So this Saturday is District orchestra auditions for me! For those of you who don't know what Districts is, in the plainest terms, it is a cattle call for just about every decent player who feels like working up the piece to come and audition to be in the orchestra. This group is extremely high caliber (although it depends on the district for difficulty), and the piece this year is Bach's Concerto No. 2 in e-major. It is not a walk-in-the-park easy piece. Here's a link if any of you want to check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SGdzbQAzoo.
My point in telling you this is to give you some pre-audition pointers:
1) RELAX.
I know that this is extremely hard in the week or so leading up to audition, but it is absolutely crucial to a good audition!!! If you do not relax about playing, your fingers can tense up as well as your bow arm, and then strange things happen that never happened before in practices.
2) Have a banana about an hour before your audition.
Bananas contain some nutrients that aid in focusing your mind and helping to keep you alert. I always have a banana before any audition.
3) Make sure you've practiced your piece!
This may come as a "no-duh" type of tip, but it is not always assumed. The more comfortable you are with playing your piece, the more comfortable you will be in your audition, and the less likely you are to make mistakes. Knowing the piece itself also gives you more confidence to help you blow the auditioners away!
4) Use safe fingerings and bowings
Unless instructed by the audition requirements, use bowings and fingerings that work for you and that you feel comfortable with. Fool-proof fingerings in positions that you know well tend to cause less mistakes during auditions - especially if you haven't practiced as much as you could have!
5) DO NOT change fingerings or bowings any time relatively close to the audition
Changes in fingerings or bowings that ultimately change the way you play the piece should be avoided AT ALL COSTS. In auditions, your mind reverts back to whatever you have practiced the most (especially if you're nervous), and if the change is new, it may not have stuck.
6) As much as you want to, don't run the piece
This one came as a shock to me once my private teacher told me not to, but it actually is very effective. About a week before audition, run the piece and have someone else listen to it. That person should tell you to stop whenever they hear something that needs work. Mark the spots in your music with a star or something you'll remember. That week, go through the spots you marked with a slow, methodical practice ethic, but DO NOT run it over and over. This drills into your mind any of these spots that have arisen, and may exacerbate bad habits that only get worse in the audition.
7) Give yourself confidence!
Auditions make everyone nervous, it doesn't matter how many you've done. It's very easy to panic once you're in the room and the door is shut with just you and the judges inside. Practice the piece for others as much as you can before hand so the experience isn't quite as scary. Think of it as practicing your piece in front of some people. They want you to do your best so they can get the most qualified people in their orchestra!
So, before your audition, breathe and relax, have a banana, feel prepared, use safe fingerings and bowings that haven't been changed in a while, don't run the piece the week before, and be confident! Play your best and just remember that not everyone makes every audition they try. You don't have any way of knowing who else will be there and how they play. They could be better or much worse than you are! You never know! And you definitely won't make it if you don't try out!
Good luck with your audition!
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Today I'd like to discuss VSOs, or violin-shaped-objects. Sadly, these things occupy the majority of school or lower-level beginner orchestras, and contribute nothing to the sound of the overall group. In fact, they detract from it significantly.
A VSO is anything that resembles a violin, but can have no sound comparing to any decent, respectable student model. Here's a link to a really great review on VSOs and she gives a really good definition as well. PLEASE READ IT IF YOU ARE CONSIDERING BUYING A VIOLIN!!!
http://www.violinist.com/blog/laurie/201011/11787/
The real issue with VSOs is described in the post, and I am ashamed to say that Fez is one of them. Yes, you may be thinking that a VSO is a great deal HOWEVER - Fez really does live up to VSO standards... The fingerboard is not made of ebony, and whenever I play him, my fingers come away slightly black from the paint. The sides have no visible wood grain at all, and the body itself is overly polished to the point where it looks slightly like a toy. However, I have no trouble tuning him, which seems to be one of the main issues in purchasing a VSO. In fact, after not playing him for about three months, he was still perfectly in tune!
Something not mentioned in the blog post link above is the importance of testing for a wolf tone. A wolf tone is a fuzziness or crunchiness that appears in the tone on certain notes - usually around the B, B flat, or sometimes C on the lower strings (G, D, and A). This crunchiness has nothing to do with the bow or bowing style - it simply exists when you play the note. If the wolf tone is really bad, it can make those notes unplayable on the instrument. Though I do not have a wolf tone on Fez, I do have one on Baby, which really complicates playing especially since most of my play is up in higher positions on lower strings. A private or school teacher should be able to identify whether or not your violin has this defect.
All in all, if you are considering purchasing a violin of lower quality, the main thing you MUST DO is test it before you buy it. You do not want to be stuck with one of these things in your house unless you plan to use it for firewood during an especially harsh winter, because you will not be able to sell it - no one wants them. Test how the instrument sounds when you (or your child) play it, and make sure you take it to your private teacher or school teacher for approval BEFORE you make the final purchase. They will be able to tell whether or not the thing you're planning on buying is a VSO or a good student model violin, and either the music store or the luthier you are dealing with should allow you to take it with you for a testing period. Be careful here though: you are liable if something happens to the instrument and testing periods vary. When I was looking for my Jimmy, my luthier that I usually go to only allowed me to take his instrument for one day. As a general rule, the smaller the store, the shorter the testing period - it decreases their opportunities to sell the instrument the less it is in their shop.
