Gracenotes that lift too far off the chanter create a mushy, unclear passage. One of the most common technical faults is gracenotes raised so high they land on top of the surrounding notes instead of cleanly separating them — keep them small and close.
Play with zero tension so your hands stay free to move. Wide, fast passages that jump between very different hand positions require hands that are loose and mobile, not gripped tight — tension is what makes those big jumps feel impossible.
"Waiting for the beat" beats rushing to fill it. Whether it's the fourth beat of a bar or the top of a run-down, deliberately waiting for the beat to arrive, rather than anticipating and rushing toward it, is what keeps fast passages precise.
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Special Guest Ian K. MacDonald
56m · Full class available to Inner Circle members
⏱️ In this class
02:05Ian's and playing career with Marshall Field🔒
04:32too high lifted common The gracenotes fault:🔒
05:46from Gracenote Jim McGillivray foundations🔒
09:08clean for technique of listen Models to🔒
11:27on right beat and gracenotes the Keeping small🔒
16:49between loose hand big for positions Staying jumps🔒
🔒 The write-up and the quotes from this class are part of the members’ page.
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