Jesse, A lot depends on the duration of the audition - if it is a short 15 minute session then you should be ready to play at your peak ability, since you would not need the endurance required by a long performance. However if the audition IS playing a long session then make sure you do have the endurance to still be playing strongly at the end.
By over-doing practice so near to the audition you risk injury, especially if you attempt to improve your range. Concentrate on doing the 'final polishing' in the days before the audition. If you start to feel any unusual stiffness or lack of muscle ability, then cut-back on the intensity and duration immediately. You might be able to work-thru the problem in the short term, but it is likely to get worse in the following days. Rest periods provide time for reading the scores to fine-tune timing and rhythm, and to understand how your part fits in with the enitre piece. Also listen to recordings to understand the context of excerpts that are part of the audition. Good luck, Jay Kosta Endwell NY (not a teacher or pro....) ---------------------------------------------------------- Jesse Windels jesse.windels at gmail.com Sat Mar 14 21:53:45 CDT 2009 asked - Greetings list, I am approaching an audition and find myself mulling over some of the same questions that I keep returning to when attempting to get my performance in tip-top shape. I have been putting in good time and quality work on my material, but still don't pull it off like Baumann :P My high range needs some more stamina, so I have increased my routine from 3.5 to 5 hours a day with lots of frequent breaks whose duration depends on the intensity of the proceeding playing. Naturally day three of this and my chops are getting tough. So I think to myself, 'Maybe that's a good thing.' I've got 6 days until the audition and wonder when I should be backing off the long days. A few years ago I got it in my head that just playing a very very light diet of quality long tones and articulations the day before and of a concert or audition was best. Since then, I've noticed that I'll often play at my best on an average day 2 hours into practicing... and sometimes not. I'm sure you are all familiar with this. I am interested in hearing advice from a community of players who have no doubt arrived at some tried and true approaches to conditioning your chops in a time sensitive fashion. Thanks in advance for any help, Jesse Windels _______________________________________________ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
