 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Bigno16
Date: 2005-01-30 03:41
I had my All-State audition today and although overall it was pretty good, I screwed up something that definitely should not have been screwed up--I squeaked on my chromatic scale on the way up, causing me to miss about 3 or more notes (I can't remember) !!! Although it bothered me, I just kept going as if it didn't happen and played the rest fairly well.
I love how the most unexpected things can happen at an audition and the simplest thing can go wrong.
What's the worst thing you all have ended up doing?
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Author: LeWhite
Date: 2005-01-30 04:06
The worst thing I've even done at an audition was wear a top that was way too tight. I must have looked extremely stupid. But I was young.
__________________
Don't hate me because I play Leblanc! ![[down]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smiley23.gif) Buffet
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Author: donald
Date: 2005-01-30 04:08
forgetting to change to my A clarinet in the middle of an NZSO audition. the previous excerpt was for C clarinet, and then i was supposed to change to the A clarinet and forgot. The panel noticed......
donald
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Author: Dano
Date: 2005-01-30 04:36
Besides forgetting my clarinet once and not realizing this until I arrived at the audition (I was fortunate that the audition had been canceled while on my way there) it has to be the time I insisted on going to an audition while in the throws of a bad flu and ended up coughing like I had lung cancer and squeaking like I had picked up a clarinet for the first time ten minutes ago. I was 23 and thought I could talk my way into and out of any situation. The flu taught me a lesson.
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Author: Aussie Nick
Date: 2005-01-30 04:52
The most stupid thing I've done was probably in my most recent audition (and I've done a fair few - at least 6 or 7 in the past year). It was the annual reauditions for the youth orchestras here. It is a very casual atmosphere in the auditions, and the panel select bits and pieces they want to hear. Upon reaching the tongued semiquaver excerpt in Kodaly Galanta Dances, I stuffed it up as my tongue slowed down and got out of sync with my fingers. They asked me if I would try it again, and I said "err..ok, but tonguing is definately not a strong point for me." They laughed, but I still realised that was a stupid thing to say. After all that I still got the principal spot again.
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Author: Bigno16
Date: 2005-01-30 05:04
I also wanted to add a bit about my sight-reading piece. It was in the key of A, but had tons of accidentals everywhere (such as the favorite enharmonics like E# and A#). So as a result, I semi-forgot about the regular key signature for some notes, such as G#, and read the piece for a little as if it had no key signature and only accidentals! Oops...
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Author: Contra
Date: 2005-01-30 05:13
This happened in our symphonic auditions last November. I had just gotten my instrument back that day. Before we all started to wait in line to audition, I had been practising my prepared piece. I had it down to memory. So we were all in the hall. The auditions were taking a long time, so we all sat down. I laid the contra down across my lap with the keys facing up. So about ten minutes later, it was my turn. I clunked my way through the scales without any serious problems. Then we got to the prepared piece. For the first ten measures, I had no problem. Then the improbable happened. Suddenly the register key seemed to be ineffective. I stopped playing and tried to see what was wrong. Then the pad to the register vent opened with a loud pop and sent water drops everywhere. I'm still not exactly sure why it chose that piece in the music to stick, even though I had used it plenty of times in the scales.
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Author: Brandon
Date: 2005-01-30 05:25
When I auditioned for my grad school audition, as I walked in the room I closed the door on my left pointer finger. Needless, I squeeked alot. The professor said that I must have some water in my keys. I said no, I smashed my finger in the door! Luckily, I had known the guy for about 10 years and got accepted.
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Author: Aussiegirl
Date: 2005-01-30 07:03
I was auditioning for state-honours band 3 hours away from home on both clarinet and bari sax. My first audition was on the bari and coz i had awhile to wait, my dad drove off in the car, saying that hed be back later after they were over. After warming up the bari i went to get my clarinet out of the case and realised that the keys to the case were in the car, which dad had dirven off in! Not knowing his mobile number, i had to phone quite a few ppl before i got in touch with him!
AND
on th same day
when i got into my clarinet audtion they wanted me to play a top G, which i can normally get fairly easily but on that day it just wouldnt come out! I was so embarrassed!
And after all that, i got in on 1st clarinet!
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Author: Joshua R
Date: 2005-01-30 09:43
There was this difficult passage in The Cowboys where almost every note is sharp. I had been practicing it playing A# in a normal fingering. The night before, however, I decided it would be easier to move my fingers if I switched the fingering to my middle finger on my right hand instead of the sidekey. In the audition, I played the Bb with my left hand as I had been the whole time, but I put my right hand in the New position. Of course my brain just couldn't handle it and I never got that part right.
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Author: LeWhite
Date: 2005-01-30 12:11
Hey Aussiegirl, were you in the honours band last year (2004)? If so I might have seen you play at that teachers symposium. I was with MYO doing The Planets.
__________________
Don't hate me because I play Leblanc! Buffet
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Author: BassClarinetGirl
Date: 2005-01-30 12:16
Joshua R- I sympathise with you on the Cowboys. I played (or really, more like tried to play) that on Bb my freshman year and just about lost it (my mind, that is..).
The worst thing I have ever done was during sightreading at All-State on bass. The piece presented to me was EXTREMELY easy- but it swiched from no key signature to an F#. Well, I forgot the F# and played for a few phrases, when suddenly the judge started watching my fingers. That was when I looked an saw the F#- I started playing it (i had only missed one or two) and he looked at the music again. The only comment that he had at the end was that my tone quality was "extremely good". And I didn't make it in.
