There are many things about my younger musician self that I would love to go back and change. Establishing a habit of finding and writing good fingerings in my music would be a big one! I've gotten much better about this in recent years, but I don't understand why I allow myself to practice so long without doing it!
The passage in the picture is from Tableaux de Provence for saxophone and piano by Maurice. I knew when I saw all those running thirds and sixths in this fast tempo that that would be a difficult spot. But did I find and write in a fingering? Not until yesterday...and I've been working on this for several weeks now. I could make it through that spot, but it was extremely messy. I took two minutes, decided on a fingering, wrote it in, and tried to play it again...I played it cleanly on the first try. I wish I could say this was a huge realization for me. It wasn't. This happens almost every time I work on a tricky passage. Just giving my eyes a fingering can really get me through a passage so much easier. Maybe someday I'll learn to do it much earlier in the learning process so I don't waste so much time.
Do you have some spots in the music you're learning that are just driving you crazy? Maybe you haven't found the right fingering! Take a few moments of your practice time to work out a good fingering then WRITE IT IN! Don't trust your brain to remember it. Let me know how it works for you!
Until next time!