Klarinet Archive - Posting 000425.txt from 1996/07

From: Marylou G Verano <savorygrrl@-----.COM>
Subj: Re: Sight-reading
Date: Mon, 22 Jul 1996 22:52:05 -0400

Dearest FRIEND...

I feel your pain. I choked my State Honor Band auditions two years in a
row because I couldn't SIGHT READ!!!

These are the tips that my clarinet teacher, David Slagle, gave me. He
is a member of the Air Force Band in Blue, one of the best bands on the
West Coast. :)

1. Stay calm. ;)

2. Look at the time signature. If you can't do anything else, make sure
you can count right!!!

3. Check the key signature. How many sharps? How many flats?

4. What tempo is the piece in? Moderato? Furioso? Legato?

5. Check dynamics, strange rhythms, and accidentals. Also Left/Right
combinations.

Yeah, I know, pretty straightforward, eh? :)

What also helps is if you buy a book of orchestral excerpts, if you don't
have one already. If the stuff looks really difficult and obscure, more
power to you. :) Just read through one of those books... you don't have
to straight sight-read through it for an audition, but just look at it.
"Familiarize" yourself with whatever could be strange... use your
imagination.

It also helps, if you find a note with five notes in it or more (darn it
I wish I had the technology to show you this!!)

(okay, wowee I can make an example!!)

____8____
| | | | | | | |
* * * * * * * *
...imagine a word with eight syllables. It helps if you have a good
vocabulary...

How about "antitranscendentalism", for example?

(smiling)

It may sound a little bit ridiculous at first. But music is a language,
and every phrase is a sentence. For a 5-note combination similar to the
above, imagine the word "geophysical" or "serendipity". If you've ever
played the Brahms Sonata in F minor, you feel my pain. :)

I would love to hear more from you, and trade advice!

Sincerely,

savorygrrl@-----.com