Allow me to share the story behind the performance and the rating from this 46-yr old piece of falling-apart paper.
Throughout high school, Robert Roden was my clarinet teacher. I was the first chair clarinet at Holmes HS in Covington, KY. He also taught the first chair clarinet student from Simon Kenton (where he was Band Director) and at Campbell County HS. We were all in the same grade and had been competing with each other throughout high school when it came to District and All State ensembles.
For Solo Contest senior year HE GAVE ALL THREE OF US THE SAME SOLO!
It was a crazy difficult Theme and Variations on “Au Clair de la Lune”.
It created quite a stir as it became a bragging rights contest between the three bands.
When the schedule came out, I was third to go.
Pressure.
The first girl went – got a “I” (Superior) Rating. The room was fairly full with mostly students from her school.
More pressure.
The second girl went – got a “I” (Superior) Rating. Again, the room was fairly full.
Pressure cooker.
When I went, there were students from all three schools who couldn’t even all get into the room.
The piece is structured with a theme, piano interlude, variation, interlude, variation, etc.
The judge is Earl Thomas, clarinet professor at Eastern Kentucky University. He knew me well as I had studied with him four summers at the Stephen Collins Foster Music Camp at his school.
As I am ready to begin, Thomas says,
Mr. Gardner, I don’t think I have ever heard this piece performed at the high school level and this is the third time I am hearing it today.
(I explain we three had the same teacher).
Cruel.
Well sir, since I have already heard this piece twice, can we just cut out the piano interludes? Just play each section, pause, and go on to the next.
For those who know me, I hope you would agree that my biggest strength is technique while my biggest challenges are endurance (and nerves). I could play fast, but I really needed those breaks. GONE.
I got so worried about losing the interlude breaks that I forgot to get nervous about performing….. I always wondered if, knowing me, he did that on purpose just to see how I’d respond.
At the end of my performance, HE STOOD UP FOR ME …. and then gave me the highest rating of the three. Yay!
My decision to become a band director came during the Morehead State University Band Clinic during my 7th grade year. I purchased my first baton at the clinic. I was primarily influenced by three of my teachers.
James Copenhaver (Dr. Copenhaver, 34-yr Director of Bands at the University of South Carolina) was my beginning teacher during my first year (and his first year of teaching) and high school band director for two years. I wanted to be just like him. He pulled me aside Freshman year and said something like….
If you want to be a band director, you’re going to have to go to college. Your family may not be able to afford that…so I suggest you use your four years in high school to make yourself good enough that by the time you graduate, colleges will want to pay you to come.
They did.
Robert Roden taught me how to play clarinet during my high school years. I never heard him play (heart condition), but he had a good way of describing what I should do to play well. At my band director’s urging, he allowed me to “audition” for a spot in his studio. After hearing me, he made me a deal…
“You play well. I can help you get better. But you can’t afford me. As it turns out, I have a bad heart and can’t do yard work or heavy lifting. So, if you would be willing to cut my grass or shovel my snow, or do any other jobs around my house as needed, then I will provide you clarinet lessons until the day you show up here unprepared. Do we have a deal?”
Yes. And he kept his word. Senior year I received a “I+” (not a legal ranking) at solo festival, was 1st chair in All-State, 1st chair in an Honor Band (top spot in the top band out of six at the clinic), 1st chair at two summer music camps, and 1st chair in the United States Collegiate Wind Band that toured Europe and the U.S.S.R.
Tragically, he died in a fire at a dinner club where he was playing. He got out of the building, but went back in to get his music. My father was an off-duty Fire Chief on the scene.
The third person was my college clarinet professor. He was a terrible human, hated teaching girls, hated teaching clarinet (wanted to be orchestra director)…..but set his standards high and used fear, intimidation, and humiliation to force improvement. At least he taught me how to prepare.
My musical career from 5th grade through college was about performance and competition. My first teaching assignment was a small rural school (I had gone to a large inner-city high school) was a shocking experience for me. When I would encourage a parent to provide for private instruction, I was told that I was the teacher. When recommending a step-up instrument, I was asked what was wrong with the one they bought. Since there were limited resources, I refocused on the concept of teaching students how to achieve success. In 2005, when I had an opportunity to meet with a group of former students, not a single one had gone into music as a vocation, but all had children in band because of the positive experience they had. I felt reinforced. Because of the way the bar had been set for me, I set the bar high there, expected them to reach it – and most did. As a group, they achieved much success, reaching 4th in state in two of my four years with over 20% of the high school in the ensemble.