A VSO is anything that resembles a violin, but can have no sound comparing to any decent, respectable student model. Here's a link to a really great review on VSOs and she gives a really good definition as well. PLEASE READ IT IF YOU ARE CONSIDERING BUYING A VIOLIN!!!
http://www.violinist.com/blog/laurie/201011/11787/
The real issue with VSOs is described in the post, and I am ashamed to say that Fez is one of them. Yes, you may be thinking that a VSO is a great deal HOWEVER - Fez really does live up to VSO standards... The fingerboard is not made of ebony, and whenever I play him, my fingers come away slightly black from the paint. The sides have no visible wood grain at all, and the body itself is overly polished to the point where it looks slightly like a toy. However, I have no trouble tuning him, which seems to be one of the main issues in purchasing a VSO. In fact, after not playing him for about three months, he was still perfectly in tune!
Something not mentioned in the blog post link above is the importance of testing for a wolf tone. A wolf tone is a fuzziness or crunchiness that appears in the tone on certain notes - usually around the B, B flat, or sometimes C on the lower strings (G, D, and A). This crunchiness has nothing to do with the bow or bowing style - it simply exists when you play the note. If the wolf tone is really bad, it can make those notes unplayable on the instrument. Though I do not have a wolf tone on Fez, I do have one on Baby, which really complicates playing especially since most of my play is up in higher positions on lower strings. A private or school teacher should be able to identify whether or not your violin has this defect.
All in all, if you are considering purchasing a violin of lower quality, the main thing you MUST DO is test it before you buy it. You do not want to be stuck with one of these things in your house unless you plan to use it for firewood during an especially harsh winter, because you will not be able to sell it - no one wants them. Test how the instrument sounds when you (or your child) play it, and make sure you take it to your private teacher or school teacher for approval BEFORE you make the final purchase. They will be able to tell whether or not the thing you're planning on buying is a VSO or a good student model violin, and either the music store or the luthier you are dealing with should allow you to take it with you for a testing period. Be careful here though: you are liable if something happens to the instrument and testing periods vary. When I was looking for my Jimmy, my luthier that I usually go to only allowed me to take his instrument for one day. As a general rule, the smaller the store, the shorter the testing period - it decreases their opportunities to sell the instrument the less it is in their shop.
About my violins
I would like to take this post to give a little background on my violins. I have named all three of them, and will refer to them by their names from now on, so it would probably be a good thing if you knew what they were.
Fez:
Fez is short for Foreign Exchange Student, and he is my VSO (I'll have a post on VSOs coming soon). I found Fez at my local luthier's shop, and for $100 (case included), I got a brand new Chinese manufactured, "hand crafted" violin. Fez lived at school for my freshman year of high school, and ever since then he has occupied the back corner of my room, but he'll be passed on to my brother to play next year. On Fez, I play Red Label strings, which are about as cheap as they come (around $20 a set).
Baby:
Baby is my middle quality violin made in America by my local luthier in 2009. She was brand new when I got her and I have loved her rich tone quality ever since. One of the best things about buying an instrument new is that it will only sound better with time, and her sound has definitely matured since I got her. Baby now lives at school full time, and comes home to visit on weekends and holidays. On Baby, I play Pirastro's Evah Pirazzi line.
Jimmy:
Jimmy is the best out of the three of my violins. He is also a relatively new instrument as far as violins are concerned. I believe he was made in 2006? Also a Chinese instrument. He has also grown into his sound wonderfully, and after two years of intense play, his sound is better than ever. This is the only one of my three instruments that was previously owned, and it makes me wonder about his previous life with whoever played him. Jimmy was purchased in Philadelphia, and when searching for a new violin, he (and the others I tested) had to be shipped to my house via various music stores across the region. He showed up in a case holding one other violin, and as soon as I opened it, he appealed to me right away. After a road trip to Philly, Jimmy was mine. On him, I play Obligato strings which I am forced to change about twice a year due to the frequency and intensity of my play.
(I'll have another post on string types and how they affect play later as well.)
Fez:
Fez is short for Foreign Exchange Student, and he is my VSO (I'll have a post on VSOs coming soon). I found Fez at my local luthier's shop, and for $100 (case included), I got a brand new Chinese manufactured, "hand crafted" violin. Fez lived at school for my freshman year of high school, and ever since then he has occupied the back corner of my room, but he'll be passed on to my brother to play next year. On Fez, I play Red Label strings, which are about as cheap as they come (around $20 a set).
Baby:
Baby is my middle quality violin made in America by my local luthier in 2009. She was brand new when I got her and I have loved her rich tone quality ever since. One of the best things about buying an instrument new is that it will only sound better with time, and her sound has definitely matured since I got her. Baby now lives at school full time, and comes home to visit on weekends and holidays. On Baby, I play Pirastro's Evah Pirazzi line.
Jimmy:
Jimmy is the best out of the three of my violins. He is also a relatively new instrument as far as violins are concerned. I believe he was made in 2006? Also a Chinese instrument. He has also grown into his sound wonderfully, and after two years of intense play, his sound is better than ever. This is the only one of my three instruments that was previously owned, and it makes me wonder about his previous life with whoever played him. Jimmy was purchased in Philadelphia, and when searching for a new violin, he (and the others I tested) had to be shipped to my house via various music stores across the region. He showed up in a case holding one other violin, and as soon as I opened it, he appealed to me right away. After a road trip to Philly, Jimmy was mine. On him, I play Obligato strings which I am forced to change about twice a year due to the frequency and intensity of my play.
(I'll have another post on string types and how they affect play later as well.)
Saturday, September 29, 2012
About this blog
In this blog, I hope to have engaging discussions about music and what it means to everyone out there on the internet. Music is my life and has been since probably seventh or eighth grade (though I started playing in fourth grade when I was 8). When first starting to play, students don't realize how amazing it is to have the skill of music and the impact that it has in their lives. What I hope to convey is how music has impacted my life, where it's taken me, and what opportunites it's provided to me.
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