Sound in Motion

Grammy winning bassoonist, David McGill, has served as principal bassoon of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra since 1997. He has also served as principal of the Cleveland Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony, and the Tulsa Philharmonic. A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia (1985), he has taught at DePaul and Roosevelt Universities in Chicago, Indiana University, the Cleveland Institute of Music, and the University of Toronto. He has given master classes in Finland, Hungary, and across the United States and Canada.

• ContentsPrefaceAcknowledgmentsPart 1. A Style Is BornPart 2. What Is Music?Fun?Magic?Feeling?Talent?Selflessness?ProfessionalismMotionPart 3. Note GroupingSound Writing (?)What Is Note Grouping?Basic GroupingHarmonic GroupingRhythmic GroupingMotivic GroupingRange and ScalingThe Tabuteau Number SystemWhy Does Grouping Sound Natural?Part 4. The Larger PictureSound ConnectionType and FunctionSkeletal StructureWhat Is Phrasing?RepetitionWhat Is Line?The Four Elements of MusicPart 5. Wind TechniquesBreathingThe Long ToneThe Singing IntervalThe FingersScalesUsing the WindArticulationPart 6. ControversyToneIntonationVibratoOrnamentsWas There a Baroque Style of Playing?Music SpeaksPortato: Herald of a New Romanticism"Technique" vs. "Musicality"Part 7. The ProfessionPracticingAuditioningOrchestral ProtocolPerformingAccompanyingTeachingPart 8. The SearchPostscriptAppendix 1. Recommended RecordingsAppendix 2. Further StudyAppendix 3. To Clip or Not to ClipNotesBibliographyIndexAbout the Author

"Well-written and opinionated treatise on almost every aspect of the art of musicianship, taking as its basis the methods of Tabuteau, but moving well beyond into discussions of auditioning, intonation, and an extended section on the Baroque performance movement.September 11, 2008"—PBDB Book Review"What is phrasing? What is line? What is music? Logically and with acute attention to detail, Sound in Motion takes the reader on a philosophical journey rooted in the teachings of Marcel Tabuteau, John deLancie, John Minsker, and Sol Schoenbach, the timeless performances of Maria Callas, deLancie, and others, as well as McGill's own career as an orchestral bassoonist."—The Double Reed"The book takes a modern look at Marcel Tabuteau's classic method."—Los Angeles Times". . . offers a clean, modern take on Tabuteau's legacy, strong advice for aspiring wind players, and a range of observations that should inspire or provoke any serious musician. . . . Recommended."—Choice"A most important, all encompassing book about music, its nature and its significance, not only for the professional musician, but for all those who see in it an expression of human creation. [McGill] deals with the different expressive means of sound, of styles and, perhaps most important of all for the practicing musician: the connection between attitude and aptitude. He understands perfectly that music is, after all, not a profession, but rather a way of life. . . . A rare book full of knowledge and insight."—Daniel Barenboim, world-renowned pianist and conductor"In this thoughtful and imaginative study, David McGill codifies an important oral and aural tradition in musical performance and pedagogy in which he has been an active participant. Growing from the legacy of Marcel Tabuteau, this tradition continued through the work of McGill's own teachers, John de Lancie and Sol Schoenbach. McGill's book will not only be welcomed by performers, but also by musicologists interested in the history of performance practice and music theorists interested in the relationship of analysis and performance."—Kevin Korsyn, University of Michigan