cu clarinet ensemble audition placement 2016 ensemble placement auditions 2016 excerpts below are...
TRANSCRIPT
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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