 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Aussie Nick
Date: 2003-01-04 06:13
In a recent post, it was mentioned that:
"both sight reading and transposing at sight are on all auditions."
Could someone verify that? I've never done a professional audition, but I've done plenty at university and for youth orchestras etc. Most of them have consisted of orchestral excerpts only... no transposition. Are you expected to sight read and sight transpose in a professional audition?
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Author: dennis
Date: 2003-01-04 13:09
aussie.......although I'm unable to relocate it, I read (this week)somewhere on this site that the US Marine Band had openings in their 12 Field Bands. Specifically listed under reuirements was 1. prepared piece of your choice (concerto, sonata, etude) 2. Scales (major/minor) 3. SIGHTREADING.
Also, in my lessons with Russianoff and Opperman and Hadcock, sightreading and transposing at sight were weekly requirements.....for all students.
As an aside, Opperman used, among other sources, the Excerpts written in the key of C within the volumes of ORCHESTRAL EXCERPTS by McGinnis.
Depending on the length of the transposition, some players choose to write it out for the Bb, while others, like the late John Denman, would attend the Tucson SO rehearsals and transpose it at sight.
regards
d
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Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 2003-01-04 14:17
Nick -
If you're in (shudder) marching band, why not take the oboe or 2nd flute part and practice Bb to C transposition. It's all a matter of doing it enough to make it familiar, and, believe me, nobody hears the clarinets at all in marching band.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Aussie Nick
Date: 2003-01-04 14:36
I'm not saying I've never had to do transposition. I have done it in the past for exams, and am capable of it. Although, as soon as I see/hear the word 'transpose' I freak out I just was not aware that transposition was a common requirement for professional orchestral auditions. Ken, I've never been in a marching band... and hopefully never will be. But each to their own, I know that many people enjoy doing marching bands.
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Author: Bob
Date: 2003-01-04 15:56
"Back in the old days" we did concert band and marching band as part of the same group and noone gave it a second thought. Some of us even participated in major sports along with band. Guess things are different today.
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Author: William
Date: 2003-01-04 16:56
"nobody hears the clarinets at all in marching band."
If a marching band is a good one, the woodwinds should be a part of the total controlled sound and heard. Many summer-season competative high school marching bands make work long hours to balance the sound of the field ensemble--brass, percussion, and woodwind--and achieve almost symphonic tonal effect. And when that is accomplished, the general effect is quite remarkable. I am thinking of bands that have all-summer competative marching show schedules that perform intricate, well planned and executed "drum corps style" shows and not the typical "blow your brains out", new show every week, high school or college football varsity band. I agree, those bands are terrible when it comes to performance technique (and that includes most college marching bands), but there are great marching bands "out there" in which the woodwind sound--flutes, clarinets and even oboes--are an important part of their field presentation. The combined visual and auditory components of their shows (General Effect) can be truely awsome!!!
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Author: Peter
Date: 2003-01-04 18:09
William wrote:
"...but there are great marching bands "out there" in which the woodwind sound--flutes, clarinets and even oboes--are an important part of their field presentation."
I am a supporter of the "good" marching band idea, where they learn music as well as the other stuff they can learn in marching band, however:
Although I have seen marching bands do this, however rarely, I shudder when I think of anyone marching an oboe or a bassoon. Really, any double-reed instrument, and some states and/or marching band associations or controlling bodies clearly forbid it.
Anyone who has seen what can happen to someone's gums, tongue, or other mouth parts when they trip, stumble or fall with those relatively sharp, unprotected double reed ends in their mouth can testify to that.
Ouch!
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Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 2003-01-04 19:22
Nick -
Of course you don't have to be in a marching band to transpose. Just sit in on the oboe or 2nd flute part. When I was in high school, there was a reading band that met on Saturday mornings, where I learned to play flute.
The point is to put yourself in a position where you *have* to transpose. It comes fairly quickly that way. If your bandmaster won't permit it, then find a flutist friend to play duets with, and you play the 2nd flute part, or get an "old favorites" vocal song book and play along with a pianist.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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Author: susannah
Date: 2003-01-04 21:26
i don't have the answer, (so its not really my place to point this out..) but nobody has actually answered the original question. I would also be interested to know whether transposition is a general requirement for proffesional auditions.
I've always assumed sightreading is, but this may be wrong.
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Author: Mark Pinner
Date: 2003-01-04 22:50
C transposition and short passages of A would be par for the course I would think. It is not always feasible to do a Bb/A change where it is written so short passages often have to be transposed either way so it makes sense to include the requirement. C transposition is just plain handy under a varety of circumstances. I play Eb parts on my Bb which I learned by dogged persistence. I find transposing Lazarus et. al. a useful practise technique and do it on saxophone as well Bb to Eb and vice versa and C on both Eb and Bb sax. Funnily enough one of the more difficult things for me is playing C parts on my C melody sax, they just don't feel right after playing the same things on tenor. I also play Bb treble clef euphonium parts on my bassoon (tenor clef with some key and accidental changes). It is really only a mental exercise but one worth practising.
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Author: Aussie Nick
Date: 2003-01-05 00:20
Thanks everyone for the replies, but I'm still wondering if there is a requirement in professional (orchestral) auditions for transposition... I'm not talking concert bands and marching bands.
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Author: HAT
Date: 2003-01-05 01:38
I would say that it is possible that a c sightreading part could show up on the finals of a professional audition. I would also say that it would be a very unlikely possibility.
Plenty of c clarinet parts will be required for auditions, but virtually always with advance notice.
David Hattner, NYC
www.northbranchrecords.com,
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Author: ken
Date: 2003-01-05 19:23
Nick,
Don't know about anywhere else, but in Australia the 'sightreading' component of professional auditions {orchestral excerpts} is made available three or four days before the audition. They're not testing your ability to read at sight so much as your capacity to bring a variety of music up to a high level of performance in a short time. C clarinet parts could be there, but as you have a few days to prepare you'd never actually be transposing at sight.
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