BFlinch83

Hi Manny-

Can you help me change my thinking about something?

I've been working on excerpts for so long that they normal ones have become stale and not passionate. I find that the ones that I learned later such as some of the opera literature or more obscure orchestral stuff comes off much better and easier than Pictures, Pines, Mahler 5, etc.

Is there a way to change the way I'm looking at these often-asked-for excerpts to make them more musical and passionate?

Thanks a lot!

trumpetpat

try re-inspiring yourself by listening to your favorite recording and try to imitate how it sounds on the recording. If you have already tried that listen to another recording of the same thing and pic out the subtle differences in each recording. Try playing both interpretations. Now I understand that most likely there are going to sound almost exactly the same but really listen to them hard...there are always different subtlies. listen to the whole piece and maybe research the context of it. is there a story behind mahler 5? what is the solo trumpet in the intro trying to tell the audience? is it a call for help? is it someone coming to the rescue. figure this out on your own if you don't already know everything about the piece's you are working on. i hope this helps. thats what i would do. phil smith has a cd on orchestra excerpts and talks about there context. if haven't already check it out. its a great cd.

trumpetpat

sorry to jump in before manny, i saw it on the recent topics list didn't realize it was a manny 911 post

wiseone2

Since Manny is away, I think we can talk among ourselves till he gets back.
Try the excerpts on different horns.
I learned the Pictures lick on the D trumpet. TTSS is also one I do on the D. The D trumpet part on the Rites of Spring goes great on the Eb. Almost any of the F trumpet parts go nice on the D.
Explore the repertoire. Ever played The Venusburg Music of Wagner? There is a ton of related material out there. Check out Feste Roman. How about the Blumine movement of Mahler.
There is no reason for a young player to be jaded
Wilmer

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trumpetmike

Can I ask - why are you working so hard on the excerpts?

I have found this to be the case with many people I have got to know online - they spend a lot of time learning excerpts. Personally, I like to look for etudes/pieces that are in the style of certain excerpts - that way the style becomes ingrained, yet the excerpt itself remains fresh when played.
I have heard loads of excerpts being played at ITG (all without music) and I have so rarely heard anyone play them in a way which grabs me, I wonder if this is related?

This is a follow up question to Manny/Wilmer etc - which do you think is a more valuable skill - knowledge of excerpts, or being able to play a more obscure piece with limited rehearsal time (in other words - being able to sight read, transpose and play a possibly unknown piece, in style)?

cornetguy

This is a follow up question to Manny/Wilmer etc - which do you think is a more valuable skill - knowledge of excerpts, or being able to play a more obscure piece with limited rehearsal time (in other words - being able to sight read, transpose and play a possibly unknown piece, in style)?[/quote]

IMO

Being able to read, transpose, play in style, technical control of the instrument is more inportant then the excerpts, you practice the excerpts all you can play are the excerpts. Practicing etudes will help gain control of the instrument.

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BFlinch83

Well I agree that solo/etude work is more musically rewarding and everything but excerpts are what wins the jobs I'm auditioning for.

It's not that I'm jaded or can't figure out how to do the things mentioned (I think of the cobblestone street with the wheels clacking during Mahler 5), but I just can't figure out why the new excerpts I learn are so much better than the ones I've had under my belt (so to speak) for longer.

Thanks for your help!

Jimi Michiel

Brent-
Maybe it's just that there is more easily recognizable improvement on the ones you don't know. For example, maybe you pull out your big fat excerpt book and open to a random page... Berg's Wozzeck! You figure out the transposition, look in a music dictionary to figure out what the #$@% "haupstimme" means, practice for a half hour and all of a sudden you've improved 1000 percent! Meanwhile, you spend a few hours on pictures or mahler 5: maybe you get them a tiny bit more polished, but there you're moving by inches, not by leaps and bounds as with Wozzeck.
My guess is that your "old" excerpts sound just as good as the new ones you're learning, but the excitement of learning something new is making you think that they're just better. Of course, it's impossible to tell without hearing you...
-Jimi

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BFlinch83

That's a very good point. Thank you for your response!