staff) so that’s where I really focused my attention today. Haha FOCUSED- get it?? Stupid jokes aside, I’m really enjoying working my way through this book and have a giant stack of etudes waiting for me. See you tomorrow for another one! #Moyse

Elizabeth Jolly

May 4, 2020

Moyse: 24 Petites Études Mélodiques – No. 4

I’ve been using this etude at the end of my warm-up for the last couple of days to check in with my flexibility. Lately I’ve been adding more harmonics practice in my routine, but today I skipped it and really noticed a difference in how all these octave leaps felt. The current Etude of the Week selections also have lots of big intervals, so it’s really nice to see everything working together in my practicing. Thanks for listening, friends- see you tomorrow! #Moyse

Elizabeth Jolly

Apr 28, 2020

Moyse: 24 Petites Études Mélodiques – No. 3

Recording these etudes is really helping me to see areas I’d like to improve, particularly around my breathing. I’m gasping more than I’d like, and what is up with all the weird shoulder movement? In spite of that, this etude felt much more comfortable than the previous two. Today was also the first day in about a week that I’ve done really serious warm up and technique practice. Correlation?? You decide, dear readers. See you soon for number four! #Moyse

Elizabeth Jolly

Apr 26, 2020

Moyse: 24 Petites Études Mélodiques – No. 2

Hello again! It’s been a quiet weekend around these parts, but since I have two etudes for you today my neighbors might disagree with that. I’ve moved on to No. 2 from Moyse’s 24 Petites Études Mélodiques. While this one presents about the same level of technical challenge as No. 1, it also provides similar opportunities to focus on tone, intonation, and beautiful interval leaps. I’m enjoying playing these etudes at the end of my warm up to check in with how I’m doing with th