The village revisited.

The village revisited. Recently I was online looking through a university alumni magazinewhen I saw some news about a past teacher, Janice Smith. She was myfirst flute instructor and a very fine teacher. She played in the St.Louis Symphony Orchestra and held a music education degree, so she hadthe teaching chops for dealing effectively with all levels, includingbeginners. I studied flute with her for only one year as an elective,but learned much about embouchure em��bou��chure?n.1. The mouth of a river.2. Musica. The mouthpiece of a woodwind or brass instrument.b. The manner in which the lips and tongue are applied to such a mouthpiece. , tonguing tongu��ing?n.Interruption of the wind stream through a wind or brass instrument by movement of the tongue in order to articulate notes.tonguingNoun and breathing. Several yearsago I bought a flute and was surprised at how much I had retained,although being an early-intermediate flutist at best, my playing stilltends to be "senza intonazione." I contacted Janice via e-mail to express thanks. We did a series ofback and forths, catching up on mutual acquaintances. I inquired aboutJacob Berg, who for decades had been the principal flutist for the SLSO SLSO Saint Louis Symphony OrchestraSLSO Surplus Lines Service Office (Florida)and had also taught at Washington University in St. Louis “Washington University” redirects here. For other uses, see Washington (disambiguation).Washington University in St. Louis is a private, coeducational, research university located in St. Louis, Missouri. . It was sad tolearn that he passed away in 2004. I never studied flute with Berg yet he was one of my mostsignificant teachers. Surprisingly it was from him that I learned how toplay baroque music Baroque music describes an era and a set of styles of European classical music which were in widespread use between approximately 1600 and 1750.[1] This era is said to begin in music after the Renaissance and was followed by the Classical music era. . As an undergraduate pianist I enjoyed accompanying instrumental andvocal classmates Classmates can refer to either: Classmates.com, a social networking website. Classmates (film), a 2006 Malayalam blockbuster directed by Lal Jose, starring Prithviraj, Jayasurya, Indragith, Sunil, Jagathy, Kavya Madhavan, Balachandra Menon, ... . A flutist and I had been rehearsing two pieces and ourensemble was becoming comfortable, so it was time to play together ather lesson for Berg. First we presented a 20th-century French piece andhe had only a few minor suggestions--it was going well. Then we performed a movement of a Bach flute sonata A flute sonata is a sonata usually for flute and piano, though occasionally other accompanying instruments may be used. Flute sonatas in the Baroque period were very often accompanied in the form of basso continuo. . After somesilence he moved toward me and said, "You imitate her dynamicswell, but did it ever occur to you to also imitate herarticulations?" His demeanor and slender smile conveyed a peculiarcombination of politeness, gentle sarcasm and yet encouragement. Myfirst reaction was defensive as I thought, "What articulations? Iplayed all the 16ths with great legato!" He must have read my mindbecause he immediately penciled into my part zillions of markings overthe first 16th-note phrases: staccatos galore, sprinkled with anoccasional two-note slur or random portato or tenuto te��nu��to?adv. & adj. MusicSo as to be held for the full time value; sustained. Used chiefly as a direction.[Italian, from past participle of tenere, to hold . Then he had hisstudent demonstrate how she had been playing those motifs all along. Idid notice them (apparently for the first time), but I complained abouthow much harder they made my part! I must have been in shock from suchan unfamiliar approach. Fortunately for me, he was a patient man. We worked through various sections in this way, but I still feltlike I was being asked to alter my very being. I finally had either theaudacity au��dac��i��ty?n. pl. au��dac��i��ties1. Fearless daring; intrepidity.2. Bold or insolent heedlessness of restraints, as of those imposed by prudence, propriety, or convention.3. or good sense to ask, "Where are you getting all thesearticulations from?" His smile broadened, "If you would liketo come by later when I'm done teaching, I'll show you."I did and he generously gave me a lesson in baroque articulationpractice. I thanked him, but my head was swimming. In subsequentrehearsals and performances I successfully imitated my partner'sarticulations, but I still wasn't convinced--it all seemed sofussy fuss��y?adj. fuss��i��er, fuss��i��est1. Easily upset; given to bouts of ill temper: a fussy baby.2. . This new approach lay dormant until several years later when I wasrepracticing the Two-Part Inventions for teaching purposes. I"inadvertently" started to experiment with articulations andsoon heard my Bach playing not only singing (as it always had) but alsodancing--what a difference, such fun! Over time I pulled out old suitesand "Well-Tempered's, and rediscovered how they worked,starting a delightful process that continues to this day. No wonder Ihadn't previously enjoyed playing Bach all that much; it would belike a jazz bassist playing arco all the time--how could the musicsparkle that way? I feel much gratitude for what Berg gave me that day (I wasn'teven his "student"). As a teacher I also am reminded of animportant lesson firsthand first��hand?adj.Received from the original source: firsthand information.first : some instruction takes years to come intofruition. The story also begs a question: In college, what if Ihadn't collaborated with so many players--getting exposed to otherinstrumental dialects and teachers--but instead had just stayed in thepractice room working on solo repertoire? When would I have learned allof this? If I may amend a well-known book title: it takes a village toeducate a music student. Bruce Berr is an independent piano and pedagogy teacher inGlenview, Illinois There are at least two locations in Illinois called Glenview: Glenview, Cook County, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago Glenview, St. Clair County, Illinois, an eastern suburb of St. Louis , where he works with children, as weft as other pianoteachers. He is a former university professor and is known nationally asa clinician, educational composer and author. He is also associateeditor of Clavier Companion magazine.