 The Doublers BBoard
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Author: saxysam89
Date: 2007-01-12 21:32
Hello Everyone,
I just have a few questions.
1. How long did it take you to get fluent on all of your instruments?
2. Would you consider yourself fluent on all of your instruments?
3. When did you start picking up more than on instrument?
4. What were the pit auditions like?
Just in case your wondering, I'm a high school senior (first chair alto sax) and I play soprano, alto, tenor, and bari sax, flute, piccolo, Bb clarinet, bassoon, oboe, and piano. I'd say that I'm fluent with all the saxes the clarinet, and the flute. I also play brass instruments but they do not intrigue me like the woodwinds! So I won't put those on.
My dream is to be a woodwind specialist and play in a broadway musical!
Thanks for the help,
-Samuel
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Author: ClariTone
Date: 2007-01-14 13:42
1. If by fluent you mean being able to play the entire range with a good characteristic tone and good intonation, then yes.
2. I would consider myself fluent on only clarinet and oboe. The other instruments I am still working on basic technique, and wouldn't even consider performing with them until I have a good handle on the instrument.
3. I started picking up more instruments in middle school when I added oboe. Then it progressed from there.
4. I haven't auditioned many times for pit orchestras so I don't know. In the past they have usually asked for me specifically or invited me to play. However the auditions I have taken have consisted of excerpts of the music we were to play in the pit. (note: These are not professional organizations. Only semi-pro/college in my geographical area)
Good luck!!! I have played in semi-pro pits since high school and really enjoyed them!!! If that is your dream stick with it!!! Consider investing some serious time into your double reeds...these are the hardest to learn and often times, the most time consuming. It is hard to hide a bad oboe sound (trust me, I've heard MANY!!!), and the double reeds often times have long, very exposed solos...If possible, find a good woodwind doubler in your area, and take lessons on as many instruments as you are able. This has really helped me along, and once I got some quality instruction, then I began making outstanding progress. Again best of luck!!!
Clayton
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Author: Gandalfe
Date: 2007-01-15 19:51
Okay, I'm not a pro but here is my experience:
1. How long did it take you to get fluent on all of your instruments?
I started on alto sax, took a thirty year break. Came back on alto and then picked up in order bari, tenor, soprano, sopranino, bass sax. I'm currently working on bass clarinet and clarinet. I noodle with a nice flute too.
2. Would you consider yourself fluent on all of your instruments?
No, I can do pretty fair on all the saxes. But clarinet will take at least two years of applied effort to even begin to master. My wife, the clarinetist picked up sax in one year and is now playing regularly with the jazz ensemble.
3. When did you start picking up more than on instrument?
Three years ago.
4. What were the pit auditions like?
Well I'm not an exceptional sight reader so I brought some charts with piano parts for the audition. There was one player in front of me who seemed to play better albeit a little timidly. He didn't have prepared music with him. After I played the prepared music, which btw the director seemed to enjoy, I was handed some music to sight read.
It wasn't too challenging but the audition included asking me to play a variation on a theme and they threw in a 'now play it with an old-school vibrato'. I didn't feel I had done especially well, but I was told on the spot that I got the gig! This was for the Second Story Rep theater in the Seattle area.
I'm a pretty confident guy, with over thirty years in leadership positions, so I'm not sure if it was my playing skills or the whole package that got the deal. And I really liked the players in the group, all of whom were better than me on their primary instrument but none of them played as many instruments as I was called upon to play. :o)
Jim and Suzy
Pacifica Big Band
Seattle, Washington
Post Edited (2007-01-16 21:44)
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Author: saxysam89
Date: 2007-01-17 20:08
Hey thanks for the reply's guys. I just really want to experience being in a pit orchestra in the shortest amount of time, but I know that I will have to practice for years! Until then, I can't wait
-Samuel
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Author: rcnelson
Date: 2007-01-19 14:05
I work full time (40 and often more) hours per week as a database developer/administrator for a large health system. I also own a house, have a wife and teenage son. Making the time to keep up on my doubling which I use in a variety of settings is difficult.
I play tenor, alto and flute in both my contemporary service praise band at church and an independent traveling band (see http://all2uband.org). The issue is staying strong on clarinet which I'm going to have work on for a production of MAME in March.
SO...what do I do? I keep the saxes and flute as strong as I can. For the 2 bands I don't need a lot of flute technique but I do need a high quality tone. So 30-40 minutes of tone work (Moyse, Galway warmups) plus sacles and an occasional etude is enough, 4-5 times a week. For the saxes, I practice the alto more (at least 3-4 times a week, long tones, scales, Viola Chord studies, some improv, Mule and Ferling studies) as it is my primary sax. The tenor is 1-2 times a week plus whatever rehearsal time I need it for.
February and March are going to be a challenge as I'm going to have to get some serious clarinet practice time in. The good news is that I find that it the clarinet does help the sax playing so I won't practice the saxes as much. The flute schedule will have stay close to the same as I'm on Reed II in MAME and need it there. And I'm trying to acquire a bass clarinet for the show too. Getting that into the practice loop might be interesting.
Hope this wasn't too long. Just some thoughts.
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Author: Jaysne
Date: 2007-02-14 03:11
1/2. Saxophone: I didn't become "fluent" until I began taking private lessons. That was my senior year in high school, and I had already been playing for eight years before that.
Clarinet: I was able to transfer much of my sax knowledge to clarinet, with the result being that I was playing a musical on clarinet after only playing it for one year. I'd consider that "fluent."
Flute: I fooled around on flute for about two years before taking lessons, and then again, my fluency arrived.
I play the oboe, bassoon, English horn, trumpet, and trombone in varying degrees of ability, but I don't consider myself fluent on them, mainly because I haven't put in enough practice time. I was practicing trumpet regularly for four years plus taking lessons, but since then I stopped for too long.
3. My first "second" instrument was clarinet and I picked it up when I was a freshman in high school. I started sax in fourth grade.
I have never auditioned for a pit. People hear me and offer me jobs. Or I get recommended by someone. I play well and I keep getting hired. That's the way it generally works in the pit; the gig is the audition. If you do well, you'll get re-hired. If you stink, you won't.
If you want to play in a Broadway musical, you'd better be sure your definition of fluency is what people are looking for. Have you privately studied each of your instruments with a specialist on that instrument? Have you learned some of the basic literature for each instrument, practicing it as if it were your main instrument?
These are the experiences you need to have if you want to become a professional pit player. You've got a ton of time to do it. Go for it!
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