ClarinetEnsemblePlacementAuditions2016

ExcerptsbelowarerequiredforAugustauditions—notethattheauditionswilltakeplacetheweekendjustbeforeclassesbegin.SignupsheetsarepostedbytheensembleofficeinthebackSEcorneroftheCollegeofMusicafewdaysormorebeforetheauditions.

Preparealltheexcerptsforyouraudition.Therewillbenosight-readingorpreparedpieces.

Foryourinterest,Iamattachingadocumentthathassomeideasrelevanttoauditionpreparationyoumayfindhelpful.

NOTE:AllexcerptsarewrittenforBflatclarinet.

SchumannSymphonyNo.3Mvt.I

RobertSchumannSymphonyNo.3MvtIII

Rimsky-Korsakov:MvtIIIopeningfromScheherezade

Bizet:IntermezzofromCarmenSuiteNo.1

Bizet:ChansonduToreadorfromCarmenSuiteNo.2

ROSEEtudeNo.30from32Etudes

Some thoughts on Auditions/by Daniel Silver

Summer Faculty IAC Michigan, and University of Colorado --rev. June 2016

GeneralThoughts

Thewaypeopleplayinauditionsandperformancesisaresultofthewaytheyprepareandthewaytheypractice.

Bewareofputtingtoomuchemphasisonlittle“tips”abouthowtodowell.Peaceofmindfollowsmostlyfromlong-termdeliberatepractice.

(AndersEricssondescribesdeliberatepracticeas:Practicethathastasksappropriatetothechallengeundertaken,withopportunitiesforrepetition,errors,correction,andfeedback.Also,ittendstobeundertakenwithanincreasingdegreeofconcentrationandawareness.)

Performanceanxietyisnormalandcommon—nearlyallperformersexperienceittosomedegreeoranother,andmostlearntodealwithitwellaftertakingdozensofauditions.

Manypeakperformerssaythattheylearntoenjoybeingnervous,andareabletochannelthoseemotionsintotheiractivity,achievingbetterresultsovertime.

Peopledobetterinauditionswhentheypracticefundamentalswell—scalesandpatterns,articulations,drillsofnumerouskinds,dynamiccontrol,intonationdrillsandsoon.Theyplaywithwarmandbeautifulsounds,andtheyplaywellintune.Theyplaywithnofearandnodesiretoplease.Theyplayvividlyandwithalargedynamicrange.Theytakecareoftheirinstruments,theirreeds,andthemselves.Their“technique”iscomprehensive;theytendtohaveasolidbaseofinstrumentalskillsoverall--asaresultoflong-termeffort--andtheabilitytopractice“deliberately”whenpreparingspecificpassages.

Whatdoes“technique”meaninthiscontext?Iwouldsuggestthattechniqueistheabilitytocontrolyourinstrument.Manyplayerstendtothinkoftechniqueasthe

abilitytoplayfastorarticulatequickly.Thosequalitiesaresurelyneeded,butthatisoneverysmallaspectoftechnique!Everythingyoudoinplayingwellispartofyourtechnique,sorememberfundamentalskills.Aplayerwhodoesnotplayintune,sustainsteadily,haveaseamlesslegato,andcannotbeginnotecleanly,doesnothave--tomymind--goodtechnique,eveniftheycanplayfast.

Presentyourselftothelisteners.Remember,evenifyouareplayingshortexcerptsandsight-reading,itisstillaperformance,inwhichyougiveagifttoyouraudience.

Peoplewhodowellinauditionstendtobeprocessoriented,especiallyinthelongterm.Theyaremoreconcernedwiththeiroverallgrowthandimprovementthenwithanimmediateresult.Althoughshort-termgoalsmaybeimportant(andevencritical)totheirsuccess,theyrarelyfocusonexternalissuesorshort-termresultsasprimaryfactors.

SpecificThoughts

Studythescoresofyourexcerpts—learntheentireworkfromwhichtheseexcerptscome.Learnaboutthestyleofeachcomposerwhosemusicyouplay.Iftimeisshort,atleastknowthelargeensemblecontextthatsurroundsanyexcerptyouarestudying.Trytoheartheorchestraortheaccompanimentinyourearswhenyouplay,andletthatbepartofwhatteachesyoutoplayameaningfulinterpretation.

Listentomorethanonerecordingofanyexcerptsyoustudy.Emulatethebestqualitiesfromeach,addtothat,andthenmakeityourown.

Poorrhythmisthemostcommonerrorinauditions.Thevastmajorityofyouwillrush(anormaltendencyforallofus),andespeciallyyouwilldosoonlongnotesandinrests!Doagreatdealofpracticewithametronome,butnotallofyourpractice.

Dressappropriatelywhenplayinginpublic.Knowhowtosaythenamesofthecomposerwhosemusicyouareplaying,andthetitleoftheworks.Besensitivetotheperformancecontext.Itmaybeinformalorformal,orin-between.Talkingmaybeappropriateornot—learntojudgeeachsituation.Ifyouareplayingwithothers,besuretounderstandhowyoupresentyourselvesasagroup.

Bevividandclearwithyourportrayalofthemusic.Playwithalargedynamicrange.Worktomakelegatosingingslurredphrasesmorelegato,moreslurredandmoresinging,andworktomakephrasesthathavemorevariedarticulationclearand,well…havemorevariety!Whenplayersaresolidlypreparedandplayingwhatisonthepagewithclarity,thethingthatismostoftenmissingfromtheirauditionsisasenseofimaginationandcreativity.Lookforopportunitiestoreallybeexpressiveandevenindividualwhenthecontextallows.

Listentoyourintonation.Practicewithatunerthatemitsapedalpointpitch,andworktotuneandlistentointervals.

Memorizeagoodtempoandplaywithanextrastrongsenseofinternalpulse.

Recordyourselffromtimetotime.Critiqueallaspectsofyourplayinghonestlyandre-record.

Deep,warm,energeticandopenbreathing(asifwithyourentiretorso)alwayshelps.Manyperformers“forgettobreathe”underpressure.Rememberthatyourbreathhassomethingtodowiththemusic.

Inanidealsituation,wearrivethemomenttoplayafterthedeliberatepracticehasbeendone,andtheessentialconceptofthemusicisdeepwithinus.Thisallowsustofocusontheessenceofthemusic,tomakemusic.Sincesituationsarerarelyidealthisisallthemorereasontolearnfromeveryexperienceandbeawareoflong-termprocesses.Lessdistractedmindsaremorefocusedmusicalminds.Lendimportancetowhatyouimaginejustbeforeyoubegintoplay.Meaningfulmusicisframedbysilence--itstartsfromsilence.

Therearemanythingsyoucannotcontrol.Dwellingonthosethingssapsenergy.Focusonthingsyoucancontrol.Yourattitudeshapestheprocess,andthereforetheresults.Takeprideinyourmusic,yourselves,andyourwork.Asenseofappreciationandinvolvementmakesapositivedifference.

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