Klarinet Archive - Posting 000353.txt from 1998/08

From: Roger Garrett <rgarrett@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: [kl] re:Audition Scales
Date: Wed, 12 Aug 1998 08:35:14 -0400

On Tue, 11 Aug 1998, Neil Leupold wrote:

> Naturally, some panels will not ask the scales to
> be performed during the audition -- if only for considerations
> of time.

How do you know this? Which universities are you discussing? Which ones
do you feel are less "demanding" as a result?

> But
> it's still interesting to ponder a teacher and a school who
> do not require such a student to have his/her scales prepared
> for the audition, whether (s)he expects to play them or not.
> Which fine teachers and schools do you know of who decline
> the necessity of scale preparation for first-year applicants?

I didn't say that "fine teachers and schools....decline the necessity of
scale preparation for first-year applicants." That sentence implies that
a teacher does not see value in scales. I said that many do not require
scales as part of the audition process......that would be the formal
process for the committee. If a student arrives at an audition playing
Poulenc, Mozart, Weber, or even Debussy, their performance of these pieces
shows much more than scales will show. More schools are now beginning to
require sight reading....simply because anyone can prepare scales......but
the rhythmic ability is the key to continued success in
performance...without it, the technique won't help much. Many schools
provide that the teacher will give a lesson to a promising students - and
scales can be discussed in a more practical, non-threatening manner with
these students during the lesson. I know that this is often the case at
places like University of Illinois, Ohio State, Michigan State, University
of Oregon, University of Washington, Yale, USC.....the list is fairly
substantial......of course, audition requirements change from year to
year, so some of these schools may now require scales and other schools
not mentioned might not.

Klose is an excellent source of scales for an audition - that was my
initial posting - to disagree with your contention that they are not good
enough. I did not say that schools should not require them. This
secondary issue of if schools should or should not require
scales is interesting I guess, but it has nothing to do with your second
statemente....your contention that a teacher is less demanding and a school is
less demanding if it does not require scales as part of the audition.
There is simply no basis for fact in that contention, and the statement
defines a naive understanding of what level most students enter
universities and what level they exit universities. Unless you have some
kind of experience auditioning, teaching, and evaluating students through
a four year process and then have some kind of statistics to support your
arguments regarding "demanding" schools/teachers, your position can't be
defended except through your opinion.......and that is fine. Just trying
to clarify - are your statements meant to pass along proven, statistical
information? Or, are you just stating your own personal opinion?

Roger Garrett
IWU

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