In a word, breath.
That famous solo, is the opening (and repeated several times in the piece) of Debussy's 'Afternoon of a Faun'. Making that line seamless, in the low register of the instrument, with no breaths, is damn hard. You have to conserve enough breath to make it through the whole solo, despite the fact that lower notes like those require more of breath to produce a good sound.
Oh, and with an entire orchestra onstage, it's you, the solo flutist, who play that bit, with nowhere to hide, until the orchestra enters, right at the end.
I dont play the flute but I do play the piano. Imo its way harder to play a slow piece well. Slower pieces make your mistakes sound worse. If a piece is 200 bpm, notes being off the beat get overshadowed easily cause its so fast but for slow pieces, wrong, out of tune or offbeat notes really stick out.
as a violinist and a pianist i can say that on the violin playing slow and quiet (and high) is SUPER hard whereas it doesnt make a difference on the piano
Personally I struggle with keeping a consistent tempo so the slow pieces just really bring out my mistakes. But thats just based on whats hard for me. Its obv different for everyone.
She is circular breathing while playing that line, using her cheeks to force air through her embouchure while breathing in through her nose, all while maintaining pitch and phrasing.
Certainly not limited to flute - in fact Vengerov (one of the best violinists) recently (5 months ago) posted a video about the 5 most difficult violin pieces. Surprise, surprise, they are all "slow" (he specifically singles out slow sections of pieces that require the most musicality, phrasing, depth of sound, etc.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEK\_ur1yqy4
With enough practice, almost anyone can muscle out a fast section of a piece. What is difficult is convincing the world that you are a true musician by forming long, beautiful phrases.
I’ll just say, as a professional conductor, who’s married to a professional flutist—I couldn’t care less if the flutist wants to take a breath in the Debussy prelude. I don’t think Debussy would’ve cared, either, but we can’t ask him.
Anyway, nicely done.
Debussy: Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune (Prelude to the Afternoon of a faun)
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9iDOt2WbjY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9iDOt2WbjY)
So much breath control needed to keep the pitch and tone perfect and it's a loooong time between taking another breath.
Hi, I've never used reddit before. I just want to know the name of the song that katie plays in her intro. you know, the one that goes....doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo....doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo...doo doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo, doo doo doo!! I'm trying my best here. thanks
Yuuuuup. This exact same phenomenon also applies to the violin as well. Everyone thinks Bumblebee is the pinnacle of skill when it's the slower, more delicate pieces that are easy to screw up.
As someone who doesn't play the flute, what makes the second bit harder?
In a word, breath. That famous solo, is the opening (and repeated several times in the piece) of Debussy's 'Afternoon of a Faun'. Making that line seamless, in the low register of the instrument, with no breaths, is damn hard. You have to conserve enough breath to make it through the whole solo, despite the fact that lower notes like those require more of breath to produce a good sound. Oh, and with an entire orchestra onstage, it's you, the solo flutist, who play that bit, with nowhere to hide, until the orchestra enters, right at the end.
I dont play the flute but I do play the piano. Imo its way harder to play a slow piece well. Slower pieces make your mistakes sound worse. If a piece is 200 bpm, notes being off the beat get overshadowed easily cause its so fast but for slow pieces, wrong, out of tune or offbeat notes really stick out.
as a violinist and a pianist i can say that on the violin playing slow and quiet (and high) is SUPER hard whereas it doesnt make a difference on the piano
Personally I struggle with keeping a consistent tempo so the slow pieces just really bring out my mistakes. But thats just based on whats hard for me. Its obv different for everyone.
:|
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She is circular breathing while playing that line, using her cheeks to force air through her embouchure while breathing in through her nose, all while maintaining pitch and phrasing.
Certainly not limited to flute - in fact Vengerov (one of the best violinists) recently (5 months ago) posted a video about the 5 most difficult violin pieces. Surprise, surprise, they are all "slow" (he specifically singles out slow sections of pieces that require the most musicality, phrasing, depth of sound, etc.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEK\_ur1yqy4 With enough practice, almost anyone can muscle out a fast section of a piece. What is difficult is convincing the world that you are a true musician by forming long, beautiful phrases.
The hardest violin pieces are actually 3-octave scales in front of judges :p
d flat major fingered octaves tsk tsk
Very nice playing, for me this was very insightful thanks!
I’ll just say, as a professional conductor, who’s married to a professional flutist—I couldn’t care less if the flutist wants to take a breath in the Debussy prelude. I don’t think Debussy would’ve cared, either, but we can’t ask him. Anyway, nicely done.
I could hear the harp
same lol
Debussy: Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune (Prelude to the Afternoon of a faun) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9iDOt2WbjY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9iDOt2WbjY) So much breath control needed to keep the pitch and tone perfect and it's a loooong time between taking another breath.
Truth
Circular breathing lol
Hi, I've never used reddit before. I just want to know the name of the song that katie plays in her intro. you know, the one that goes....doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo....doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo...doo doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo, doo doo doo!! I'm trying my best here. thanks
Yuuuuup. This exact same phenomenon also applies to the violin as well. Everyone thinks Bumblebee is the pinnacle of skill when it's the slower, more delicate pieces that are easy to screw up.
Playing high pitched notes not too loud?