Now, back in education after two decades away (which means I’ve missed all the current training over that time), I describe myself as the old guy with youthful enthusiasm. I would have to label myself a social efficiency-ist, which I realize sets me in confrontation with a lot of current teaching and training. I’ll try to keep an open mind.
Here are some statements I put in a brochure I send to parents of potential private instruction students. I call them my Gardner-isms:
Good Grades Do Pay – and I can prove it.
Colleges Pay for those who Play – well!
It doesn’t matter whether you win or lose — until you lose.
If the notes are on the paper, it is your job to play ALL of them.
If you’re going to play it, you might as well play it right.
The view from 1st chair is much better.
Private Lessons can be like paying for college — one week at a time.
Be prepared: Make sure your parents are getting their money’s worth.
Santa isn’t the only one who knows whether you’ve been bad (no practice) or good.
You can’t sight read in your lesson and get away with it. I’m better than that.
Like the ice skater who misses the quad, missing notes in public can hurt.
Anybody can be mediocre. Not you. Not with me. Don’t even think about it.
You can practice hard now and have fun at performance, or you can have fun now…
Do you really want to pay me to tell you it was good — if it wasn’t?
As a teacher, I was often asked to be a reference on a job application or to write a recommendation letter for students applying for scholarships, jobs, and/or colleges. I received a nice thank you from a former exchange student who had just re-used the letter I wrote for her as she was applying for graduate studies toward her doctorate at a university in Germany. Because I find myself answering the same questions or asking for the same information whenever students need this help, I’m going to organize them here and then refer students to this post when they want my letter-writing help.
How do you EARN a good letter and when do you START?
When sophomores and juniors interested in auditioning for Drum Major asked, “When are auditions?” My response was normally, “Your audition started freshman year.”
Similarly, a good reference doesn’t happen just because you ask or need one…. it happens because you have earned it during your years of association with, in this case, a teacher.
Few teachers or coaches get to know a student as well as a band director because it is often a 4+ year participation class — and especially marching band involves much more interaction than in a typical academic class. Students should realize and appreciate the value of such a letter — and work all four years to develop a stellar reputation the teacher will be happy to brag on.
What makes a good letter?
I usually structure my letter to focus on multiple areas:
Band experience. Which ensembles, what years, any additional responsibilities – i.e. section leader, drum major, etc.
Qualification. Especially for scholarship letters, I like to emphasize genuine need and why I think meeting that need is a good investment for the scholarship provider.
School experience. Grades, other extracurricular activities, honor rolls, awards, achievements.
Community experience, especially volunteerism. Camps, counseling experiences, etc. Jobs.
College/Career goal. What will you major in or what do you plan to do after graduation?
Reputation. I like to reference the quality of friend choices, the wisdom of decision-making, and generally, the types of comments peers and teachers might make.
What YOU should provide the letter-writer.
Resume. Resumes typically contain much of the information needed for a good letter. If you don’t have a resume, use the above list and organize information. If not an official resume, at least a list of activities, honors, awards, jobs, volunteer work, and after-graduation plans.
Stamped, Addressed Envelope with sufficient postage. Although I often do provide a copy to the student, the customary approach is to provide everything to the letter writer who then can put the letter in the envelope, seal it and drop it in the mail. OR… links to the online application and an email to which to send a copy to the student. Don’t use your school email, which may expire after you graduate.
Additional Paperwork completed. Often there is an accompanying application or information sheet to go with the letter and it is both inconvenient and inconsiderate of you to expect ME to take that additional time. Fill in your addresses, names, and numbers. If I see that it will take extra time, I tend to procrastinate on the project.
TIME! The worst was a student approaching me after school about writing a letter requiring a same day postmark! C’mon…. If you want a comprehensive letter, give me time to do it. I will typically write a letter within a couple of days — but give me a week, please.
