Koehler #8 Op. 33 | Miguel Vargas (@beyondtheflute)

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I've really enjoyed making this kind of videos. I like the idea of being able to share with you etudes that one day I will play or have already played and tell you what I think about, what details I like and what others I wish to improve:

This time I am playing etude #8 from E. Koehler's book Op. 33. It is a quite demanding etude in terms of embouchure flexibility and phrasing. I quite liked the strength of the low register and the rit. and rubati that I do throughout the piece. It is a pity that the articulation in the high register is not quite consistent and that I hear some tension in the sound that comes from a lack of relaxation in playing.

The first indication we encounter is "grazioso" which means "with grace". It is important to avoid a heavy articulation, seek to attack with the tip of the tongue and quite lightly and quickly in order to achieve this emotion. Between measures 7 and 8 we find our first tempo change, an "allargando"; this indication invites us to slow down the speed of the music so that it breathes a little and, after performing the fermata, continue at the speed with which we started playing. This gesture will be repeated at least 3 more times throughout the study, the final being the most definite change of tempo, a "morendo e rall.", a dying and slowing down to finish such a beautiful study.

I hope you like it as much as I enjoyed studying and recording it for all of you.

And you, what do you think about it? Have you ever played this beautiful etude?

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