Before I proceed with the specifics of each etude, I would like to give you some general suggestions to help prepare you for your audition.

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1 TMEA ALL-STATE TRYOUT MUSIC BE SURE TO BRING THE FOLLOWING: 1. Copies of music with numbered measures 2. Copy of written out master class 1. Hello, My name is Dr. David Shea, professor of clarinet at Texas Tech University. On this CD is recorded this year s TMEA All-state tryout music for Bb Clarinet. Each etude is first recorded at a performance tempo and then again at a practice tempo. I also offer some comments, which I hope will help you prepare for your upcoming auditions. I wish you the very best of luck and hope to see you as a member of the TMEA All-state band at the T.M.E.A. convention in February. The tryout music this year is from Selected Studies for Clarinet edited by Himie Voxman, which is published by Rubank-Hal Leonard. Before I proceed with the specifics of each etude, I would like to give you some general suggestions to help prepare you for your audition. Preparation is very important. If doing well in the audition is important to you, then prepare intelligently and do the necessary hard work. Many students wait until late October or November before they get serious about learning these etudes. This may work for some advanced students, but if you are trying to make the all-region, all-area or all-state band for the first time, I would strongly encourage you to start earlier and let time work for you. Mastering difficult music takes a steady consistent effort and great patience. Start slowly and allow yourself the time to let the music get thoroughly into your fingers. I would recommend starting your work on these etudes as soon as school starts, and apply a slow steady effort throughout the Fall semester. I have supplied a pdf on using practice methods which you might find useful. This document can also be found at the TTU Clarinet Studio Website. The second thing I would like to discuss is the importance of concentrating on tone production as you are starting to work on the etudes. Tone should not be attributed to finding a good reed on audition day. Tone is practiced. With every repetition, the muscle memory for producing your sound is being reinforced along with the muscle memory of the fingers. My last suggestion is to practice all etudes for an audition by starting with a cold runthrough. This means play from the beginning to the end without stopping just like you would do in your audition. This run-through illustrates how well you truly know your etude, but is not necessarily the best you can play it. In a pressure situation, however, you can only count on how well you know the etude. The other benefit of this runthrough is that it provides an opportunity to practice making mistakes and recovering. Many talented students are so obsessed with not making mistakes that they stop playing every time one occurs. One cannot do this in an audition, so it is necessary to practice what it feels like to play through mistakes. The cold run-through practice may be a bit discouraging at first but you will notice that if you continue to do it everyday over the

2 course of many weeks, it will get better and better. When you can play all of your etudes from beginning to end without stopping or practicing the hard spots, you are ready to have a great audition. Now to the etudes 2. (Master Class Selection Number One) Page 17, g Minor, Allegro: Quarter note Play: Beginning to end Selection number one, found on page 17 and is in the key of g Minor. The tempo is Dotted quarter Note = You are to play the entire etude. a. It is helpful to practice any technical study with the metronome set to the eighth note beat. From your first practice sessions, find a slow practice tempo that you can manage to play comfortably with the metronome. It does not matter how slow this tempo is, but it is very important to find a tempo where you feel in complete control. This speed may be as slow as 100 to the eighth note, or even slower. Once you master the etude at this tempo, you can start working up the speed in 5 point increments. If you find the proper slow tempo, you will be surprised at how quickly you can increase the speed, even within the same practice session. Review the practice guide pdf that is included with this recording to review this practice strategy. I also like to set a metronome to a faster eighth note pulse to insure good subdivision. b. Since the prevalent rhythm of this etude is the eighth note, two sixteenths eighth note figure, setting the metronome to the eighth note pulse can help to insure perfect subdivision. Once you can play passages perfectly with metronome at about 200 to the eighth note, you can then switch to the dotted quarter note beat at c. Before getting into the details of this etude, I would first like to make a general comment on the articulation. I have found that most articulation problems clarinet students experience come for clipping the ends of slurs and staccato notes. There are some instances where clipping notes is necessary for stylistic reasons. However, most articulation problems for young studentscome from excessive clipping. d. To practice articulation in this etude, get a straw, or even imagine that you have a straw, and blow and articulate the first line, or any articulated passage in the etude. Keep the air going. It should sound like this (demonstrate). Immediately play the passage on the clarinet. Go back and forth a few times. You will notice that if you think of using the tongue to start notes with a clear attack with air moving through the clarinet, you will get a nice sounding articulation with a better tone. You will also find it feels a lot easier to play. e. Using this imaginary straw practice is one of the most successful teaching tools I use in my studio. It really can help train you to articulate better.

3 f. In different parts of the etude occur various accents. These accents should be thought of as an emphasis on a note, and not a hard tongued accent. Accented notes should sound more weighted and heavy. This will result in a stylistically appropriate performance. g. Now for some details. In line 3, measure 2 and 3, avoid clipping the ends of these slurs. Think of holding the last note of each slur a little longer so there is no space between the last note and the first note of the next slur. h. In line 4, the accents under the slur are used to emphasize the subdivision of 2 groups of 3. The material preceding these measures is grouped in a subdivision of three groups of 2, so these accents shift the feel of this passage. i. In line 4, measure 2, there begins an ascending sequence that is a little challenging at first. Learn this passage as slow as necessary with a metronome so that you can play all the notes without any stumbles or quick corrections. It does not matter how slow initially. Once you can play it five times perfectly at any tempo, you can speed it up incrementally in a short time. See the foundation tempo practice method in the attached pdf file on practice strategies to read more about this practice technique. j. In line 4 measure four, be sure that the Fb is played correctly. It is fingered like an E natural. k. In line 7, measure 4, again avoid clipping the slurs. I also recommend playing all the B naturals with the right pinkie finger. l. In line 8, measure 3, there begins a hemiola passage which is going to cause a problems for people on audition day. Here are some tips to consider so you can execute this passage in your audition. m. First, lean on the accented notes and then relax the air on the others. Do not over articulate them. n. Second, there is a great tendency to rush in a passage like this. If you want to stand out as a good player, be able to play this passage without rushing. Practicing with the metronome set to the eighth note will really help this. The biggest danger will be on the second dotted quarter beat. The last two sixteenth notes of each measure will likely come early. When you learn the passage, there will be a sense of waiting for these two notes. You might also think of them as two pickups to the downbeat of the next measure, having nothing to do with the notes coming before them and this may help. o. In line 9 second measure, think of the accented notes as being heavy and having equal weight. p. The remainder of the etude is like the beginning and is rather straight forward. q. This etude isn t too difficult if you learn the tricky passages beginning lines 5 and 8 correctly. Take you time working up the tempo and you should be ready for your audition. 4. Selection number two, found on page 31 is in the key of Ab major. The tempo is quarter note equals You are to play the entire etude.

4 The errata for this section: The slur in measure 20 should begin on the second sixteenth note of beat one. The a tempo marking in measure 31 starts on the second sixteenth note of beat two. 5. (Master Class selection number two) a. There are three difficult aspects of this etude that need to be mastered if you are to have good audition: the key signature, coming in correctly after the tied notes, and 64 th note embellishment figure. b. First, it might not be a bad idea to mark all the Dbs in the etude. As high school clarinetists, we do not we play in this key very often so it is easy to miss them. c. To play notes correctly after a tie, there are two methods I like to use to help students get the proper feel. First, always group the notes after a tie to the next beat. For example, in line 1 in the first full measure, the last three sixteenth notes should be thought of as three pick up notes to next down beat. Mentally separate them from the accented tie before. This is a very effective method for handling coming in off ties in any phrase. d. Second, it might be useful to practice putting a beat rest between the tied note and the three sixteenths following. Once this is comfortable, take out the rest, but keep the notes mentally separated. e. In the last measure of line 1 occurs the first instance of the 64 th note embellishment passage. This gesture can be a bit challenging. f. The first thing to do, is to listen to the recording and get the sound of the gesture in your head. This will help immensely. g. Second, keep your right hand pinkie finger on the C key for the whole passage. h. Third, your hands must stay very relaxed. A fast passage like this can not be forced out. Your fingers need to remain as relaxed as possible. You might find that the harder you try to play this passage the worse it gets. Keep it feeling easy. i. Fourth, you can cheat a little bit by playing the first 64 th notes a little early. Get through them as quickly as you can after you play the first sixteenth note C. j. Finally, the last sixteenth Bb should be thought of as a pick up to the next measure. It is very important that it occurs exactly on the fourth sixteenth subdivision. k. There are no breath marks indicated in this etude. I will provide you with some possible breathing places. However, if you are working with a teacher, they may have some different suggestions depending on your lung capacity or musical preference. l. In line 2, last measure, breath between the first and second sixteenth note (Ab and C). In line 3 measure 4, you can breathe after any of these ties, but I prefer breathing after the tied C in measure 4 and after the F in measure 5. In line 4, if needed, you could breathe before the downbeat of measure 4 if needed but see if you can make it to the next line. In line 5, measure 2, you can breathe between the first and second note, after the staccato C. In line 6, you can breathe before the first note of measure 4. In line 7, you could breathe in measure 4, beat two, between the first and second notes. In the last line, breathe after the first quarter note in measure 3. Again these are just some suggestions and you can change or

