 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: kc261
Date: 2008-12-06 18:51
Some of you may remember my posts during the summer - basically asking about how to help my 6th grade daughter get started on clarinet on a very limited budget. Well, thanks in part to the advice I received here, she is doing great and will be auditioning for the middle school district band!
Unfortunately, I don't fully understand the requirements, and I hope you all can help me figure them out. Here is what we received:
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A) - Major scales: C, F, B flat, E flat, A flat (scales will be asked in concert pitch). All scales to be memorized. All scales to be played beginning with a quarter note tonic at MM = 100, followed by eighth notes with a half note on the final tonic. All scales to be played as many octaves as possible within the chromatic range. Students playing outside the chromatic range will be penalized if not played cleanly. All scales to be legato tongued up and down. Do not repeat the top note.
B) - Chromatic scale: slur ascending, tongue descending. Repeat the top note.
Chromatic range: E-C two octaves plus m6.
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She also has a prepared piece and sight reading.
Any hints or advice will be appreciated, but I have a few specific questions.
1) - What does the "plus m6" mean in the chromatic range? My guess is that it refers to the extra notes after the 2 octaves. In other words, low E to E at the bottom of the staff is one octave, to E just below the top of the staff for a second octave, and up to C two ledger lines above the staff is the "plus m6". Is this correct?
2) - If I am correct about the meaning of the chromatic range that is specified, then she needs to play the C, F, B flat, and A flat scales in 2 octaves, but the E flat scale in only one octave?
3) - For the chromatic scale, it does not specify a tempo. Should she play it at the same tempo as the major scales? Or is this an opportunity to show off a little and play it as fast as she can play it cleanly?
4) - It also says nothing about the range of the chromatic scale? We are assuming she should do the entire chromatic range that is specified? Two octaves plus the extra notes up to C?
5) - It lists C, F, B flat, E flat, A flat scales, then says they will ask for the scales in concert pitch. I believe that means she should learn the specified scales on clarinet (ie - 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 flats), but in the audition they will ask for B flat, E flat, A flat, D flat, and G flat, since those are the concert pitches? OR does it mean she should learn the scales specified in the concert pitches, which would be D, G, C, F, and B flat (0, 1, and 2 sharps, and 1 and 2 flats) on clarinet?
I'm sorry if the wording of some of these questions is awkward, but I suspect if I understood enough to ask the questions in a more proper manner, then I wouldn't need to be asking them in the first place! 
Thanks for any help anyone can offer!
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Author: Katrina
Date: 2008-12-06 19:13
Answer to #1 and #4: Yes...low E up two octaves chromatically and then continue up the minor 6th to the "high" C and back down.
As far as the other scales, it is very vague. It could mean that the scales listed ARE the concert pitch scales! Is the audition requirement list only for clarinet or is it for all instruments? If you are correct about this scale listing, then, yes, the number of octaves mentioned is correct for those scales.
I'd check with your daughter's band director for further clarification!
And IMO the wording of the requirements itself is awkward, and you've done a fine job articulating its shortcomings!
:)
Katrina
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Author: kc261
Date: 2008-12-06 19:31
Thanks for your help!
The requirement list is for all instruments. The only part that is specific to the clarinet is the chromatic range. Flute is E flat - G two octaves plus m3 for example. Does this make it more likely one way or the other as far as which set of scales they are looking for?
I definitely will be asking the band director for clarification, but unfortunately he is not very prompt in his replies.
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Author: Sambo 933
Date: 2008-12-06 21:50
this sounds something like the audition requirements in GA.
If their in concert pitch, which i suspect they are since this is for all instruments, the scales would actually be the D with 2 sharps, the G with 1 sharp, the C with 0 sharps, the F with 1 flat, and the B flat with 2 flats.
I would think that they would all be 2 octaves except the 1st one(the concert C, or D scale)
But I cannot be sure if this is what they mean....
If at all possible I would try to find a low cost tutor....and at a good method book.
Best of luck,
Sambo
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Author: kdk
Date: 2008-12-06 22:17
FWIW, student auditions in which I've been involved over 30+ years of teaching have nearly always required clarinetists to play 9 major scales - C major plus the ones up to 4 sharps and 4 flats. That the list you have only lists C Major and the 4 scales with flats (F, Bb, Eb and Ab) suggests to me that the clarinets are going to be asked for D, G, C, F and Bb - the versions of the original list transposed for a Bb clarinet. The logic of asking clarinetists (and trumpet, alto sax and French horn players) to play their written Eb and Ab scales and not any of the ones with sharps would be questionable, because *most* music for middle school bands is written in keys (concert pitch) with signatures ranging between 4 flats - Ab concert/Bb for clarinets and trumpets, F for alto sax and Eb (3 flats) for French horns - and 1 sharp - G concert/A for clarinets and trumpets, E for alto saxes and D for horns.
All of that said, this is definitely a question to ask the band director. Music teachers aren't always logical. :-)
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Author: pewd
Date: 2008-12-07 04:50
ask the band director or your student's private teacher.
the band director will almost certainly provide printed scale sheets for each insturment.
- Paul Dods
Dallas, Texas
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Author: Katrina
Date: 2008-12-07 12:17
Knowing now that the scales mentioned are for all instruments, I would add that they are most likely LISTED in concert pitch, and that your daughter should play them as D, G, C, F, and B flat for Clarinet pitch.
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Author: kc261
Date: 2008-12-10 16:51
I just wanted to say thanks again for all the help. I heard back from my daughter's band instructor and he said that the scales are listed in concert pitch (C, F, B flat, E flat, A flat), which on clarinet would be D, G, C, F, and B flat.
Now I just have to hope that she'll do well at the audition and get selected!
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2008-12-10 20:53
Tell your daughter to play at the audition a little bit slower than her best speed. Slow and even is always better than fast and sloppy. If the auditioner wants her to play faster, he/she will ask for it, in which case your daughter will already have had a chance to practice it the first time through.
The thing that most people fall down on is rhythm. It's very important to count like crazy, especially in the rests, where you don't have any body movement to help you stay even.
You learn to play scales accurately and with even rhythm by practicing them very, very slowly -- at the beginning, one note per beat at the slowest speed your metronome will go. When you do this, you're "engraving" the sequence of finger movements into your "muscle memory" so that your fingers "know" how to play the scale by themselves. This happens just as efficiently with slow practice as with fast.
Good luck to her.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Claire Annette
Date: 2008-12-11 15:39
May I also add:
Your daughter shouldn't let herself get distracted by hearing the other clarinetists at the audition site warmup or talk. She should focus on HER audition, reflect on what she's practiced, and if possible, find a corner (or bathroom) where she can warmup away from the crowd.
I think you know what I mean. If a kid comes out of an audition unhappy or elated, it could send the wrong message to the other kids: "Oh, this is going to be torture!" or "Piece of cake, then!" When you're hanging out with a group of musicians playing the same instrument and same piece, it would be hard not to compare yourself to the rest. Your daughter needs to feel confident in her own capabilities!
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Author: clariniano
Date: 2008-12-14 07:06
Not to mention play with a great sound, believe me, a clarinetist with a beautiful sound does get noticed, as relatively few clarinetists I find seem to have one, most are average to mediocre.
Meri
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