Next week I will be playing in front of judges at a Solo and Ensamble festival. We get graded and if we get all 1`s then we get a medal. I really want to do good so I thought you all might could give some good tips.

Thanks!

What sort of music do you usually play? What do you like to play? Oh, what ever you do don`t choose a hard piece to play if you can`t master it. It`s better going simple and really, relly good than technical and not that good.
Pieces you think is boring will also sound boring to the judge.

Winnie`s comment about playing a piece you can master rather than playing something you can just barely get to sound good is correct. Chances are you will be nervous while performing and unless you really have your piece secure, you won`t do well. However Winnie, I think this person has already chosen their piece and they are just asking on general tips rather than tips on particular pieces of music- if they haven`t it`s too late by now. Also, there really are few "boring" pieces. If a piece is boring- it`s you. Either that piece is just something you don`t appreciate or (if you`re performing it" you`re playing the notes, not the music. In reality any piece can sound boring depending on what a performer does with it. Also, I didn`t like the "if you think it`s boring the judge will too". How the heck would anyone make that blanket generalization. Everybody has different tastes. Also, make sure not to get confused with something ebind hard vs. something being technical. Lyrical pieces are often overlooked because they aren`t "fast". Making music out of a piece is just as hard a skill to master as playing correct rhythms in tempo evenly with good articulation.

Whatever piece you are playing, make sure it is musical- even if it is fast yu need to pay attention to dynamic markings and anything that helps you understand the piece that is written on the page. Also, ALWAYS listen to more than one recording of a piece you plan to perform, so you can truly understand the music and get ideas for what you can do where.

Bradley

Bradley, must you start an argument with EVERYONE? I don`t think Winnie meant that the judge was going to agree that a piece is boring just because they do. Its not a question of opinion. I think she was merely suggesting that if a performer finds a piece boring, they are less likely to play it in an interesting or exciting way (therefore, the performance may be boring to a judge). If a performer plays something they find interesting, they are more likely to add vigour, life and energy to a piece (regardless of its technical difficulty or the tempo of the piece) and therefore the performance will not be a bore to a judge. There are quite a few pieces that I find interesting that another performer will find boring, but if thet person shows in their performance that they find it boring, I might lose interest. That`s the point, I think? Am I right, Winnie?

Alyssa- ofcourse that`s the point, and I understand if posters want to get mad at me because of my attitude or w/e. Think what you want of me, but having posted what I did, the original question is answered much more clearly than it was when Winnie posted- whether she meant to be that general or not.

Bradley

Ashley - what piece are you playing?
Bradley - I agree with most of what you said, but I think u r too domineering! What qualifications/experience do you have? You like stirring up conversation with your controversial posts!

I`m playing one of the pieces from the Rubank Advanced Clarinet Method Book. This particular one doesn`t have a name though.

Bradley, I too agreed with most of what you say. The problem, however, is that you always post your responses in a really aggressive way as if you are highly experienced and should know better than anyone else here which, I know, is not the case according to your earlier posts on this forum. I was just merely clarifying Winnie`s statement as yours seemed to disprove it and make her look like she didn`t know what she was talking about which was untrue - she had a good point, regardless of it maybe not being as concise as your response. I`m not saying you`re wrong. I would just recommmend that you don`t respond to any topic of conversation in such a domineering way. (Thanks for that word, George)

I meant to say, Bradley, that you also probably will "sound" better (this with sound not only being technically but also…I don`t know how to put it in english…but I would say the sound gets a bit more colour, a bit more life) if you play a piece you really like and know well since you will feel more secure, more yourself. It`s like choosing clothes. Some people go with the stream, they dress in what ever is modern while some people dress so they feel comfortable. If you sit on a bench in a park, say in Vienna, and just look at people you will find people liking their clothes being a bit more relaxed then those who is pulling their skirts down because they are to short and so on. Like that is choosing a piece, a piece of music might be beautiful hanging in the shop with all those lyrical things and all and might score high if you can support it still feeling comfortable with it. If you don`t, however, it`s better looking at something that you will feel comfortable with.

The reason I have gotten like this here is because of the many problems with this forum that can hinder one`s learning. Just like you mentioned my earlier posts on this forum- I too came here trying to learn more. As a little time passed I realized a lot of the stuff on this forum is misleading and even on the occasion when it isn`t , the info shared doesn`t come across as clearly as it should. I had to learn that on my own, and have had the fortune of having a very fast paced few years as far as learning about music is concerned.
As I think I have stated before here, I`m not like this anywhere else, and definetly not like this in person. I do know however, what I have to say is valid and helpful- despite what people might say as a result of being angry at me because of one of my posts. Now you`ll probably say "well why don`t you try to be less aggressive" but the thing is I don`t post like that on purpose. A lot of what is said on here sickens me and patience is often not one of my strong points.

Whether I get the posters angry or not is not the issue- I have never answered a valid question with the intention of misleading someone- and therefore I have researched that topic at least a little ahead of time. I`m not apologizing for my posts in any way, but I am explaining my situation- so I`m not really "out to get anyone". Sometimes a question or post just boggles my mind, but that is a different case.

Bradley

Fair enough, Bradley. I just think you should bear in mind that not everyone on this forum is a regular visitor nor are they particularly serious in the long term about the clarinet and therefore would not realise that you`re always like this and may take your arguments personally.

Besides, taking the clarinet seriously and taking offence or clearly getting upset over a simple post on this forum are two entirely different things.

This isn`t to say that any of your posts aren`t helpful - I`d be lying if I said that because you do make good points when we ignore the `in-your-face` aspect of your posts.

dont look scared...show the judges that you are *da bomb*!

dont look down..look at them in the eye.

and play awayyy!!

Looking the judge in the eyes is kind of creepy. You should be trying to communicate with your pianist not the judge.

The eye contact thing would be creepy and maybe offense to me if I was your judge. You have to make sure you communicate through music and have good performance etiquette. What that person was trying to say was probably that you need to be confident- but there`s other ways of showing that like having a solid sound and being musical.

Bradley