Audition Preparation

Derek Reaban · Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2003 8:27 am Post subject:

This is a follow-up from the post The Audition Process (My Perspective)

Audition Preparation

I’m at the 1-month and counting mark for the upcoming Tucson audition (3rd Trumpet). I have been preparing the literature and organizing my notebook for about 2 months now. I’m so pleased with how my notebook has turned out for this audition, I thought I would post some aspects about Audition Preparation. I know that a great deal has been written about this topic, but I want to take the slant about what all has gone into the preparation of my notebook and how it has helped me to be very efficient with my practice time.

I have divided my notebook into several sections and literally have everything related to this specific audition at my fingertips. There is a section for Schedule, Solos, Excerpts, Exercises, Analysis, and Administration. I’ll give a brief description of each section and how I’ve made it extremely “user friendly”.

Schedule
I have chosen to use Microsoft Excel to develop a complete spreadsheet showing the maintenance exercises that I need to work on in combination with the solos and excerpts that I need to prepare for the audition. Since I had about 2 and a half months from when I began this process until the actual audition date, I have five 11x17 sheets in my notebook (15 days per page). This is an excerpted snapshot of the spreadsheet, where M is my morning session, and 1-4 are my evening sessions:

..........................................................27-Aug-03........28-Aug-03
..........................................................M..1..2..3..4......M..1..2..3..4

Maintenance

Jim Thompson Buzzing Basics................4.....................6
Remington Warm-up.................................X.....................X
One Minute Articulation [T & K]......................X.....................X
Tune-up Boot Camp
Clarke Technical Studies...............................X.....................X

Required Solo

Hummel – 1st Movement...................................X
Honegger – Intrada..................................................................X

Excerpts

Bartok - Concerto for Orchestra – 2nd Tpt
…Mvt 1: Measures 39-50, 328-396………………X
…Mvt 2: Measures 90-147, 228-255……………..X
…Mvt 5: Measures 201-256, 549-573……………X
Bizet – Carmen – 2nd Tpt
…Prelude to Act 1…………………………………X
Dvorak – Symphony No. 8 – 2nd Tpt
…Mvt 1: All……………………………………………………….X
…Mvt 2: 7 Before E to F, letter N to end………………………….X
…Mvt 4: opening; letter C to J; letter R to end……………………X
Strauss – Till Eulenspeigel – 3rd Tpt
…Rehearsal 29-38...................................X

NOTE It's a royal pain to try and show tables in this database. You get the idea about how the "X's" are supposed to align in the columns for the different sessions of the day. I can't spend the time to get it to all line up with all these periods. YUK.

Remarks

…List metronome markings, problem areas,
…which trumpet was used, ideas for resolving
…problem areas, etc. Show daily music for
…required listening.

Solos and Excerpts
I have gathered all of the actual parts that I will need for the audition and included them in my notebook. I have created some small 0.5 inch by 2.75 inch tabs that I taped to the page for each specific excerpt so that there is no fumbling when trying to find what I need to play (the offset tabs work out to show the first 4 pieces). The 1st tab begins at the top of the 1st page, the 2nd tab begins 2.75 inches down on the 2nd page, the 3rd tab begins 5.5 inches down on the 3rd page, and the 4th tab begins 8.25 inches down on the 4th page. Then the remaining tabs begin again in the same offset behind the first four. I have also clearly marked each excerpt with heavy brackets using a Sharpie marker, because I was so impressed at how clean and clear this looked when I was in the on-deck room of the Phoenix Symphony audition in June.

For each excerpt, I have included the timing marker on the reference CDs that I am using for this audition along with metronome markings. This allows me to very quickly advance my CD to the exact location to play along with the disk, and the metronome marking saves me time when I am working the excerpt without the disk to assure that I am at a reasonable tempo. This takes time to mark up each excerpt, but is very much worth the effort.

Exercises
This is a section that my instructor suggested. I was having some trouble with the flow of the articulation pattern at Letter Q in the fourth movement of Scheherazade. He said I should take that four bar pattern and play it over the scales that I work on during my practice day. After he suggested that idea, I decided to see how it would work if I used MS Excel to develop a one-page “exercise” and “schedule” page. This turned out better than I could have imagined. I used the “border” option in Excel for the first four rows of the spreadsheet to map out a staff. Then I developed a daily schedule (a month worth of days) in a table just below this, showing which scale I would apply each day (i.e. Major, Natural minor, Melodic minor, Harmonic minor), three different exercises, and a place to mark my metronome tempo for each day. At the bottom of the sheet I developed three more staves, and generated some simple scalar exercises for variety. It really turned out great!

