 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: juan
Date: 2006-12-29 11:13
heyy my name is juan. Im currently in 7th grade and play clarinet. I tried out for all state and made it. But in a couple weeks is the chair placement auditions. Since most people in this boards are experianced players i was wondering what the judges usually look for in a player. Thanks
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Author: Katrina
Date: 2006-12-29 13:29
1. Excellent rhythm.
2. Excellent rhythm.
3. Excellent rhythm.
4. Correct notes
5. Tone quality, style, phrasing, dynamics, etc.
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Author: SVClarinet09
Date: 2006-12-29 13:50
I don't know about in Florida but here in North Carolina auditions aren't blind. So when you walk into the room: act calm, be polite to your judges, show them you have confidence, when they say thank you for your audition i usually reply back with thank you for your time. If you haven't already, look into the All State Sightreading books. They're a series of books for different instruments. I suggest you look at books 1,2,3. They help alot. Judges really want someone who can sightread and play music real well rather than someone who just knows how to play their scales fast.
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Author: Brenda Siewert
Date: 2006-12-29 14:25
Know your music really, really well. I don't know if you're required to have it memorized or not, that may be something they've done away with in recent years, but I would recommend any piece you're rehearsing should be memorized. This helps if you were to get nervous and get confused. If you're allowed to have the music on your stand you would only have to look at it if you are unsure of a passage. If you are good enough at memorization (a skill acquired by doing it over and over) you will have a good performance. Memory is like an athlete's muscles; the more you work with it the stronger it gets. (Until you get really old like me).
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2006-12-29 14:53
Juan -
Katrina is absolutely right. The fault on which almost every auditioner gets downgraded is inaccurate rhythm.
This happens most on the easy parts -- long notes, rests and simple scale passages. When you see a whole note or half note, you need to concentrate more, not less. If you ease off on your counting, you'll got off the note too early 99 times out of 100. Rests are even harder to keep accurate. So are scale passages, because you know them so well and tend to speed up.
Anybody can be a virtuoso on the fast notes. Make yourself a virtuoso on the long notes and rests and you'll do great.
Get to know your major and minor scales and arpeggios perfectly, at least up through 4 sharps and 4 flats. Practice them really slowly -- one note per beat with the metronome set at 40 -- so that you get them into your muscle memory. You can be certain that the judges will ask for scales, and they're just as important as the solos.
At the audition, play a little slower than your best speed. This gives you some leeway, and slow-but-accurate gets a better score than fast-but-sloppy. If the judges want it faster, especially on a sight-reading passage, they'll ask you to play it again at a faster tempo. At that point, you'll have an advantage because you've just played it and know where the tricky spots are.
Finally, all-state concerts are put together fast, on a couple of days of rehearsals. What the conductor wants is for the players to listen hard and follow instructions, even if they seem dumb. Therefore, there will probably be a test of this on the audition.
If you're told to start on a single, meaningless note a bar before a solo, the judges are not testing whether you can play that note, but how well you follow instructions. You lose big if you don't play that note, or if you miscount the rests after it. Anthony Gigliotti said that they use this test even in auditions for the Philadelphia Orchestra.
At the audition, listen hard and play with a metronome in your head.
Not very many 7th grade players make it into all-state, so you obviously have talent. Good luck, and let us know how you do.
Ken Shaw
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Author: juan
Date: 2006-12-29 22:10
I especially need help sight reading. Svclarinet09m mentioned them but i don't know if they're still around and what the books are called. Anybody have any suggestion for sightreading book with worthy atudes
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Author: ChrisArcand
Date: 2006-12-29 22:15
Er. I'm sorry if this is a stupid post, I feel like perhaps this is obvious. But you can audition for All-State for such an early age?
Here in Minnesota, you audition as a 10th grader for participation while you are in 11th, and an 11th grader for participation as you are a senior. Is the the same for other states as well, or are we different?
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Author: SVClarinet09
Date: 2006-12-29 22:24
In other states they split up auditions. In NC theres three All State Honors Bands. Middle School, 9/10, and 11/12. Some counties only go with 2 bands (MS and HS) Some do the 3 way split.
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Author: SVClarinet09
Date: 2006-12-29 22:26
Juan as for the sightreading books, here is the link to the website. The books are actually titled "All State Sightreading"The website has a phone number so you can call and see. I'm not sure if it's changed or what but you can research it. I have the books on loan from our school music archive where my director purchased the books a few years ago. I'm gonna order mine later if I can, if not keep the books as long as I can ;]
http://home.att.net/%7El.mclure/lgm3.html
Post Edited (2006-12-29 22:28)
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