DESCRIPTION:
2 Earthworks QTC40's; 1 Apogee Duet 2; 1 iPad 3
No editing. No effects
Check out my blog, saxtalk.blogspot.com. It has links to all of my videos plus more detailed information.


The C Major etude. In Ferling's book, these etudes were set at diverse tempos. According to Dr. Eugene Rousseau, however, Marcel Mule felt that 72 was a great tempo for vibrato at four undulations per click, which is why most of the lyrical etudes in his edition are set at 72 bpm. Dr. Rousseau has recently published a new edition of these lyrical etudes entitled, "Ferling 24 Melodic Studies from 48 Etudes, op. 31." In this edition, Dr. Rousseau provides many useful fingerings and other annotations, and he sets the tempos at 80, which is his preferred tempo for vibrato.

I think there is great value in using Mule's or Rousseau's marked tempos as a tool to help develop vibrato in an emerging saxophonist. I also think that once a good vibrato has been developed, there is great value in playing these pieces with no vibrato whatsoever. Sometimes, we saxophonists can use vibrato as a musical crutch, assuming it alone communicates our musical intent. Only when we take it away do we realize what might be missing from the other elements of musicality, like dynamic range and phrasing. At this point in my journey with these wonderful miniatures, I do not feel any great loyalty to a particular tempo. Rather, I am interested in communicating music, in shaping phrases in ways that make sense to me and in turn, hopefully, to you as well. In other words, I do believe that rubato is often appropriate. One must, however, develop a stable sense of time first before rubato can be communicated effectively.

As you study these etudes and listen to my examples, I hope you will come to understand how important it is to develop good dynamic range and control. Learning to pace a crescendo or decrescendo so that it flows smoothly and independently of the fingers is vital.

As always, I hope you find this example useful and enjoyable.