I love writing letters to help achievers because when I was where they are — there were people who went to bat for me and this is my way of returning that favor by passing it on….. Teachers don’t expect a lot in return, but a smile and a thank you can go a long way.
SUGGESTIONS for getting ADDITIONAL letters and help! If a teacher has taken the time to organize and write a professional letter on YOUR behalf, consider a short, hand-written THANK YOU to the teacher. Guess who gets the better letters cranked out faster the next time?
In the spirit of Forrest Gump who put out Gump-isms like, “Life is like a box of chocolates…..You never know what you’re gonna get”, I offer the following sayings that sometime happen in band rehearsals and private studio lessons.
“Good Grades Do Pay.”
We all hear about college paying for good athletes, but they will also pay for good intellectuals. Pick up a brochure from just about any college and you’ll find a place in there where they list things like 1) Average SAT/ACT score or 2) National Merit Scholars.
If your SAT/ACT score is higher than the college’s average, then they WANT YOU because you will raise their average. To many schools, both the average SAT/ACT scores and the number of National Merit Scholars they have represent “bragging rights”. But instead of accidentally stumbling into success, strategically plan for it, and then systematically execute your plan.
The first major test is one often ignored, the PSAT (Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test). Sophomores and Juniors can take the PSAT, which gives colleges some early information they can use to recruit. The PSAT is also the NMSQT (National Merit Scholar Qualifying test). Colleges will pay for National Merit Scholars. They brag about how may NM Scholars they have in their community. This is a test worth practicing and preparing for. Treat your preparation as a part-time job.
How much money can you make at minimum wage?
The other test(s) worth studying and preparing for are the SAT, the ACT and the SAT II’s (specific subject tests required by some schools).
“Colleges Pay for those who Play – WELL!”
Don’t ignore the ARTS corner of the Triangle-A (Athletics, Academics, Arts). I remember a conversation I had with son #1 as we sat in the driveway of his trumpet teacher’s house and I was writing that check for an hour-long lesson:
“I am paying for your college education one week at a time.
By the time you get to college,
you need to be good enough
that colleges will pay for you.”
I did not pay for MY college education. As one of five children raised in a single parent household by a polio survivor mother, I knew there was no way my family could send me to college. I knew that the only way I would get to college was for a college to pay for me to come. I wasn’t going to qualify academically and was completely non-Athletic. But by 8th grade, I realized I could play the clarinet pretty well – and set off on a track to make that my way in to college. Some of the things I did related to that:
* When my friends were out cruising, I was practicing.
(Not much choice as I didn’t have a car.)
* When my friends were going to the movies, I was practicing.
(Not much choice as I didn’t have spending money.)
* I took clarinet lessons all through high school.
* I participated in Summer Music Camps. I spent three 4-week sessions at the Stephen Foster Music Camp at Eastern Kentucky University and two summers at the 2-week Summer Camp at Morehead State University. Colleges offer camps and clinics to recruit: to get to know prospects and to give them an opportunity to fall in love with the college. In those cases, I got to study for short times with the clarinet professors at both universities. When it came time to select a college, both of those were recruiting me because they already knew me. And, of course, having intense rehearsals and master classes all day for the summer makes one a much better musician.
* I auditioned for specialty and clinic bands. Northern Kentucky had a “Select Band” which rehearsed for 1-2 days and gave a concert. I also participated all 4 years in the Kentucky All-State Band. There was the Morehead State University Band Clinic.
* I participated in several ensembles and played a solo every year at Solo/Ensemble Festival. I received 1-II, 14-I’s and 1-I+. Both my sons surpassed that, with Son #2 achieving over 42 Gold Medal ratings in District and State in instrumental and vocal.
Son #1 did not pay for his college education. Do you notice anything similar about our paths and strategies?
* Trumpet Lessons starting in 7th grade.
* Honor Band
* Solo/Ensemble Festival – three trips to State
* Music Camp – (KY) twice
* Music Camp – (IN)
* Jazz Camp – (TN) * Youth Symphony
* All-State Band
* Summer Substitute with the Philharmonic Orchestra
* Everything Band in high school, including Marching (2yrs), Concert, Jazz, Varsity Brass (Show Choir Backup), Musicals.
In fact, there were some semesters when he would register for classes that the school would give HIM a check. That was because each year:
– $2500 each year from the Presidential Scholarship (National Merit Finalist)
– $2000 each year from the University to completely cover in-state-tuition
– $5000 from the Honors Program (ACT score, National Honor Society) to completely cover out of state tuition
– $3500 from the Music Department to completely cover housing
– $1000 from the Trumpet Studio
======
$14,000 … at a time when the total cost at TTU (Tennessee Tech) was about $10,500/yr.
He also received local scholarships. I recall that for one of those scholarships he called the person in charge because he missed the “postmark date” and wanted to see if he could drive it to her home (local). Her response was, “Please do, honey ….. your application will be the only one we have.” See scholarship -ism below.
Son #2 went to a Top Tier school for a state school price. That university’s current tuition is over $61,000/yr. He had the grades but not the money. An Admissions counselor made me a promise (which they kept),
“If we decide we want him, we will get him here.”
It is sad to see high school students who are pretty good in their local band go off to top-ranked music schools to face rejection because they settled for mediocrity in high school – because they could. Some of the students I teach at the university come in as music majors never having studied privately. It is really hard to make it at the college level without specialty instruction in high school. There is only so much that can be done in the large ensemble for which there is a “free” teacher. Assuming there is some talent/ability involved, you can almost look at the concept as a “Pay Now vs Pay Later”.
You can INVEST in your training and experiences throughout high school and go for the music scholarships in college, or PAY the sticker price.
“It doesn’t matter whether you win or lose — until you lose.”
I used to have a poster in front of my band room showing a rifle girl, her head down as she was dragging her rifle behind her…..featuring that quote.
“If the notes are on the paper, it is your job to play ALL of them.”
This was my response to a student who asked, “How much of it do we have to play?” I often tell students that it is my job as a director to help mold and blend the sound, and to correct errors…… not to teach notes. Learning the notes is the student’s job.
“If you’re going to play it, you might as well play it right.”
Why hurt the ensemble and waste valuable rehearsal time when it doesn’t take that much more effort to do it right the first time?
“The view from 1st chair is much better.”
“Private Lessons can be like paying for college — one week at a time.”
“Be prepared: Make sure your parents are getting their money’s worth.”
I have had students come to clarinet/sax lessons without their music, ….. and one, without his instrument. One college music major lesson started (and ended) like this:
Student: I don’t know how to tell you this, but I just didn’t have time to practice this week.
Me: This is your 3rd week in a row with excuses. This is your major instrument. This is your major. This is just as important as that English, Math or Psychology assignment. This affects your grade too. I heard you sight-read this music last week when it was supposed to be practiced to performance-grade. I don’t need to hear you sight-read it again. You take this time and practice. I’ll see you next week.
When I was paying for lessons, I wanted my money’s worth. And I tell my students to give their parents their money’s worth, i.e. don’t waste my time or their money.
“Santa isn’t the only one who knows whether you’ve been bad (no practice) or good.”
If you engage in systematic study, your teacher/coach will get to know you well enough to know when you’ve practiced for your lesson. Make sure your parents are getting their money’s worth.
“You can’t sight read in your lesson and get away with it. I’m better than that.”
“Like the ice skater who misses the quad, missing notes in public can hurt.”
Mistakes are going to happen. They just are. When you watch ice skating on TV, even at the world championship or Olympic level, there are mistakes. What I often explain in private lessons is that they probably hit that jump a high percentage of times in practice. Performance rarely goes better than practice. If you aren’t doing it in practice, what do you think will happen in performance?
“Anybody can be mediocre. Not you. Not with me. Don’t even think about it.”
Mediocre means average. Anybody can be average. When talking about the lukewarm (mediocre) church, Jesus said he would prefer that it had been hot or cold, but because it was lukewarm, he would spit it out of His mouth. The Star Wars Jedi Knight Yoda says, “Do, or do not, there is no TRY”.
“You can practice hard now and have fun at performance, or you can have fun now…”
High school life is so much about social life and relationships. The tendency is to bring that into the rehearsal. You can take it easy now, but then be disappointed with the results — or you can work hard, pay the price and enjoy the rewards and satisfaction of demonstrated excellence.
“Do you really want me to tell you it was good — if it wasn’t?”
Students usually know if it was good or bad. There is that balance between encouragement and improvement. When that balance is achieved, improvement happens. After a tough run of a marching band show, as we were ending the rehearsal, which we usually tried to do on a ‘high note’, after another staff member gave a critique, I asked the students; “Do you want the sugar-coated version, or do you want it straight?” They wanted it straight – which enabled us to end on a ‘good note’.
“Fix it — or I will find you!”
I’m decent with those “hearing eyes” and “seeing ears”, i.e. knowing whether what you’re hearing from the ensemble is what you are looking at in the score. There would be times I would hear something, stop the ensemble, look at the score — and then in the general direction the mistake came from. They know I could find them, and sometimes, by the time I would look up, there would already be a student with his/her hand up confessing, “It was me.”
January is a month that often includes preparation for solo festival. Many will have an opportunity to practice with an accompanist, perhaps a new experience.
As instrumentalists, you should realize how long it takes to learn to play piano with the level of proficiency required to accompany your solo. Some pianists have invested thousands in private instruction and college educations. They are proficient at their craft just like an electrician, plumber, mechanic….or a teacher, professor, attorney or doctor. We are fortunate to have pianists willing to work with you. They deserve your respect, your preparation and your appreciation. This note should serve as a guide in working with your pianist.
Your accompanist will 1)spend time practicing your music, 2) spend time and expense coming to school to practice with you, 3) sacrifice part of an evening to help you in our practice recital, and 4) spend over half a day traveling to the contest site and performing with you at District. Group 1 Music is significantly more difficult AND… if you get GOLD at District, your accompanist is then committed to additional practice time and a whole day of time and expense travelling to Indianapolis.
Respect. Most pianists will coach you with their expert advice. Unless they suggest something that conflicts with your private instructor’s instructions, accept their advice as authoritative.
Prepare. Do NOT dis-respect your pianist’s time by not being prepared. You can’t be perfect, but you can be prepared.
Appreciate. Pianists don’t accompany for the big bucks, but some some rely on this as part of his/her income. Unless you have a different arrangement with your particular accompanist, consider an appropriate amount [locally we suggest @$25 min] to cover preparation, about two practices and performance (including recital) through District, and then a respectable amount to cover the additional time, and expense for state finals. Agree in advance with your pianist, including payment terms. And a thank you card is a nice touch…..
I have never been a fan of New Year’s resolutions because failure is anticipated and minimized, indicating a lack of real resolve. People resolve to lose weight, but surrender to the flurry of New Year’s fast food restaurant specials designed to get you to break that resolution so you’ll go back to keeping them in business. Students resolve to do better in school until the first poor test score. Those who had to do summer school last year resolve never to do it again, but then take the same low effort track that got them there the first time. Musicians strive to improve until faced with the choice of practice or snapchat. Band students sign up for solo contest, but then fail to follow through with sufficient practice, unwilling to pay the price for success, so they can back out or excuse a less than golden performance by saying they didn’t really try — or to blame the judge.
If you fail, you’re in the high majority. Forbes reports that, according to University of Scranton research, only 46% of people make resolutions and just 8% of those keep them. Don’t make hollow resolutions with a built-in failure expectation. That’s like entering into marriage with an exit plan written into to a pre-nup contract. Instead, borrowing some Star Trek jargon, “Plot Your Course, Lock It In, Make It So and Boldly Go!”.
Plot Your Course
Where do you want to go? This year? Don’t include all your life-long goals, just the medium range, realistic, attainable targets for this year?
In the Forbes article, the common traits of the 8% who succeeded were that their goals were simple, tangible and obvious. Simple, aka KISS, or Keep It Short & Simple. When Captain Kirk was asked for the next course to plot, he didn’t generalize with “somewhere out there”. He said, “second star to the right”.
Lock it in
Once you lock it in, you’re committed. Commit is an action verb. When you approach a traffic light, there is that moment where you commit to go, even if the light begins to change. There is a point, as you run toward the end of the diving board, that you commit to get wet. Take that big list you started with, take out the fluff, decide what is really important, prioritize — and then commit to make it so.
Make It So
On the star-ship Enterprise, when Captain Picard is on the bridge, after the order is given and the response comes that the course is plotted and locked in, usually with the emphasis of a pointed finger, the command is given, “Engage” or
“Make It So!”
There is a military saying that battle plans become obsolete as soon as you engage the enemy. General (and later President) Eisenhower, planner of the war-changing Normandy Invasion said,
“I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.”
Even though you made a list, plotted your course and engaged the plan, things don’t always go the way you anticipated, similarly to the way the enemy doesn’t always respond the way the battle plan indicated he would. Eisenhower claimed that “planning is indispensable” because the overall strategy can include contingencies, and the planning at least increases the probability of successful adjustments as things (the battle, your resolutions, school, life) progress. If you have planned adequately, then engage it with confidence….boldly go.
Boldly Go!
If you know where you’re going (plotted the course), commit to it (locked it in), acted on your plan (made it so), then you should boldly go! Make course corrections as needed, but don’t be tentative.
There are surprises every year at Solo/Ensemble contest. I would spend the day encouraging, listening, supporting, congratulating, and consoling. Without question, the experience students gain from participation is strong.
Life is not always fair, and neither are judges. A high school principal once commented to me after a disappointing marching band result that…
“They should judge these things the way we do basketball; points happen when the ball goes through the basket.”
At the end of the day of a Solo/Ensemble festival a few years ago, when two directors were complaining to the site official about the same particular judge, the official response was that…
“…that score represents a personal, professional opinion. That is what we hire them to do.”
There are problematic (for me to justify) judges in solo/ensemble festivals: …
I was putting together a practice sheet for a student when I found I’d already done that. I may post that another time…..but at the end of it, I had some quotes….from me, my son’s trumpet professor and my clarinet professor. Oh, I may also do a more substantial post of my teacher’s comments, these were some of his rare positive ones.
“You should not have to tell someone you are good. BE good. PLAY good (well). And if you ARE good, others will tell you…. and that IS good.”
–me
“Always be modest and humble…..until you put that [trumpet] in your hand and step up to perform ….and then you become one mean, arrogant, confident, son of a [band parent]!” –Dr. CD, Professor of Trumpet at Tennessee Tech University (son’s teacher)
“Fast notes…! So what! NASA can teach monkeys how to wiggle fingers and push buttons. Fast notes deserve to be musical too!”
“Why do you insist on getting nervous when you perform? That is wasted energy and nerves make mistakes. Consider how many people in the audience could do what you are doing. Do what you know you can do and make them stand up.” –Dr. PM, Professor of Clarinet at University of Kentucky
Most participants in high school solo competitions are only in the performance room long enough for his/her performance and maybe for a couple friends’. They could learn so much by sitting and listening/observing for a while.
During some down time in between local student performances at a state level contest, I sat in a few performance rooms just to hear examples of what other students around the state are doing. I did not expect to see the wide range of performance quality given that I was at a STATE level contest and everyone participating had already received a GOLD (top) rating at district competition. If I had to summarize that experience, it would be with the conclusion that…
…not all music education results are created equal.
Sometimes I sit in the clarinet room during the upper level solos at Solo and Ensemble festival. There is a painful pattern of poor choices in music selection and interpretation, including the selection and performances of Sonata and Concerto pieces.
Choosing a Sonata vs Concerto for the wrong reason(s)
A brief music theory overview.
A Concerto is generally written for a Concert Hall …. for a Concert …. featuring a soloist with an orchestral accompaniment. It is normally 3 movements long; a bombastic first movement, a beautiful and contrastingly slow second movement and a flourishing climatic final movement.
Ensemble parts are usually boring, because the soloist is the feature. Only during the brief “Tutti” sections does the ensemble get to play much more than light, soft accompaniment. The Concerto is designed to “show off” the masterful soloist and it normally takes the instrument to the limits in tempo, technique and range. Mozart wrote his Clarinet Concerto for a friend considered to be a prodigy.
For a concerto performance with just a piano accompanist, as what is always the case for solo festival, the pianist is playing a simplified transcription of the orchestra score. In most cases, other than the potential of some 16th note runs in the piano part during the “tutti” sections (which can be edited or left out without drastically changing the piece), the piano parts are relatively simple, or can usually be simplified without changing the intent of the piece.
