MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Send calming thoughts my way for my first Audition on Wednesday!

CommanderROR · 03-23-2007, 05:42 PM

@yvanleterrible

I believe you are mistaken...in quite a few ways...

First of all, no orchestra musician is expected to perform flawlessly every time. I've spent almost five years playing as a substitute on a pretty regular basis in a professional orchestra here in Wuerzburg (Opera House) and I have quite some insight into the workings there. Even the Concert Master makes mistakes...on a regular basis.

The big soloists also make mistakes, something that is easily overlooked when listening to CD recordings. Often, it can come as quite a shock if you hear one of the big "stars" live that you know only from recordings...
There are a few musicians worldwide that can come close to doing what you say, performing flawlessly every time. Hilary Hahn is probably the one that comes closest... :-)

About the methods of reaching "flawlessness": I don't believe there is such a thing. Almost all musicians try things like Alexandertechink, Yoga, TaiChi, meditiation and other slightly (or not so slightly) esoteric methods at one point or another, especially during their "audition phase" or before exams, but all that I know of have realized that there is nothing that really "works. Some, especially the woodwind and brass players that have to play very exposed parts and are in a lot of danger of making "hearable" blunders during a performance take drugs (beta-blockers and others) to control their nerves, but most just live with it and try to get used to it with time. Mistakes happen, you just have to realize that this is valid for everybody as nobody is perfect...

Also, whatever you do to achieve "equilibrium" will almost vertainly have one drawback...because locking away your feelings will lead to a rather unemotional performance and that is not something which is good in any form of art.
I know there are lots of books about the topic just like there are lots of books about just everything else, but I believe that most are really bull, and those that are not tell you in large letters that all they can offer is a little help, but no solution to the problems plaguing the reader...

Let me put it like this:
You can't prevent your nerves, you'll just have to be able to play everything 150% so that it'll come out as 80% when in a stress situation...

But enough about that...

@everyone:

I just got some feedback from one of the members of the orchestra I played for yesterday (he sometimes works as a substitute just like I do (when somebody is ill in our orchestra in Wuerzburg) and it turns out I was accounting my "failure" to the wrong mistakes...weird sentence...

My "little mistakes" were apparently no all that noticeable to the jury, they did not even write them down on their little "lists". What actually prevented me from getting to the next round was that I played a little too softly and "carefully" with too little "dynamic range". This is a familiar error for me and something I have to work on some more. Sometimes when I'm nervous I start playing "defensively"...
So, playing with more "confidence" will be one of my goals for the next audition, and I'll also have to get more serious about finidng a "stronger" violin because I know that my current instrument has a very beautiful but also rather restrained sound...well...that will be an interesting enterprise...there is little that is more difficult (and expensive) than buying violins. So far i have always been lucky to find a cheap and good instrument, but I'll probably have to spend some of the money earned over the last 5 years...we'll see...at least now I know what really mattered and it was good because I would have probably made the same mistake again next time...

Enough for now. Now I'll have to work in the orchestra here again next week (Bruckner 7 and Wagner Tristan overture and some other performances, I just got back from playing Romeo and Juliet by Prokoffiev) and then I'll try to rest for a week (if nothing comes up) and then I'll get back to work preparing for the next auditions (if I get more invitations, if not i'll start preparing for my exam in summer).

Thanks for your encouragement...now...back to eink...^^

03-23-2007, 05:42 PM	#34
CommanderROR eink fanatic Posts: 2,022 Karma: 4924 Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Germany Device: STAReBOOK, iRex Iliad, Sony 505, Kindle 2	@yvanleterrible I believe you are mistaken...in quite a few ways... First of all, no orchestra musician is expected to perform flawlessly every time. I've spent almost five years playing as a substitute on a pretty regular basis in a professional orchestra here in Wuerzburg (Opera House) and I have quite some insight into the workings there. Even the Concert Master makes mistakes...on a regular basis. The big soloists also make mistakes, something that is easily overlooked when listening to CD recordings. Often, it can come as quite a shock if you hear one of the big "stars" live that you know only from recordings... There are a few musicians worldwide that can come close to doing what you say, performing flawlessly every time. Hilary Hahn is probably the one that comes closest... :-) About the methods of reaching "flawlessness": I don't believe there is such a thing. Almost all musicians try things like Alexandertechink, Yoga, TaiChi, meditiation and other slightly (or not so slightly) esoteric methods at one point or another, especially during their "audition phase" or before exams, but all that I know of have realized that there is nothing that really "works. Some, especially the woodwind and brass players that have to play very exposed parts and are in a lot of danger of making "hearable" blunders during a performance take drugs (beta-blockers and others) to control their nerves, but most just live with it and try to get used to it with time. Mistakes happen, you just have to realize that this is valid for everybody as nobody is perfect... Also, whatever you do to achieve "equilibrium" will almost vertainly have one drawback...because locking away your feelings will lead to a rather unemotional performance and that is not something which is good in any form of art. I know there are lots of books about the topic just like there are lots of books about just everything else, but I believe that most are really bull, and those that are not tell you in large letters that all they can offer is a little help, but no solution to the problems plaguing the reader... Let me put it like this: You can't prevent your nerves, you'll just have to be able to play everything 150% so that it'll come out as 80% when in a stress situation... But enough about that... @everyone: I just got some feedback from one of the members of the orchestra I played for yesterday (he sometimes works as a substitute just like I do (when somebody is ill in our orchestra in Wuerzburg) and it turns out I was accounting my "failure" to the wrong mistakes...weird sentence... My "little mistakes" were apparently no all that noticeable to the jury, they did not even write them down on their little "lists". What actually prevented me from getting to the next round was that I played a little too softly and "carefully" with too little "dynamic range". This is a familiar error for me and something I have to work on some more. Sometimes when I'm nervous I start playing "defensively"... So, playing with more "confidence" will be one of my goals for the next audition, and I'll also have to get more serious about finidng a "stronger" violin because I know that my current instrument has a very beautiful but also rather restrained sound...well...that will be an interesting enterprise...there is little that is more difficult (and expensive) than buying violins. So far i have always been lucky to find a cheap and good instrument, but I'll probably have to spend some of the money earned over the last 5 years...we'll see...at least now I know what really mattered and it was good because I would have probably made the same mistake again next time... Enough for now. Now I'll have to work in the orchestra here again next week (Bruckner 7 and Wagner Tristan overture and some other performances, I just got back from playing Romeo and Juliet by Prokoffiev) and then I'll try to rest for a week (if nothing comes up) and then I'll get back to work preparing for the next auditions (if I get more invitations, if not i'll start preparing for my exam in summer). Thanks for your encouragement...now...back to eink...^^