King: Barnum and Bailey's Favorite March 

Neal Corwell
Runs always lead to destination pitch -- so it sounds like you're having fun & making music!! (as opposed to getting through it -- just getting the notes)

This is such a fun excerpt to play! Be sure your "audience" (auditioners) can sense how much you enjoy playing it. It should sound easy. Because this is a circus march, it has to fly! Always push yourself in rehearsal to find the absolute fastest tempo at which you can handle this piece, and then maybe bring the tempo down a notch or two from this limit for the audition (or maybe not!!).

Some small little touches will add to the effectiveness of your performance. For one thing, all the eighth-note passages should "lead" to the final destination note. For example, bar 2 of the first strain should crescendo to the A-flat in bar 3. similar patterns are seen all throughout the march. One spot to watch is the start of the Trio. Play the pickup to the trio's first strain (the A-flat) very strongly and then drop to a soft (vibrant) whisper for the D whole note at the start of the first strain. Another nice touch is to play a high D-flat as the final note of the march (only if you have a good high D-flat!).

David Werden
Start at a very fast tempo & DON'T LET ANY PASSAGE SLOW DOWN!!!!