Results 1 to 6 of 6

Thread: Auditioning for my district band

  1. #1

    Auditioning for my district band

    I am a junior in high school (11th grade), and I am primarily a euphonium player, a secondary trombone player. I should also mention I started off with trumpet for my first 3 or 4 years of music. I play on a YEP-642 which I recently cleaned and polished, using a 4AL as my mouthpiece. This is my second time auditioning for my district band. Last year the audition piece was Morceau Symphonique, and I auditioned well enough to make it, however I didn't do as well as I wished.

    This year's audition is coming up next week, and the audition process is something like this:

    4 Scales- Any 12 major scales, tongued and or slurred. Also a concert F-F two octave chromatic scale.
    Sightreading
    Piece- This year's piece being concertino op.4 for trombone. Without accompaniment. They will chose excerpts from the piece at random for me to play.

    I have been practicing my piece since June, and I feel pretty prepared. My question being; with everyone playing the same audition piece, what are some specifics that separate me from the others? Do any of you more experienced players have tips for auditions or this piece in specific? This is a blind audition.

  2. #2
    It's hard to be specific, but in general you have to figure out how to set yourself apart from the others (hopefully above them!). And the best approach, rather than looking for a trick of some kind to impress folks, is to 1) play the technique really cleanly, and 2) to actually observe the music's performance markings. My comments assume you have already worked out the notes, etc.

    For any technical passage, each day you should play it at half speed a couple times. As you do, strive to make it absolutely clean and even. Pay attention to how your fingers feel as they do this. If you feel awkwardness over a few notes, those will probably sound bad at a faster tempo and may need extra attention. But even if you don't uncover weaknesses, the slow-speed stuff will help you sound more professional when you play at normal speed. Once you have done the passages at half speed, then just jump right back to normal speed. (This is a very time-efficient practice technique that I learned from a famous New York clarinet teacher about 30 years ago and I have used it ever since.)

    I assume your sheet music has dynamics, tempo, and articulation marks, and possible some "feel" marks like espressivo. Do them! And make them work to make the piece as musical as possible. It should be a reflection of your "musical soul" to tell the judges what's inside you. Before you practice, try a measure of each different dynamic in the piece and see if they are correct relative to each other. Is your p really noticeably softer than your mf, and is your f or ff much louder than your mf? Once you are satisfied that the various are correct, make sure you keep a sense of that while playing. Is there a difference between notes marked with a dot over them vs. a non-marked note vs. a note with a legato over it? Do the accented notes stand out a bit? And so on.

    Mostly learn to enjoy the music within the piece! THAT will make you play better and will help sustain you when you are nervous.

    Here is a little more extensive discussion:

    http://www.dwerden.com/forum/entry.p...-Advice-Part-2
    Dave Werden (ASCAP)
    Euphonium Soloist, U.S. Coast Guard Band, retired
    Adams Artist (Adams E3)
    Alliance Mouthpiece (DC3)
    YouTube: dwerden
    Facebook: davewerden
    Twitter: davewerden
    Instagram: davewerdeneuphonium

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Oklahoma City
    Posts
    263
    I'm in a similar situation with region coming up, and I have kinda an elaboration question.
    If everyone played everything 100% accurate, but each held a specific quality, good dynamics, good style, or good tone, which would you rank the highest I as a judge?

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by Msan1313 View Post
    I'm in a similar situation with region coming up, and I have kinda an elaboration question.
    If everyone played everything 100% accurate, but each held a specific quality, good dynamics, good style, or good tone, which would you rank the highest I as a judge?
    Let me chat with each judge for a half hour or so and I might have an answer!

    I often talk to students about this. The winning student in audition #1 might come in third place in audition #2, depending on the judges. So just play your best; show them what YOU can do and what YOU are about. We should play for the purpose of making wonderful music, not to please a particular panel of 2 or 3 judges. The former is what music is all about; the latter is largely impossible to prepare for anyway.
    Dave Werden (ASCAP)
    Euphonium Soloist, U.S. Coast Guard Band, retired
    Adams Artist (Adams E3)
    Alliance Mouthpiece (DC3)
    YouTube: dwerden
    Facebook: davewerden
    Twitter: davewerden
    Instagram: davewerdeneuphonium

  5. Quote Originally Posted by davewerden View Post
    We should play for the purpose of making wonderful music, not to please a particular panel of 2 or 3 judges. The former is what music is all about; the latter is largely impossible to prepare for anyway.
    Some profound advice whether for music or life in general. A well stated pearl to always keep in the back of our minds!
    Bob Tampa FL USA
    Euph -- 1984 B&H Round Stamp Sovereign 967 / 1978 Besson NS 767 / Early 90s Sterling MP: 4AL and GW Carbonaria
    Tuba -- 2014 Wisemann 900 CC / 2013 Mack 410 MP: Blokepiece Symphony American Shank and 33.2 #2 Rim

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by davewerden View Post
    It's hard to be specific, but in general you have to figure out how to set yourself apart from the others (hopefully above them!). And the best approach, rather than looking for a trick of some kind to impress folks, is to 1) play the technique really cleanly, and 2) to actually observe the music's performance markings. My comments assume you have already worked out the notes, etc.

    For any technical passage, each day you should play it at half speed a couple times. As you do, strive to make it absolutely clean and even. Pay attention to how your fingers feel as they do this. If you feel awkwardness over a few notes, those will probably sound bad at a faster tempo and may need extra attention. But even if you don't uncover weaknesses, the slow-speed stuff will help you sound more professional when you play at normal speed. Once you have done the passages at half speed, then just jump right back to normal speed. (This is a very time-efficient practice technique that I learned from a famous New York clarinet teacher about 30 years ago and I have used it ever since.)

    I assume your sheet music has dynamics, tempo, and articulation marks, and possible some "feel" marks like espressivo. Do them! And make them work to make the piece as musical as possible. It should be a reflection of your "musical soul" to tell the judges what's inside you. Before you practice, try a measure of each different dynamic in the piece and see if they are correct relative to each other. Is your p really noticeably softer than your mf, and is your f or ff much louder than your mf? Once you are satisfied that the various are correct, make sure you keep a sense of that while playing. Is there a difference between notes marked with a dot over them vs. a non-marked note vs. a note with a legato over it? Do the accented notes stand out a bit? And so on.

    Mostly learn to enjoy the music within the piece! THAT will make you play better and will help sustain you when you are nervous.

    Here is a little more extensive discussion:

    http://www.dwerden.com/forum/entry.p...-Advice-Part-2
    The half speed thing is not something I usually do. I will try that out. Thanks for the advice, I usually dont post but I get a lot of helpful advice on this forum! And Dave, your morceau symphonique recording (on youtube) is beautiful. I listen to it every time before I practice the piece. If only there was a Dave Werden concertino op.4 recording I've been listening to a lot of your recordings, and my tone has improved significantly.
    Last edited by wrachko; 11-16-2014 at 10:11 AM.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •