NYSSMA Flute Question: should i be nit-picky or should i play with emotion?

Question

Hi!:) I'm an eighth grader playing the Handel Sonata in E minor for NYSSMA this year. (Level 6) and I'm wondering whether it would be more beneficial to play technically, for example, playing stoccato notes very short and detached (which isn't my style.) or sticking with my technique, which is accurate but more emotional. NYSSMA is next Wednesday and I'm just tweaking my solo, but I feel a lot of pressure to do well because I played a level 5 last year and got 100.

Advice??? :) Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

I am a NYSSMA judge, and hear hundreds of flutists (and other instruments) every year. Choose an edition that has the articulation and phrasing you wish - or mark in your own diacriticals, in both copies,and then STICK to it. We do not want to hear a swoopy, emotional rendition of a Baroque sonata - if you are so sold on your emotional and expressive abilities, then you should have chosen a work that allows you to demonstrate them. Frankly, we are not interested in YOUR style - we are interested in the musically appropriate style for the work you have selected. I am sure that your private teacher has worked on the pertinent areas with you. Yes, be nit-picky - WE certainly are - that is our job. Make sure your scales are perfect, that all parameters of your technique are perfect, and that you have good sight-reading skills. Good luck - I will not be judging this week, since I have other professional commitments.

Answer 2

Being nit-picky for competitino is important. The judges are listening for certain things. BUT, being nit-picky is no excuse for not playing musically. The challenge lies in making music in the notes provided in the style of the music. Listen to the MYSSMA judge who has already posted, practice hard, have fun!

Answer 3

As long as you play the notes staccato it doesn't matter. You just have to make sure that the judges knows that the notes are staccato. If someone hears you play it and can't tell that they are supposed to be staccato then you need to play it shorter. Yes emotion is very important but you can't just change rhythm and note lengths.

Answer 4

Emotion when playing makes the good musician. If you can play 3,000 notes in 1 second, but did it through calculations and science and just play it without feeling, I don't care, you're a terrible musician. To be a musician is about feeling, and that's how you should really play.



Mine Please!

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