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Originally Posted by cgmo Thanks for the input! I actually have all of the Zim. parts, etc... make sure I am not missing anything as I assemble my own "superauditionbook".... Anyone have a list of "everything"? Thanks |
Go to the Orchestra Auditions forum, under "how to prepare"
Here's my favorite from that thread:
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Here is a quote from a discussion of auditions on "double bass list" a few years ago. An assistant principal wrote in:
"Auditions are a cruel fact of life. The more you do the better you get {and the more you know what and how to prepare}.
"I listen to heaps of auditions each year. What I hear are "the common mistakes" done over and over by most of the candidates. If you are given a list of excerpts, take the time to listen to and learn the entire movements that are excerpted. Lack of style or making it obvious that you don't know the piece is an easy way to leave an audition quickly.
"Rhythm is the next trouble spot. By rhythm, it is important to stress that there are two aspects: _1_ playing the correct sequence of long and short notes, then playing the correct pulse. _2_ being able to demonstrate aurally where the beat pulse is and how it modulates if there are any tempo fluctuations. If there is a pickup note, everyone on the other side of the screen should be able to *hear* that it is a pickup even if they don't know that section of the piece. Tecnically speaking, that means that you might use half the amount of bow on the pickup that you use on the following downbeat, even though they may both be eighth notes.
"Nervous Rhythm is extremely common in auditions. This is the tendency to shorten any long note value (or rest) and rush on to the next note. EVERYONE does it sometime. If you know that going in, you can take precautions against it. DON'T THINK THAT YOU DON'T HAVE THAT PROBLEM.
"When working up an audition you must use a tape recorder. You must sing phrasing and gradual crescendos over and over until they're convincing with your voice, then make it so with the instrument." Taping these attempts will let you listen to your self and see how close you're coming to what you *think* you're doing. If you don't use a tape recorder and someone else at the audition does, who do you suppose is going to hear themselves better and be more prepared?
Always use a metronome in your preparations. Use a tuner, and have it playing the tonic of the excerpt you're practicing. Having a tuner with a needle moving on each note doesn't teach you or your ear anything and is not necessarily "in tune" either, whereas a tonic "drone" lets your ear help you actually be in tune with the something, the key of the piece, and yourself.
The more auditions you take, the more you get used to nervousness. Go out of your way to perform often and get used to being "on the spot." You need to practice *performing* to get better at performing.
As far as repertoire, an auditioning bassist can expect to practice the *complete* bass parts to the following (among others):
Bach: Orchestral Suite #2
Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra
Beethoven: All Symphonies, but most notably #s 3, 5, 7, 9
Berlioz: Symphonie Phantastique, Roman Festival Overture
Brahms: Symphonies 1 & 2 most often, occasionally #3 or 4
Bruckner: Sym: 5, 8, 9
Haydn: Sym: #88
Mahler: Sym: 2, 5
Mendelssohn: Sym: #3(Scottish) & 4(Italian)
Mozart: Sym: 35 (Haffner), 39, 40, 41 (Jupiter)
Shostakovich: Sym: 5
Schubert: Sym: 9 in C major ("The Great")
Smetana: Overture "The Bartered Bride"
Strauss: Ein Heldenleben, Don Juan, Also Sprach Zarathustra
Tchaikowsky: Sym: #4
ORCHESTRAL SOLOS/SOLIS:
Bach: Violin Concerto #2
Britten:Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra
Ginastera: Variationes Concertantes, Concerto per Corde
Haydn Symphonies #6, 7, 8, 31, 45
Mahler: Symphony #1
Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition
Prokofiev: Lt. Kije, Romeo and Juliet suites
Saint-Saens: Le Carnaval des Animaux
Stravinsky: Pulcinella
Verdi: Othello, Rigoletto
