Getting Away from the Notation

Meter, phrasing, and harmony are some of the possible factors that determine a note's length. Remember that notation is really a very limited way of suggesting how the music should actually sound. Beyond any rules or historical knowledge, I feel the best piece of advice I can give is to always think about what kind of AFFECT, what expression do you want to achieve with a piece of music. And then everything you do is to serve that expression.

So for example, in the above Andersen etude I wanted to show something joyful, light, moving, something bouncing between the ground and the sky. So my point was to utilize different types of short articulation to create those effects and affects. You won't get this idea by simply looking at the sheet music and it would be almost impossible to notate every nuance. And since articulation is always in connection with how you manage your air, both the tongue and the breath give each note a definitive shape, length, and timbre. So always listen and observe carefully whether the tongue and the breath are really coordinating together to achieve one goal, one expression, or whether they're a little out of sync with each other. 

Coming back to notation, if we accept that notation is only a rough way of suggesting how a piece of music should basically go, then it's not far from understanding inégalité. The subject is complex but I want to mention one instance in regard to this topic. You see above a typical cadence (from Boismortier's Op. 35, E minor suite). After the cadential trill, the first G we play is known as an anticipation. As the name suggests, it anticipates the final note and thus should go towards it. Don't be influenced by the notation in thinking that you must play a proper 8th note, or think because baroque music has such an emphasis on articulation that we have to make that separation of the two G's distinctly. Also, even if you claim to not speak French, you probably know a bit more than you actually think you do. Think of words like "amour", "café", "merci" - or look them up in YouTube or any pronunciation site. Notice how in these words the first syllable also slides smoothly towards the second syllable. That's how we should play such a cadential pattern. This is also why using the tonguing pattern "TU-RU" is extremely helpful and, ultimately, natural. Compare by playing it with two equal tongue strokes and you'll notice the difference. Compare also if you would try to "soften" the 8th note but still playing with two equal tongue strokes, you may even find your tongue nevertheless naturally wanting to retract to create an alternation in the tonguing. 

And one last thing but crucial in this formula, be sure to diminuendo, lighten up the breath as you play the "TU-RU" into the cadence. Notice in the French words mentioned above, they all sound somewhat open-ended. We don't have a definitive "stop" to the sound. Many French words act this way, even if there are letters at the end. (think of the composer's name "Blavet", "croissant", "toujours"...). The diminuendo we do is in response to creating and imitating that subtlety.

Try this out and let me know what you find!