CYMH Blue – Kate String Ensemble – Saturday 4 July 2020

Dear all,

Here is an initial mix of all the recordings you sent me (or that we made together) for the Beethoven Minuet.

There is still further editing I can do, and I’d love to do that with your feedback. Please have a listen and make a few notes about:

– Balance. Who has the tune or the important line and can they be heard? Who has the accompaniment? What is everyone’s ‘job’ in the ensemble? Is the accompaniment quiet enough? Does it support the tune or drown the tune? Where do you or someone else have an important line or phrase that could perhaps come through more?

– Dynamics. This is linked to balance, but also… is there enough dynamic contrast in the performance as a whole? What do the dynamics on your music say? Are they coming across?

– Articulation. Is the accompaniment light enough? What articulation do you have in your music (slurs, staccatos, accents etc) and is it coming across?

If you write down a few thoughts and send them in by Wednesday, I will consider all your feedback before making the final edit.

Also, I would absolutely love to have video footage of you all playing as well as the audio so I can make a really spectacular video for the end of term. If you are able to video yourself playing along to the guide track and send it in (also by Wednesday at the latest) please please do, then I can use that in the final edit too. It doesn’t have to be note perfect as I won’t use the audio from it, just the video. So don’t worry about any dodgy notes or tuning, it just needs to be in time!! I have videos for Orson and Rosa from our Zoom sessions but not from the rest of you.

See you all next week 🙂

– Kate