Last week I attended a masterclass by Håkan Hardenberger, a virtuoso Swedish trumpeter. The masterclass lasted for more than five hours and incorporated individual and ensemble coaching. Throughout the session I was totally stunned by his virtuosic playing - he achieved an incredibly dense and focused sound via some wonderful musicianship. He is also an outstanding teacher, invoking many useful concepts and thoughts which are universal to all brass playing – for example the fact that practice is not about ‘what’ but ‘how’ you practice.
The common weakness of most students is that they do not listen carefully to themselves when practising. Håkan continually reminds students that one should always think about the pitch, tone colour, articulation etc before even producing a note – something which can drastically improve your playing. Another concept which Håkan highlighted that I think is particularly helpful is ‘to think low when playing high notes and vice versa’. This thought process really helps to improve tone focusing and reduce tension in the higher register. It was noticeable that after taking his tips on board the performance of the students improved considerably! The usefulness of practice – regardless of instrument - is significantly enhanced by engaging the right thought processes and by actively ‘listening’ to yourself as you play. I am really glad that I received such a precious opportunity to watch Håkan’s live teaching and playing!
Last weekend I went to a performance by the North Cheshire Wind Orchestra in Trafford, who are an amateur band with around 50 players. The concert program was very carefully chosen and showcased a variety of styles and characters that addressed the theme of ‘when east meets west’. I especially liked the unusual and powerful piece for solo cello and band written by Johan de Meij. It was a very enjoyable concert experience and it very much reminded me of my own experiences of conducting an amateur band in Hong Kong!
Posted by
Palas Chan