Another mistake when trying out for National FFA Band was to try to learn the school song on Bass in one sitting. Now, I can play the "Notre Dame Victory March" on the 1st clarinet part with no problem, but for some unknown reason I had a heck of a time getting it right on the bass part. I rushed it... alot, probably because the trumpets go 2x as fast as they are supposed to at actual pep band. "Cheer for the T-Birds tonight!"
Becca
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Author: VermontJM
Date: 2005-01-30 13:02
I was told 20 minutes before an audition that my mid A was sharp and to keep down the fingers on my right hand. (This was a really easy, lyrical slow section- just something to show off tone and phrasing) WELL. I said that I didn't think I would be able to relearn it in 20 minutes with the new fingering, but was told to try. And I did. And I messed it up completely- wrong notes, terrible tone, the whole works... On something that I should have been my BIG strong point! I am still mad at myself, but I learned a lesson- go with what you know!
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Author: Carol Dutcher
Date: 2005-01-30 19:08
I was standing up and talking to the lady who was going to hire our trio for four dances. My thigh-high stocking fell down around my ankle and sort of landed on the top of my shoe.
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Author: Iacuras
Date: 2005-01-30 20:58
For my CU honor band audition, I was playing on of Rose's 32 etudes, and about halfway through my reed broke. I didn't have an extra with me, so I had to fight with my instrument to get the rest of it out. Needless to say, I didn't make it.
Steve
"If a pretty poster and a cute saying are all it takes to motivate you, you probably have a very easy job. The kind robots will be doing soon."
"If you can't learn to do something well, learn to enjoy doing it poorly."
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Author: Katrina
Date: 2005-01-30 23:31
Steve,
Not to sound disbelieving, but I just cannot comprehend how a reed could "break" halfway through a Rose etude...
Exactly what happened? I'm just very very curious...
Katrina
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Author: Robert Moody
Date: 2005-01-31 00:19
Q: What's the worst thing you've ever done at an audition?
A: Blew chunks.
Okay, I did not vomit, but the sound of that happening would probably have matched what the group thought they were hearing. Most recently, this happened at the US Army Field Band audition. Now the principal player from that band is sitting third to me on our tour. [SGM Heffernan is an extremely nice guy if you ever get to meet him.]
Hopefully I won't "blow chunks" on Zigeunerweisen next Saturday. ![[right]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smilie8.gif) I'd hate to even consider sending in another audition CD to the band if I did.
Oh...8th grade. Solo and Ensemble auditions. Cavallini's Adagio and Tarantella . My teacher was my pianist as well and he somehow misplaced the accompaniment for most of the last page. It did not turn out pretty. Besides...a third year student should not really be playing the Cavallini. I always tell myself that when I remember back.
Robert Moody
http://www.musix4me.com
Free Clarinet Lessons and Digital Library!
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2005-01-31 01:30
Katrina, broke could mean 1 of 2 things
1. It collapsed and wouldn't vibrate well anymore (pinching from being nervous could do that to the reed)
2. he broke the reed with his tongue or tooth
Icarus - you have to get yourself out of that one my friend 
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Author: Katrina
Date: 2005-01-31 04:18
I figured that David...but I guess I'm just a stickler for semantic details!
It may just be me, but your option #1 I would describe as something like, "The reed went bad" or something...
The second...I was thinking that's what he meant, but most Rose etudes don't give you enough time to remove the mouthpiece from your mouth! I had NOT considered breaking a reed with the tooth, though...
Katrina
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Author: clarinetist04
Date: 2005-01-31 05:06
Oh, good memories. I was auditioning for our regional orchestra and was playing Beethoven 4 excerpt (the mad arpeggio triplets). Not an overly difficult part, but the tonguing is critical...one mis-step and you're done for.
Well, I was in the room playing and, like I had feared, messed up the tonguing. The judge gave me a snide look and asked if I wanted to play it again. I muttered an expletive to myself (more of mouthed it....what an a**hole was basically what I said) and looked up to him grinning.
I did not make it into that group. It is quite funny now that I think about it.
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Author: Aussiegirl
Date: 2005-01-31 06:03
LeWhite...i wasnt in the 2004 honours band because of study committments, but i heard from one of my friends that the planets was amazing...i love the jupiter movement *sighs*
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Author: Jamies
Date: 2005-01-31 14:27
We drove an 1 1/2 hrs in the wrong direction... (but it was the same street name!) Luckily, they let me audition the next day and I made it!
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Author: music_is_life
Date: 2005-02-14 20:47
plenty of stupid audition things for me! Last year i went up with a bad reed and was too dumb to bring an extra one to replace it with. my tone was so incredibly horrible I messed up technical things just because my tone threw me off so much. I didn't get in. needless to say i always bring extra reeds into the room with me!
I also ALWAYS mess up really stupid (and easy) technical pieces because if I mess one thing up, I mess it all up! especially sight reading. i get "accidental syndrome"- where you forget that there's a key signature. (and easy rhythms too)
and one more- I went to a college audition sick, and though my audition went well, i played a slow piece and could NOT breathe because of all the stuff in my lungs.
but despite my mistakes, I almost always make it into festivals or ensembles with a fairly good, if not excellent chair, so i must be doing something right
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Author: Fred
Date: 2005-02-14 23:41
Worst thing I ever did was to play so far above my "before or since" capability that I left people expecting that I could play that way all the time. It was just one of those days . . . Wish I could bottle 'em and sell 'em.
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Author: music_is_life
Date: 2005-02-15 16:14
ooh! I forgot one: wore a wool sweater and the room was sweltering hot. and I move when I play, so combined with the sweater and the temperature- it was probably 100 degrees. whoo. played great though.
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