5 modify the breathing for what works for you. m. The articulation style in this etude is similar to the first. Practice using the straw method to get a good staccato. Avoid clipping notes and focus more on a firm attack at the beginnings of notes. n. In line 2 last measure, and line 3 measure 1, be careful to play the articulation pattern correctly. Again avoid clipping slurs and it will feel much better. The same pattern combination occurs in line 4 measures 3 and 4, and line 5 measure 1. o. In line 5 measure 5, play a Db on the second note. E to Db is a large stepwise interval so it may feel strange but it is correct. p. It is crucial on this etude to be able to play with a metronome. Use the practice strategies provided in the pdf. There will be a great temptation to turn the metronome off because it will confuse you on many of these passages. Instead of turning it off, set the metronome to a slow enough tempo that you can feel in control. Even if it is at ¼ the final tempo, once you can lock in the notes and rhythms, increasing the tempo to near full tempo can usually be done in a very short amount of time. 7. (Performance of number two) 8. Selection number three, found on pages 16 is in the key of g minor. The tempo is eighth note equals You are to play the entire etude. Errata for this selection: In measures 32 and 33 should be the same as the first two measures. Measure 30 (cadenza), the next to the last beat should egin with Ca natural, not C#. 1. This is the slow etude for the audition. It is very important that you learn and are comfortable playing this piece beating the eighth note. The judges will be beating the eighth note pulse behind the screen, so it is important that you are thinking the same pulse as they are. 2. When playing in eighth note time, be sure to count very carefully. Usually it isn t the fast notes that are the problem, but being careless on the slower rhythms. For example quarter notes are played as two beats not one, and eighth notes are played as a whole beat, not a half beat. 3. This etude will not only test how beautifully and expressively you can play, but will also test your rhythm. Rhythm is very easy to judge and if you are not absolutely clear about how to play all the rhythms, you will have problems. Don t trust what feels right. Make sure you are comfortable playing every measure with a metronome. 4. There are many rhythmic traps in this etude. Make sure that you work with your private teacher or band director to make sure that you are playing the rhythms accurately. You can also listen to the recording to help check your accuracy.

6 5. Selecting the correct tempo is very important for this etude. To determine the correct tempo, look at the fastest note duration. This occurs in measure 38. In an eighth note beat, these notes will be played four notes to the beat so they will feel like sixteenth notes. The tempo that these notes can be played is the tempo you must use for the whole etude. You can not start faster and then slow down when you get to the 32 nd notes. The 32 nd notes should not be too fast but move quickly in a flowing melodic way. Listen to the performance to hear how they should be performed 6. There are a lot of dynamic markings in this etude. Make sure that they are very clear, however, use your ear to make the phrases sound simple and natural. Play dynamics using your ears not your eyes. In a slow etude, the phrases should feel as if they are undergoing a slow sustained growth leading to a high point, and then slowly decaying afterwards. When you see a decrescendo over a measure or two, do not be too quick to get softer. Let the phrase follow through the beginning and then gradually get softer. Think of saving most of the decrescendo for the last two or three notes at the end of a phrase. There will be some exceptions, but try this and see if it sounds good to you. 7. The phrase beginning in line 3, fifth contains some rhythmic challenges which some might find difficult. In line 4, measure 1, if you are counting in eighth notes, the 32 nd notes are played like 16 th notes. The dotted figure is played like a dotted eighth sixteenth. 8. In the same measure, be careful not to play G# on the Gb. It is fingered like F#. 9. In line 5, measure 1, the sixteenth notes at the end of the measure should not rush and be accurate. It is important to demonstrate your ability to shift from triplet sixteenths to sixteenths in this measure. These are performed like triplets shifting to eighth notes when counting in an eighth note beat. 10. Make a slight ritard into the fermata at line 6, measure 3. This is a standard musical nuance to set up a fermata. Begin the chromatic scale slowly and gradually accelerate. All the notes need to be heard, so don t accelerate to the point where you let go and skid over notes. 11. The rhythm in line 8, measure 1 is perhaps the most awkward in the entire etude. Do not hold the dotted 32 nd too long or else this passage will drag. Simply lean on it a little more. Make sure you can sing this rhythm before you play it. Listen to the performance or have a teacher help you. 12. Finally, the descending chromatic scale in line 8, measure 3 needs to start after the fourth click of a metronome. Do not come off this note early and once you start the chromatic scale, keep it in time all the way down. 13. Once you have the details worked out for this etude, practice playing the entire cut over and over again to get a sense of the pacing of the piece. If you can develop a narrative quality as you proceed through the etude, with different moods and characters unfolding in a natural way, you will do a better job selling this etude to an audition committee. 9. I hope you enjoy exploring the etudes as much as I have. Use your imagination have fun! The hours that you invest in etudes will be very rewarding if you keep in mind that they re not so much about playing the

7 clarinet but about making music. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at Texas Tech University at or ext. 269, or visit the Clarinet Studio Webpage at webpages.acs.ttu.edu/dshea.