Analysis
This is where I keep the write up of the intonation analysis that I did for the Chorale in the 2nd Movement of Bartok Concerto for Orchestra. If you are interested in seeing that analysis, look at the following link on Page 2: http://www.trumpetherald.com/forum/viewtopic.php?topic=11220&forum=4&10

After working through this exercise, I challenged myself to learn this short chorale on the piano. This has given me a much more complete sense of the overall part and how the 2nd trumpet fits into the overall structure. Not being a piano player, I find it very exciting to really be able to play this short passage. I feel very connected to the music in a way that is different from just playing the 2nd trumpet part.

Administration
This section has the letter that I received from the Operations and Audition Coordinator with contact information, my audition request form, the Third Trumpet Audition Repertoire list, a map to the audition facility, date, time, etc.

I am really excited with how well this turned out because I have been working with loose sheets of paper for almost 2 months. Now it’s clean and neat and easy for me to take wherever I go (great for reviewing parts away from the trumpet when it’s so easy to open and turn to exactly what I want to work on).

I hope this will spur on further discussion regarding audition preparation. I would love to hear from those of you that have been successful in preparing really well thought out schedules and ideas to make your audition process go as smoothly as possible. It doesn’t matter if you won or not, just what allowed you to feel extremely prepared and relaxed when playing for the committee.

Looking forward to some good discussion!

_________________
Derek Reaban
Tempe, Arizona

[ This Message was edited by: derek reaban on 2004-08-23 10:53 ]

romey1 · Heavyweight Member Joined: 11 Jun 2003 Posts: 797

Derek,

It's great to have an attack plan - Good for you!

Make sure you play for people who have been auditioning well recently. This can be very helpful.

romey

Derek Reaban · Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2003 11:49 am Post subject:

Romey,

My instructor auditions regularly for all of the big orchestra positions and gives me very sound advice related to scheduling and preparation. I'm very lucky to be in the situation that I am in (he's been on both sides of the audition/committee process many times).

You're right. It's VERY nice to have a well thought through plan of attack. It makes all the difference in the world.

_________________
Derek Reaban
Tempe, Arizona

[ This Message was edited by: derek reaban on 2003-08-29 14:43 ]

trumpetmike · Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2003 11:53 am Post subject:

Wish I had read some of these posts before I did my first orchestral audition. I went in unprepared, played appalingly, left feeling very miserable indeed!
I have done a couple since, but that first one has haunted me and I haven’t yet been able to play to what I consider is my best. I haven’t even thought of auditioning in the past few years, the memory is just too strong.
These posts have made me start thinking that I should try again.
Thanks for the ideas and the inspiration.

Derek Reaban · Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2003 2:16 pm Post subject:

trumpetmike,

I’m certainly glad that these posts have provided you with some inspiration to try auditioning again. I took my first audition in 1994 and my second in 1997. It wasn’t until 2003 that I tried the waters again (my first audition was similar to what you describe, except that nerves got the best of me and then uncovered my lack of preparation). I had really thought that I was adequately prepared for the first audition, but now I realize how much detailed preparation goes into a really well crafted audition. I’m certain that the players winning the big jobs are MANY notches above me in the way that they schedule their time and strategize for success, and then execute these plans in the practice room. However, I do the best with the time that I have and am very pleased with my results!

Best of luck to you when you choose to enter the audition process again!

Take care,
_________________
Derek Reaban
Tempe, Arizona
Tempe Winds / Symphony of the Southwest

trpt-master · Veteran Member Joined: 02 Apr 2003 Posts: 352

Nice to see the old Honegger back in the mix. That will separate the men from the boys real quick

. Just remember to save some in the tank for the excerpts. Sounds like you have a nice plan of attack!

Good Luck Derek.

In Peace,

TM

TopGun · Veteran Member Joined: 17 Mar 2003 Posts: 456

Looks good Derek. Best of luck,

TopGun

6pk · Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2003 2:51 am Post subject:

I think your interest and openess is great, for me as I stated earlier I think you have to be very careful going into such intense written detail..For me one has to leave something to the "performance" and excitement,,if its all calculated and preprogramed it could be indanger of being very predictable and BORING....Guys CHILL out,,play your trumpets well,intune, with good stlye and articulation, and most importantly of all PERFORM THE MUSIC. Trust me then and only when u start doing that will you win a job.. Oh and another thing I wanna say...Winning the jobs the job is the easy bit and only the biginning, doing it and keeping it is the hard bit... One hasn't always got time to calculate plan and program everything, you have to be able to perform under many circumstances e.g jetlag, program change, a dodgy section, some bird given you the eye in a short skirt, conductor being very unclear smelly and ugly....anyway you know the rest....Good luck guys...give em hell

trumpetplayer87 · Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2003 4:44 am Post subject:

I wish you the best!!!!!!!

