metronome

Last night was quite a rush! The CSO and Redmoon Theater collaborated to put on a show called Mercury Soul. This show has been performed elsewhere before (including Berlin and San Francisco), but this was the first time for Chicago, and my first time as a participant. You can check out my pictures from last night at the following link:

Mercury Soul gallery

I call this article to order! OK, I had to put Robert's name in quotes because when I asked him about his rules of the metronome last night, he said I was "imagining things". His official rule, therefore, is "whatever works". But I'm sure that years ago he gave me, if not rules, then ideas about how best to use the metronome in my practicing. So, as long as we all understand that he doesn't exactly endorse these rules, here they are, with explanations to follow:

I was reminded today while teaching a lesson just how much of a difference it makes to practice with the same kind of sound you will make in performance. This sounds obvious, but most people from time to time will begin to "slow practice". This usually means playing a passage divorced from all musical meaning and timing. The sound is often of a shockingly low quality, either wispy or scratchy; the posture slouched; the tempo pushed and pulled to suit the convenience of the moment.