Something I say to students surprisingly often is how once you work out E major real well everything is easier. As I say that, I’m thinking not only of the patterns in my technique book, but more specifically Pares Scales #99.
I mentioned in a very recent article how I was working to perform the Dvorak Serenade again. As part of my work for this, I have been working good old Pares #99. It relates so closely to key passages in this work.
A private teacher I worked with in Olathe KS introduced me to Pares Scale between my freshman and sophomore years of college. A venerable Rubank publication, it’s one that we might want to use more often today in the horn world.
Why this pattern?
I’ve mentioned in other articles how I’m not a big fan of super-duper, over-long technical exercises, preferring things that are more concise and focused. Pares #99 is a perfect example. Three lines long, it works on some really key fingering patterns, especially going quickly from 2 to T23. It’s a type of cross fingering that, if you don’t synchronize your thumb and third valve exactly, it will sound rough.
Aside: Instagram and Pares #99
I don’t post a ton of stuff on Instagram, but as part of my practice last weekend I posted Pares #99. And of course right now it has almost 10,000 views. Not as nearly as many as my April Fools version of Reynolds #1 on natural horn last year, but pretty solid numbers. Why? I don’t know. I’m hoping that people might get the idea to practice the exercise up, as I do think it a key one.
Fingers and accuracy
Back to the topic of synchronization, that also relates to accuracy in other key passages of the Serenade. I’m pretty convinced that finger synchronization is a cause of a fair percentage of accuracy problems. The fingers have to line up.
The example I give pretty often is if you could see your fingers in slow motion going from 0 to T23 you might see that the third finger goes down first and the thumb last. The thumb is your least facile digit; you really need to have your horn set up with comfortable lever positions and be sure to observe the level of synchronization of your fingers in passages.
It’s all easier after E major
Another thing I say to students often is that after E major, the rest of the keys with more flats and sharps, they feel easier to play. The patterns I think actually are easier, certainly no harder!
Take the Pares #99 challenge!
It’s an older, simple publication, but for a new challenge think about finding a copy of this and work on the speed and synchronization of your fingers in every key, it will pay off in better playing.
