| Mike,
Again, very nice post. I agree with everything you have presented here. It's really appropriate to find ways to rehearse the audition experience while not killing the chops. Imagry is a great way to accomplish this.
There was an article written by David Bilger a few years back that lays out how he builds up to an orchestral audition. He said that first he works hard on playing the trumpet well (through Clarke, Arban, whatever you choose). At the same time he's listening and studying the parts that he will have to play for the audition to cement interpretations and other aspects of performance. Then, when he feels at the top of his game on the trumpet, he'll work on the excerpts. By then it's easy though, because the horn is working great, plus the music is already in his head, along with the ideal sound that he wishes to attain.
Thanks for bringing up the idea of hearing the perfect sound in your head before ever being able to achieve it. Penzarella talks about this concept a lot. I believe they call it their "Gabriel." Only when you can hear the perfect sound that you wish to attain can you actually go about physically getting it. But once you have it in your head, watch out because it'll be a lot easier to get a great sound out of your bell.
Brent |