Historically, a Sonata was written as a chamber hall piece, written for a solo instrument and solo accompanist, often to be performed in a smaller setting than a large concert hall. I won’t get into the form of each of the normally 4 movements, but a sonata is more a “duet” where both instruments are of equal importance. The Sonata is usually less of a flashy piece, rather demonstrating what the two instruments can do together, often involving subjective interpretations of tempo and dynamics.
The Problems
….in picking the Concerto, the most common disappointment is when the student performs the piece at a ridiculously slow tempo. I’ve heard a Rondo (generally a 3rd movement 6/8 time performed in a 2 beats per measure pulse) played IN SIX. Or… the flashy first movement at half the intended tempo. I’m all about telling students they can be slightly under the published tempo to help with accuracy, but drastically changing the tempo also completely changes the piece, in my opinion. If you can’t play it the way it was written or intended, choose something else. Of course, the other option is to commit the practice to get it to performance grade, because the only sound worse than the super slow tempo is the sloppy technique of an ill prepared piece, evidencing a problem to be addressed in a separate post perhaps…..HOW to practice.
When it comes to the Sonata, I can almost envision the selection. The student is pointed to the band library solo/ensemble music drawer and begins looking through the solo options. Scared of the heavier use of black ink on the concerto, the student pulls out a sonata because it looks easier.
Yeah, eighths instead of sixteenths, hardly any ‘runs’. This piece is for ME.
The pianist, who often only gets 1-2 times to practice with the student, and who is probably also accompanying 10 other soloists, has had neither the time to adequately prepare the tougher piano part, nor the understanding of how the two go together……hence the painful disaster at contest as a result of poor interpretation.
Solutions / Recommendations
Pick a piece to highlight the soloist’s strength.
If your strength is technical proficiency (you can play fast, i.e. runs and arpeggios), the 1st or 3rd movement of a concerto can be a good choice. If a beautiful tone and vibrato are what you do well, then perhaps the 2nd movement of a concerto or some other solo form; such as an ‘air’ or a sound portrait type piece, might be a better choice. If you are good at playing with a wide range of emotion AND have access and rehearsal time to a good accompanist AND time to spend with a music coach who understands the particular piece selected, THEN….a sonata can be a strong choice.
Some of the lowest scores at contest are sometimes given to a decent musician who butchered a sonata, not due to poor musicianship, but to poor interpretation and understanding.
Get some expert coaching and/or listen to professional examples of that piece performed.
If you are studying privately, you should have the expert coaching you need. Your band director can often be a good source. As a director, however, I made an error a few years ago when I interpreted an Adagio tempo for a soloist. Mine was a good metronome interpretation, but not knowing that particular piece, I didn’t realize that the traditional method of performing that solo was to interpret the Adagio at the eighth note pulse and not the quarter note. The first time I heard a judge critique, I blamed the judge. The next time, when it was a different judge saying the same thing, I concluded I was mechanically, but not musically correct.
Sometimes it is difficult to find expert coaching in a geographic area for some specific instruments. Band Directors are usually expert in at least one instrument and may be proficient on multiple, but are not expert at all. The director can help with basics of notes, rhythms, dynamics, articulations, performance pedagogy, etc. But for interpretation, in the absence of a local coach, consider additional options:
1. Internet research. You should be able to find critique or comments on a variety of solo pieces, often as part of either a contribution from a college professor expert or from research data published in intellectual papers.
2. YouTube and other video presentations. CAUTION: Anybody can post videos and some are hideous. Better sources might include college senior music major recitals. Or look for multiple presentations of a particular piece and give extra consideration to the one with the higher number of views…..or to those that represent the pattern rather than the exception from your list of options.
3. Forums or discussion groups. Search to see if others are asking similar questions or having discussions about a particular piece. Often there will be at least one “expert” contributor.
4. Find a Skype coach. Colleges are using Skype to interview applicants. So are employers. When distance is an issue, it is an acceptable alternative. Music lessons or coaching via Skype are not common but are becoming more acceptable and available.
I was putting together a practice sheet for a student when I found I’d already done that. I may post that another time…..but at the end of it, I had some quotes….from me, my son’s trumpet professor and my clarinet professor. Oh, I may also do a more substantial post of my teacher’s comments, these were some of his rare positive ones.