Bonnie

Derek Reaban · Posted: Fri Sep 26, 2003 8:34 am Post subject:

Just to tie these post together, the results of the Tucson Symphony Audition are found at: http://www.trumpetherald.com/forum/viewtopic.php?topic=12821&forum=4
_________________
Derek Reaban
Tempe, Arizona
Tempe Winds / Symphony of the Southwest

tptalg002 · New Member Joined: 13 Aug 2003 Posts: 1

6pk,

What unclear, smelly, ugly conductor could you possibly be talking about?!

Andy H

6pk · Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2003 9:29 am Post subject:

One I'm sure you know very well, Andy H(ume)

Mzony · Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2003 11:35 am Post subject:

Dear 6pk,

I don't fully disagree with your comment, but I thought I would try and follow up with a couple of ideas:

I agree that one has to play under many different and many undesirable circumstances. Sometimes the venues leave somethings to be desired, sometimes one is not getting along with their surrounding colleagues, sometimes one's health is poor, and as is most often the case: Sometimes the condcutor is pretty awful.
However, I believe that having the best preperation possible helps counter these issues and other issues as well. The better one knows the piece, one's part, and how to function within the ensemble...The better one can be prepared with performance anxiety, lousy conductors, bad health, terrible venue, and and any other awful thing that may occur in an audition/performance.
Mike

6pk · Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2003 6:29 am Post subject:

Mzony

Cheers for the response! Sure I agree entirely with the philosophy of preparation, I think what I was also trying to say was one can should be careful not to get too distracted with just the "Audition" and remember that there's a reality to deal with too. I suppose coming from the British backround, where we have very little rehearsals and not a huge opportunity to always have the music before hand, having your "wits about you"( meaning concentrating really hard and picking things up on the spot)is really vital, I have a slightly different perspective. One simply does not have the option of being so intense before hand, which is often a serious test on our skills. Plus once you're an established player in the UK auditions aren't always necessary sometimes one will be invited for a trial etc..In an Ideal world if you could can get the best out of all schools of thought you'll be successful.
I still however agree that preparation is the key to everything, I would just say that one should keep their sensors open to everything,and keep in mind that if you improve one aspect of you playing i.e auditioning and audition rep, then your performance in the hall or the studio with different rep (and having to blend with other players) has to match it!
Anyway I think that means I agree really.

TossedSalad · Veteran Member Joined: 06 May 2003 Posts: 236

Derek,

Your audition preparation is now an "open book" to us. Don't you think that just adds more pressure for the "big day?"

TS

Derek Reaban · Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2003 6:53 am Post subject:

TossedSalad,

You must have missed the link above that described my actual experience at the Tucson Audition back in September: http://www.trumpetherald.com/forum/viewtopic.php?topic=12821&forum=4.

Surprisingly, I really wasn't nervous at all at this audition and I didn't feel any pressure by sharing my ideas here at the Trumpet Herald. In fact, by clearly thinking through my preparation and posting here, I was able to assure that I was fully prepared. And if you read the posts at the above link you'll discover that even though I "missed" one important aspect in the preparation process for one of the excerpts, my overall learning experience far outweighed any frustation that I felt by playing the Daphnis too slowly. Based on this experience I will be that much smarter the next time I choose to take an audition.

The audition experience was such a positive catalyst to improvement in my playing. I'm glad that I was able to tell everyone about it.

Take care,
_________________
Derek Reaban
Tempe, Arizona
Tempe Winds / Symphony of the Southwest

6pk · Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2003 3:10 am Post subject:

are you taking the dallas, think i will also, if so we'll have to go for a beer afterwards!

Derek Reaban · Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2003 8:15 am Post subject:

6pk,

I tend to stay close to home when it comes to auditions. When Phoenix or Tucson has an audition, I will work up the list, but beyond that, I don't expend the effort (I like my current job and playing opportunities, plus it would be hard for me to make ends meet for my family on a symphony salary).

Good luck in Dallas! What's on the list for Assistant Principal?
_________________
Derek Reaban
Tempe, Arizona
Tempe Winds / Symphony of the Southwest

romey1 · Heavyweight Member Joined: 11 Jun 2003 Posts: 797

Derek,

Dallas pays aroung 80K base, with associate principal you'd get overscale on top of that.

Sounds like you are doing this for fun and learning - good for you - I'm envious!

romey

6pk · Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2003 11:06 am Post subject:

well anyone whos around for the dallas audition let me know, its not confirmed that I'm going yet, but it'd be great to hear you guys play and also to chill out afterwards and forget about reality