Strategies to get more clarity while playing runs?

[Boethius]

My school is playing Jedi Steps and Finale for our concert in may and the euphonium part has some really tricky runs (can be heard around 2:26 of the recording by the President’s Own: https://youtu.be/YJj5Hx_1S4Y)

I’ve been following the standard practicing techniques for runs by starting slow and very very gradually increasing tempo but I’m still lacking the clarity that I would like to have. I’m not looking for any magical solutions but is there something I’m not doing during my practice sessions that I should be?

[carbogast]

I suggest that when practicing slowly, be sure to "pound" the valves. Clarity suffers when the valves are not depressed very quickly; you can imagine what happens if you were to depress the valves very slowly! Also, the valves must be depressed "in time". So use a metronome. This is really important! Set the metronome to 1/16's if you are practicing 1/8th notes and so on.

Caveat emptor: this is free advice and I'm not a professional


-Carroll

[John Morgan]

Something that I have done in the past when working on repetitive type runs is to not only start slowly (with a metronome) and increase speed gradually, but to play the runs with various articulations. Slur some, tongue some, slur two, tongue two, play the notes short, play them long, double tongue, single tongue. Then vary the rhythm, if for instance they are all 16th notes, then play them as doted 16th/32nd notes. Another thing I do with runs, especially long ones, is to look for the first note in each beat as a key note. For instance, with 16th note runs, every 4th note is a note that I make sure I play clearly and in tempo. I call these my anchor notes, and they are always the notes that must be played correctly and on time. Anchor notes help keep you from getting ahead or behind on long, fast passages. And when you get close to having the runs under your belt, get them so that you can play the part slightly faster than you think it will be so that you have a little built-in insurance for when the conductor decides to go faster.

In the end, there is no magic strategy for mastering runs. It comes with dedicated practice. Playing all of the scales so that you have them down cold. And with some speed. Major, minor, chromatic. These should be practiced every day. It will not be surprising at all when you see runs in music especially if you have been diligent in practicing scales all the time and as a constant part of your daily routine.

[TheJH]

One thing I always pay attention to when practicing, is if I feel the center of every note in a run. If you do, you have less risk of overblowing and ending up on a different partial and messing up the entire part. And specifically the starting and ending note of the smaller groups within the runs, so you have anchored points to work from and towards, not only in terms of speed as mr. Morgan says above, but also in terms of pitch.

[UglyGrayDuck]

one trick I learned from my high school band director, is if you are having a little trouble with making sure the notes have equal length/are even is to swing the phrase one way, then swing it the other a couple times, then try to play it straight.

ie:
1st time
long-short-long-short-long-short-long-short

2nd time
short-long-short-long-short-long-short-long


Not sure if this is applicable, but hopefully it can help a little!

[CousinJack]

I agree wholeheartedly with all the previous replies. Getting the valves moving quickly in between notes is very important. As is practicing scales regularly.

Something I would add is to make sure that you're using plenty of air to support the run. It's very easy when playing tricky stuff to focus so much on the valves that we forget the air support!

[aroberts781]

I agree with what others have said. For tricky runs, I slow it way down, play it swung then reverse swung just like Nicholas described, and then try it straight. If that was clean then I click the metronome up one click and try it again, and then just slowly and patiently build it up from there. You should aim for working it up to a tempo that is faster than you need to perform it.

John's suggestion to vary the articulation is good.

When you mess up, focus in on exactly which part you missed. Play just the two notes involved (in other words the missed note and the one right before it). When that is clear then add one more note before it. When that is clear, add another, etc...

You could also try taking the run and practicing from the beginning. Play the first note, then play the first two notes, then the first three, etc... Do that until you can do the whole run slowly, then click the metronome up one click and do it again. Do the same thing but start from the last note of the run and keep adding one note until you play the whole run.

And you might also try singing it. When I use singing to practice a tricky part I am trying to focus on pitch and rhythm/timing, but also articulation and style.

Happy practicing!

[Snorlax]

Nobody so far has mentioned the benefit of memorizing the passage(s) in question. Playing from memory speeds the development of neural paths necessary to execute the passage.
Mindfully play the passage at a slow tempo--break it down into smaller component parts if needed (didn't see that mentioned, either.) then turn the page over and play from memory at a comfortable tempo, heeding the wise advice above about air and valves. If you have broken down the passage into smaller portions, eventually stitch them together.
It isn't particularly necessary to think "The first note is C, the second note is F#", etc. The act of mindfully practicing the passage-or parts of it-will build the necessary paths.
Another point yet unraised is for you to know all your major & minor scales cold. Many passages are simply scalar in nature and can be analyzed in those terms. If you know all your scales & chords by memory, you have built many of the necessary paths to play the passage eventually at tempo.
One of Harvey Phillips's teaching points was to take a piece of tonal music, put a green circle around scalar passages and a red circle around broken chords. In most tonal music, you will have circled 70 to 100 percent of the music. If you have scales and broken chords under your fingers, the necessary paths will be built rather quickly.
So try to get the passage(s) in your brain in the short run, and consider learning all your scales and broken chords in the long run.
Best wishes for a solid performance!

[aroberts781]

Jim, great point about memorizing, thanks for sharing.