Weissenborn Wednesday Etude #3

The older I have gotten the more I love playing continuo. I admit that as a bassoonist who spent a large amount of time in my younger years doubling Tuba parts in band, I wasn't very high on the idea of playing continuo. At first it seemed like it wasn't really important, just something done for the sake of tradition, something that only the period music lovers really enjoyed. I sadly carried this prejudice throughout my undergraduate education which was also the last time that I used these etudes for any amount of personal study and practice. I admit that even when I taught private lessons this etude was treated less as a teaching moment for older students than it was for a good etude to work on articulation in a comfortable register for younger students. 

Now I see continuo as a dance between individual performers; yes, continuo is still a supportive role but there is an intimacy with the lead performer that is unmatched in other styles. While I view this etude within the context of preparing for a continuo role, I also realize that it is not a continuo line and therefore I did take certain freedoms in the performance that I wouldn't have been able to do were I staying in the supportive role. 

As a younger musician (and I am speaking relatively as I still have much to learn) I was always so focused on getting to the "real" music, the hard music, that I failed to see how wonderfully fulfilling and challenging these "easy" lines are. I truly hope that I never discount music in any form again.