Rock Around The Wok - Lesson
James Rae walks through 'Rock Around the Wok', focusing on the tricky middle-section fingerings where you move the outer fingers while holding the centre one down, plus the DC al fine.
Copyright © 2023 Universal Edition (London) Ltd., All compositions by James Rae except where otherwise indicated.
What's in the course
27 lessons (1h 3m) · 1 free
Lesson transcript
Rock Around the Walk
This is a punchy little number!
Key Challenges
-
Tricky Fingerings:
There are some tricky fingerings to negotiate in the middle section. A lot of people stumble on this particular bar. -
Outer Finger Movement:
You have to move the two outer fingers whilst keeping the center one down for the F sharp. This same concept applies to the next two bars. -
No Sharps or Flats:
Although there are no sharps or flats involved in those two bars, many pupils find that hard to negotiate. Again, you need to keep your middle finger down for the C while moving the outer two. This is the opposite of what we were doing previously.
"It's the same as what we're doing in the previous, but with the opposite hand."
This means we have to match those two phrases very accurately.
Conclusion
The piece has a DC al fine, which means we go back to the beginning and play through to the fine sign, as explained earlier.
27 lessons
1h 3m of structured video lessons
Advanced video features
Slow down, loop a passage, follow along
Mobile, tablet & desktop
Practise wherever you are
100% satisfaction guarantee
30-day money-back guarantee
Meet your guru
Meet your guru
James Rae was born on Tyneside in 1957. He studied clarinet, bass clarinet, piano and composition at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama from 1975 to 1979, under professors Yona Ettlinger, Stephen Trier, Meriel Jefferson and Patric Standford respectively. Since leaving the Guildhall, he has pursued a highly successful and varied career across three areas: performing, writing and teaching.
James Rae has worked in many West End and Royal National Theatre productions, including Sir Peter Hall's award-winning Oresteia with music by Sir Harrison Birtwistle, and has received many freelance engagements with some of the country's leading orchestras and ensembles. He is the leader of the Phoenix Saxophone Quartet, who over the years have given many recitals and BBC broadcasts, and have recorded the complete works of Carey Blyton on two albums, 'The Return of Bulgy Gogo' and 'Sherlock Holmes meets Dr Who'.
As a composer, James Rae is one of Europe's most published writers of educational wind music, with over 250 publications to his credit, mainly published by Universal Edition. His music includes instrumental study books, sonatas, tutors, baroque, classical and jazz transcriptions, plus many volumes of duets, many of which feature on all the major wind examination syllabuses worldwide. He has also written four musicals for schools with Mike Cornick, and his larger commissions include The Turn of a Wheel, a major work for concert band that premiered in November 1999 for the North Tyneside Concert Band, of which he was a founder member as a boy, and the overture Moving On in 2012.
James Rae has worked extensively as a syllabus consultant and composer for both the Associated Board and Trinity College London, and has been highly involved in developing the woodwind sight-reading requirements for both exam boards. As a teacher, he has held many posts in both the state and independent sectors, and currently works at King's College School Wimbledon, where he directs the Wind Orchestra and Concert Band, and Shrewsbury House School in Surbiton, where he coaches three large bands and a chamber group. That teaching experience runs right through his saxophone series for MusicGurus, which takes you step by step from your very first notes to a confident, stylish player: First Notes, New Keys & Low Notes, Expanding Your Range, Scales & High Notes, Extended Range & Rhythm, and Polish & Style.
