Tips for All-State auditions


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Posted by Sean Chisham on November 19, 2000 at 12:33:22:

Well, I helped to judge Maryland All-State Band tuba auditions yesterday and thought I would post some comments here while they are still fresh in my mind. I had never done anything like that before and although the overall abilities were less than that of the professional ranks, there are some parallels which can be drawn.

We had about 27 or so auditionees in 10th, 11th, and 12th grades. I am not sure how many will be used in the band, but I believe it is something like 5 or so. We were to judge a major scale, a chromatic scale, a prepared etude, and 1 sight reading. The scales got upto 5 points each and the catagories of "Tone Quality", "Tempo and Rhythm", "Articulation and Technique", "Musical Interpretation", and "Intonation" got upto 15 points each. Sight reading was worth upto 15 points. Highest score possible was a 100.

We would have them enter the room and ask them to play a few notes if they wished, then begin with either their scales or their prepared piece. All but about 2 chose to play the scales first. The order didn't really matter to us. After that they were given 60 seconds to review an original etude supplied by the Maryland All-State Band people to us to use for sight reading.

Ok, first the scales. Most everyone was able to play the scales, but all but the top finishers sounded a bit shaky on them. The people who were able to play them in the most relaxed fashion, with the best sound started out their auditions on our good side. The first notes we hear, including the "warm up" in the audition room, set the stage for the rest of the audition. Some people would play a couple of notes to get ready and immediatelly we knew we had a winner. Others would play and we knew we would be in for something interesting to say the least. Those first few notes matter. First impressions matter.

Now onto the prepared piece. It was a 1 page etude with basically three different styles present. The first part was a simple tune. The second was a more legato/slurred romantic section. The last was a staccato triplet tune like a horn call or spirited dance or something. However you describe it, the three sections were very obviously intended to be played in radically different styles. There was also some ink on the etude such as dynamics, articulation indications, and so forth which were needed. The etude actually had a melody line which could easily be exploited, yet only a small handful of people seemed to really know how to do it. Most of them played at the ink and at the dynamics and at the articulations, but few seemed to understand why they were playing that way. Maybe singing the tune a few times to oneself in order to really get the tune would have helped. I don't know. What I was after was someone to come along and present the tune in a way which made it enjoyable to listen to.

When you practice your music for an audition, don't play the ink simply for sake of playing the ink. Figure out why the line is crecendoing at that spot or why their is a ritardando to a fermata. The music, unless intended to be a simple technical exercise, is generally given these indication to help relate a direction in the tune by the composer. Really understand why things are written the way they are. Ink costs money. Composers don't generally use it unless they are trying to say something. Listen.

The sight reading was not much of a melody. It was more of a technical exercise to see who could play the ink the best while reading accidentals, odd rhythms, and playing intervals within a chord structure. The piece wasn't really that difficult although when I read through it for the first time before the auditions began I did miss a carried over accidental towards the end. The sight reading scores could have been so much higher for those who could play the intervals and rhythms, if they would of at least tried to play the ink such as articulations and dynamics. Almost no one did this. It was very frustrating to listen to 20 or so people play the whole thing at mezzo nothing. A few people tried, but in general their contrasts were so slight, that one had to be staring at the piece and really listen hard and hope in order to tell that they were trying. Play the ink and you will wow them at sight reading.

There were some people who did some weird stuff. I shouldn't say specifics in case they are reading this, but to summarize. Keep your audition simple and let your product do the talking. The guy who won, had the best sound, play the tunes in a way which made sense to our ears, and did very little else. He didn't talk too much or try to show off. He just walked in the door, sat down, played a couple of notes, and proceeded to play the tunes with the confidence that told us that this guy knows what he is doing. To be honest, I wanted to ask him to play a bit more for my own enjoyment, but we weren't supposed to have them play anything extra.

The first and second chairs were pretty close, but the real tie breaker was the winner's sound and feeling of relaxed confidence that he gave off. The second chair girl was close, but things just didn't seem to come as easily to here and at times she sounded a bit more stiff than him.

sean



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