Gallay 40 Preludes Op. 27

Jacques François Gallay

  Gallay's 40 Preludes is one of the essential etude books to own. I started using this book with Jon Boen because he wanted etudes that could compliment Kopprasch, in terms of what you can learn from them. Kopprasch is great for working out technical issues and become an astounding sight reader, but it does tend to lack in building solid slurring, legato, and phrasing skills. It just so happens that these are the areas that working on Gallay can really help with!





Preludes 1-20
  The first half of this book is filled with etudes that specialize in smooth slurs, controlled dynamic shifts, style, and many more of those related areas. Personally, I take one of these per week and work through it, making sure it sounds "soloistic" and not just like some boring etude.
  One great exercise you can then do with these etudes is to ask your student to define what composer they think would've written this piece after they finish playing it the first time. Then ask them to play it again, keeping that composer in mind the whole time. After they finishing that, name composers that have a completely different style. This will be great for developing a solid sense of style.


Preludes 21-40
  The second half is unique since all they are all non-measured preludes. They are very much like cadenzas and are a tool great for learning how to pace and transition within a cadenza and other aleatoric works.
  I also take one of these etudes each week -concentrating on conveying on smooth, easy to understand ideas. Many people have a problem with being too "choppy" with works of this kind (which means all the more reason to dive into Gallay feet first). I originally bought this book because I needed a piece for solo horn last year and all these non-measured preludes are also great as solo/concert pieces.