Van Hoesen Teaching, Part 3 -- Reading and Listening

David Van Hoesen was interested in the overall education of his students. He encouraged his students to seek out recordings of the best violinists, pianists, singers and orchestras. He believed that a fine bassoonist should also have knowledge of literature and art.

Here is his reading and listening list:

Van Hoesen Teaching, Part 2, Scales and Arpeggios

Below is David Van Hoesen's Scale and Arpeggio routine. The goal is to become familiar with the different scale patterns and chords in a particular key during a week's worth of practicing (one key per week). All exercises except the Broken Arpeggio are to be done with a metronome for evenness and speed.

Along with perfecting the technique, the focus should be on playing with a beautiful sound, good intonation and a musical sense in all registers.

The Arpeggios in Sequence are taken directly from a violin exercise by Carl Flesch.

A word about the Broken Arpeggio exercise. It is to be done slowly working for a beautiful, smooth connection between notes. Pay attention to embouchure, breath support and smooth, gentle fingers to achieve a smooth, expressive slur for each interval. This is a great exercise for breaking in new reeds as well!

Here is another version of this that may print more clearly. It is also available on my website. Scroll nearly to the bottom to find it.

K. David Van Hoesen - Teaching, Part 1

This is the first in a series of posts about the teaching of K. David Van Hoesen (1926-2015). He was the bassoon teacher at the Eastman School of Music from the mid-1950's through the 1980's. Former students of his populate the major orchestras of the United States and the faculties of many music schools across the country.

Van Hoesen passed on his teaching orally in lessons and master classes. Therefore, there's not a lot of written material to be had covering his teaching. However, I've collected a few things and his son-in-law, oboist Jim Gorton has shared some material with me.

The following must have been a set of notes he used for a class. He mentions the Saint-Sans Bassoon Sonata and must have taught that in the class. These are maxims we heard in our lessons on a regular basis.

Perhaps a few of these maxims require a bit of explanation. #4 and #5, "Slow notes go fast, fast notes go slow" doesn't mean to rush longer value notes and drag shorter value notes.

The idea here is to create motion during long notes so the phrase doesn't die. With faster notes, the idea is to make sure they take up all the space they're allowed so they are expressive, voiced with the same care as a long note and don't get compressed.

K. David Van Hoesen (1926-2016)

Bassoonist and teacher, K. David Van Hoesen left us today. He passed away in the company of his family in Pittsburgh. He was 90 years old.

He was my musical "father". He taught me so much about the bassoon and also about music in general. He showed me what great teaching was all about.

He played much of his career in the Rochester Philharmonic.  

His sound was beautiful, smooth and even. Listen to this excerpt from William Schuman's "New England Triptych" and you will hear a good example.

Here is an interview  (see item 12 in the Table of Contents) I did with him shortly after he retired from teaching at the Eastman School of Music. In it he discusses the bassoon, music and his early life.

Interlochen trip

Earlier this week I made a trip to the Interlochen Arts Camp for a master class. My host, Eric Stomberg succeeded me as teacher there in 2001. He has maintained a talented and successful class since then.

My trips to Interlochen after I stopped teaching there have been nostalgic. I can draw upon my memories there as a camper and faculty member of the summer camp as well as the Academy.

I enjoyed working with his students and hearing them play. Interlochen attracts a special kind of student. Along with their talent, they are hungry to learn more about the bassoon and music, eager to be around others who share their enthusiasm.

On the day of my class I had the morning free, so I ran on the Leelanau Trail. It stretches from Traverse City up the west side of Grand Traverse Bay to Sutton's Bay.  It's an old rail line.

Rite of Spring practice method

Here's a great method for learning the opening to Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring. It's great whether you're learning it for the first time or just brushing it up for an audition or performance.

Some preliminary comments:

• The opening has no crescendo from the first C to the grace notes and B, but most people play one. Because there's no crescendo printed in the music, this gesture should be subtle and carefully measured. Think of the sound of the held C energizing and opening up until the B is inevitable. 
• The beginning of the piece is not loud. I prefer to think of it as haunting and distant. Like a trip back in time. So no loud or abrupt sounds.
• The progression from C - B - A forms the "skeleton" of the opening section in the first bassoon part. Tension should increase on the C through the B and then relax to the A. In spite of this being a famously modern piece, the opening phrases are really just old-fashioned, classical period arch phrases!!
• Opening C -- my fingering:

       Eb
x 1/2 o /xxoF
d           Bb

Using the high d key and covering just 1/2 or less of the second tone hole in the left hand allows for a quiet, controlled start that is in tune. You can grasp the reed more firmly and not go sharp because of the half hole. Remove the half hole immediately after starting. Some players combine this with a breath attack for an even softer start.

I've written this out by hand for my CIM students for years, never quite sure if they could read my poor handwriting! Now, thanks to my friend, Rich Shanklin, I've got a file of it and can just hand it out. 

You may find using a different order in each series is more helpful (series 1, exercises 1, 2, 4, 3, 5 and series 2, exercises 1, 3, 2, 4 for instance) but this is how I use it.

The Universal Mind of Bill Evans

Bill Evans was one of the great jazz pianists.

I never heard him play live, but fondly remember an impromptu concert given by Bill Dobbins, who was my Jazz History teacher at Eastman, in his honor shortly after he died in 1980. Dobbins, dressed in black, gave us an evening of Evans' tunes on solo piano.

Here is an interview done by his brother, Harry. In it he discusses many things; improvising, creativity, teaching, etc. Lots of great playing, too! The audio is in English, with Spanish subtitles.