Author: mrn
Date: 2008-07-25 21:38
What state are you located in, ajc? It seems that NY (GBK's state) and TX (where I live and once-upon-a-time made all-state) have different audition procedures for all-state.
Not having heard you play and not knowing what etudes you will be playing, it's hard to tell you what to work on, but here are some general tips:
1.) On fast etudes, if you can play the notes and rhythms, the biggest hurdle is probably articulation. You have to get your fingers and tongue synchronized. My favorite practice technique to work on this is to vary the rhythms (turn 16th notes into dotted 16th-32nd pairs and practice this way, then reverse the rhythm and do 32nd-dotted 16th pairs).
2.) Practice fast etudes slowly and work up your speed. When you play for the judges, play them as fast as you can play them musically and cleanly, but no faster. This takes some musical judgment to do. You have to know which etudes were written specifically with speed in mind (Rose Etude #26, for example). Other "allegro" etudes may not sound musical when played at lightning speed. Pay attention to the tempo recommendations given by the all-state people. Some judges may decide to dock you points if you don't play within the recommended tempi (especially on the slow etudes, where they can actually dock you points for playing too slowly). On the other hand if you can play Rose Etude #26 perfectly while breaking the speed limit, you may actually earn points. Again, you have to use good judgment, which is something a good teacher can provide you with--you might also want to consult with a teacher or band director who has judged all-state in your area before to get some idea what the judges will be listening for.
3.) Every serious contender for all-state is going to play the dynamic contrasts written. If you want to be selected, you have to go one step further than that and make music out of it. That means understanding the phrasing and general feel of the music. This is where a teacher's advice is irreplaceable. It also doesn't hurt to hear a good recording of what you're going to play. If you're playing one or more of Rose's 32 etudes, I suggest you invest in a professional recording of them, such as Sean Osborn's recording of them, which is available on iTunes as well as on CD.
4.) Become familiar with alternative fingerings for altissimo notes and learn how to "voice" notes for negotiating the "upper break." There are a number of etudes I've seen that have tricky slurs across the "upper break" between the clarion and altissimo registers. You should ideally learn how to execute these kind of slurs without and squeaks, grunts or other "crud" between the notes, because if you can do that, it will set you apart from a most high-school level players! This basically involves learning how to adjust your oral cavity and embouchure pressure to accomodate the break. There are also certain alternate fingerings that make this easier. Tom Ridenour's clarinet fingering book (published by Leblanc) describes a lot of these. A good teacher can help with this.
5.) Make sure your instrument is in very good condition and free of leaks. You may have a minor leak or other problem that, while not generally noticeable to you, may make the instrument more difficult to play if you have to unconsciously compensate for it.
6.) Learn how to balance/adjust reeds. When I was a senior in high school, I took a lesson with the principal clarinet of the Houston Symphony (David Peck). He makes his own reeds. He let me try one. I was absolutely astounded at how much easier the instrument was to play (in basically every respect) when using a well-adjusted reed. Learning to adjust your own reeds will pay big dividends because a good reed makes everything easier.
7.) Take lessons from a good teacher. (This is the most important thing.)
8.) See 6.
9. ) See 7.
Now, none of these things will "ensure" that you make all-state, but they ought to help. Of course, there is a more surefire way to make all-state, and that is to do all of the above but audition on alto clarinet (or possibly bass or contra-alto clarinet), where there is much less competition--I've known folks who did that, and it definitely worked for them. There is always more than one way to do things...
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