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Thread: Rochut 4 Help

  1. #1

    Rochut 4 Help

    Hey ya'll!
    So I have a video audition coming up and was wondering what advice you guy have to record Rochut 4 (or any piece in general). Also, do you guys have any tips on playing Rochut 4 in general? Any advice is appreciated.
    Kennesaw State - Music Performance

    Yamaha YSL-200AD/Marcinkiewicz Jiggs Whigham
    Wilson 2900/Wick SM3MU
    MW 2250/ Icon 18 (School Horn)
    MW 5450/PT 50 (School horn)

  2. #2
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    Baridude: So, No. 4, this must be out of Book I in the Melodious Etudes series. Let me offer up a little guidance.

    The tune calls for Andante cantabile, quarter note at 69. Andante cantabile is "flowing and songlike", so in this particular etude, you would want a very musical, singing quality to it. Phrasing is important. Breathe in the obvious spots where there are rests. In other spots with longer lines, there are usually good spots to breathe (in between slurred passages). Mark those in the music where you need to breathe, and breathe in the same place every time. Use plenty of dynamics, this is my own advice. The piece has a starting dynamic of "p" and pretty much stays there the entire piece with a few crescendos and decrescendos scattered about. Look at each individual phrase. Generally speaking, I would tend to increase the dynamic when moving up and lower it when moving down. If you stayed at "p" the entire piece, it would be a little boring. But don't ever get too loud in this piece. When you do get louder, make sure you come back down to generally stay in the "p" range. Take advantage of the rallentando a third of the way through. Play this very musically with lots of rubato.

    Make sure to play the several grace notes "ahead" of the beat so that the following 1st note of the triplet is played precisely on the beat. On the phrases that end with an eighth note, don't chop the eighth note off too early. Make sure it sounds. You have an eighth rest to get your next breath. You have a lot of eighth note triplets in this piece. And several dotted eighth note / sixteenth notes. Make sure you play those with the dotted eighth note getting 3/4 of the beat and the sixteenth note getting only 1/4. Sometimes people will play the dotted eighth note / sixteenth notes in a "triplet feel" (dotted eighth note getting 2/3 of the beat and the sixteenth note getting 1/3) which is wrong. Playing those correctly will distinguish you from others in some cases.

    Always use a metronome when practicing. Since this etude is not technically challenging, you can play it right at the recommended tempo of quarter note equals 69 right from the start. Some players, especially younger players, tend to not play longer notes to their full value when in a stressful situation like auditioning. Make sure you play all half notes their full value. Play every note the full value, unless you are in a rallentando, then you have liberty to play the notes longer. Count two full beats of rest in the measure about half way through the piece that has the two quarter note rests. Once you really have the piece down, play it without a metronome, and stop occasionally to check your tempo.

    Be aware of intonation. I see you play a Wilson 2900. Most euphoniums are sharp on the high E natural and F above the staff. Use a tuner as you play to check these notes and try to lip them into tune. Not too much to worry about if the note is an eighth note or shorter, but for longer notes, be aware of the intonation. The G in the staff is usually sharp and just valve 3 alone is a good choice for that note if it is a quarter note or longer. I almost always play the low C in the staff with my 4th valve.

    Make sure you get the syncopation right starting in the bar four measures from the end and the bar three measures from the end (the tied triplet figures). I would play that strict tempo and then go into the final rallentando.

    Use vibrato in the right places. Clearly on any half note. And on most quarter notes. Don't overdo it. Judicious use. Play with a good full, centered tone. This is a song, make it sound pretty and pleasing and something you would want to sing.

    If you have to make a recording of this to send off for your audition, do it on good gear and in a good place to play (like in a church). Don't record in a dead room. Make recordings of yourself as you practice so that you can go back and listen to how you are sounding. Be critical of yourself so that you can improve each recording session. Also, have a trusted music person(s) listen to you, both your recording best effort and live. Playing for someone knowledgeable can be eye-opening and really helpful.

    Best of all, have fun, enjoy the music, and good luck with your audition.
    Last edited by John Morgan; 04-24-2020 at 11:14 AM.
    John Morgan
    The U.S. Army Band (Pershing's Own) 1971-1976
    Adams E3 Custom Series Euphonium, 1956 B&H Imperial Euphonium,
    1973 F. E. Olds & Son Studio Model T-31 Baritone
    Adams TB1 Tenor Trombone, Yamaha YBL-822G Bass Trombone
    Year Round Except Summer:
    Kingdom of the Sun (KOS) Concert Band, Ocala, FL (Euphonium)
    KOS Brass Quintet (Trombone, Euphonium)
    Summer Only:
    Rapid City Municipal Band, Rapid City, SD (Euphonium)
    Rapid City New Horizons Band (Euphonium)

  3. #3
    Thank you so much! A lot of this is really eye-opening for me and serves as a really good guideline!
    Kennesaw State - Music Performance

    Yamaha YSL-200AD/Marcinkiewicz Jiggs Whigham
    Wilson 2900/Wick SM3MU
    MW 2250/ Icon 18 (School Horn)
    MW 5450/PT 50 (School horn)

  4. #4
    Don’t procrastinate with recording. Get used the differences between what you hear in your head and what the recorder captures. I like to get a couple of days in the room, just so there’s less pressure to have a perfect playing day. Don’t get in your head if it’s not what you’d like, there’s a ton of videos (and albums) of great players sounding less than ideal due to less than ideal recording equipment or production. Good judges can either tell or give the benefit of the doubt when a good sound is being obscured by technology.

    There’s a David Zerkel, a Toby Oft, and a pepeabe recording that are perfect to steal musical ideas from. There are some less than perfect videos that are just as valuable to learn all the little nuances that make a great musical product different from a passable one.

    When younger I would “wing” musicality as I go, but as I mature I realize that the more certain and deliberate I am of dynamics, phrase peaks, vibrato intensity, etc. the more clearly they come out of the bell. Practicing phrases with a loud drone is my usual option for tuning security. In addition to singing and buzzing, I also transpose (in F#, down the octave, Tenor clef down an octave, whatever my brain can handle) to really cement intervals and to hear the music better.

    Good luck,
    Alex S

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