 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: LeWhite
Date: 2004-12-19 07:02
Howdy again people
My excerpts are going well for my audition! I purchased the Larry Combs CD and it's brilliant. Just wondering though... As I listen, I really enjoy it, even though it's only one part of the entire orchestra! What I'm now wondering is, how can I achieve the same effect in my audition? How do I made a simple little orchestral excerpt sound plesing to listen to while maintaining the point of doing orchestral excerpts? i.e Correct, and then some...?
Big thanks in advance.
__________________
Don't hate me because I play Leblanc! ![[down]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smiley23.gif) Buffet
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: GBK
Date: 2004-12-19 07:17
The 5 most important factors in an orchestral audition - in order of importance:
1. Rhythm
2. Intonation
3. Dynamic range
4. Correct musical/stylistic approach
5. Sound quality
...GBK
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: LeWhite
Date: 2004-12-19 09:16
Sound quality is number 5?! Really? I would have thought that would be number 1, followed closely by rhythm.
__________________
Don't hate me because I play Leblanc! Buffet
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: clarnibass
Date: 2004-12-19 13:32
Not only rhythm number one in auditions, I would say rhythm is number one no matter what, where or when you play. By rhythm I don't just mean playing in time, I also mean playing every note with energy.
Of course all 5 things GBKliated are important, but I think rhythm is the only thing that has to be 100% all the time.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: sfalexi
Date: 2004-12-19 14:12
What good is sound quality if you play during a rest or are off with the rest of the orchestra?
US Army Japan Band
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: GBK
Date: 2004-12-19 15:06
LeWhite said:
> Sound quality is number 5?! Really? I would
> have thought that would be number 1,
> followed closely by rhythm.
In almost all cases, the majority of the audition panel are non-clarinetists who are not as attuned hearing the relatively small subtle differences of sound between different players as you and I are.
Granted, in the end, since you are fitting into an established musical ensemble, one has to have the "type of sound" they are looking for, but the other factors listed above are far more crucial...GBK
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2004-12-20 15:27
Important thing # 0, ahead of everything else, is to FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS. The first thing a conductor wants is to have everyone doing what s/he says.
If you're told to start in the middle of a phrase, or on an unimportant note two bars before a solo, you have to do that. Anthony Gigliotti said in a master class that if you start on the solo, you're immediately disqualified. Ed Palanker said the same thing in his audition articles in The Clarinet.
In a previous thread, Greg Smith said that the most important five things in an audition are rhythm, rhythm, rhythm, rhythm and rhythm. Ed Palanker wrote that inexact rhythm is the by far the most frequent cause of downgrading.
On rests, you have to count twice as hard. If you have a couple of bars rest before a solo, the temptation to think about the solo and just let the rests go by is almost irresistible. If you do this, you're 100% certain to jump in early. Doing just this thing right will put you ahead of lots of other people.
Good luck.
Ken Shaw
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Keil
Date: 2004-12-20 17:49
You have to understand that sound quality is a subjective matter where as rhythm and intonation are concrete in that you're either right or you're wrong, there's no room for opinion. As clarinetist we all have our own idea of what is good tone and what's not, you can imagine how the opinions on the panel will vary as well, considering as GBK put it, the majority of the people on the panel are non-clarinetist. If you play rhythmically accurate and count you're one step ahead of the rest, it's the final round where tone and all the "fluffy" stuff make a difference but you can't get to that round if you can't play in tune and with accurate rhythm.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: diz
Date: 2004-12-20 20:37
Funny, I've just finished reading Jilly Cooper's hilarious book entitled Appassionata ... anyone else willing to confess they've also read this? It has an hilarious scene where the whole Rutminster Orchestra has to reaudition as part of a take over with a new conductor ... Abigail Rosen ... so much of the stories in the book I can relate to from my orchestral days.
Without music, the world would be grey, very grey.
Post Edited (2004-12-20 20:45)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Brad
Date: 2004-12-22 18:18
"What I'm now wondering is, how can I achieve the same effect in my audition? How do I made a simple little orchestral excerpt sound plesing to listen to while maintaining the point of doing orchestral excerpts?"
One of the biggest problems I have encountered in playing excerpts is trying to think of playing them to sound good by themselves. I personally find myself doing things like adding a slight ritard at the end of a phrase, or maybe lengthing a note at the end of a phrase to make it sound complete. I am also very tempted to just blow by rests that I "think" no one would want me to count through.
This is the wrong approach. The panel is not only looking for how well you sound and count, but how well you know the literature you were asked to prepare, as you would play it with an orchestra. This means that you should play it exactly as you would play it with an orchestra. Observe every articulation no matter how funny it sounds at the end of the excerpt. Count all rests unless specifically told by the panel not to.
Advice in this thread on the inmportance of rythem and following instructions is solid.
Brad Cohen
Clarinetist
la_brad@yahoo.com
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
