Find solution
How do I get accepted into AVID?

How to get accepted into elite symphony orchestra - oboist?

  • I play oboe and have been playing for 3 years. I have always enjoyed it, but lately I've been getting more into it. I got accepted into my state's middle school honor band and got a new oboe. I found that playing with people who really care about music is much more fun, rewarding, and challenging than just my school band. We had the concert last night though, so now I need another band that is made of more serious musicians like in the honor band. I want to try to get accepted into my area's Youth Symphony. These are the requirements for the audition. 1) Chromatic scale from lowest possible note to highest. (B flat to highest F) 2) The piece that they will post on their website on April 1. ( Auditions are May 8-11) 3) Sightreading I am terrible at sightreading and don't know how to get any better, so if anyone has tips on how to get better, I'd appreciate it. Also, what do auditions like that usually consist of? What do the judges look for? What are some key things that I should make sure to have down? What isn't quite as important? Also, I do have a private teacher. Thanks!

  • Answer:

    Your teacher can help you with all of that. You get better at sight reading by doing it, so ask your teacher to take part of every lesson to work on sight reading. What I do with my students is to read duets with them. I tell them to check the key signature, the time signature, and the tempo indication, quickly look for any fast passages to estimate how fast they can read them, then get started. I don't ever back up or wait for them playing the second part so they have to stay in rhythm and count accurately. After reading through a few lines I'll ask them to tell me what went wrong and to figure out why. For an orchestra audition, rhythm is more important than getting every note. If you play the rhythm perfectly but miss a few notes you'll score higher than if you play every single pitch correctly but mess up the rhythm. That goes for solos and excerpts too. In an orchestra it's vitally important that every player be able to stay with the group so they'll be listening to your rhythmic accuracy pretty closely. For oboe they'll want to hear that you have good tone quality and can keep on pitch without wavering too much.

Dani at Yahoo! Answers Visit the source

Was this solution helpful to you?

Other answers

Sight reading can be a little tough. My advice would be to get a technique book (high school book would probably better) full of exercises and short pieces. Flip through the book and find a pretty simple piece, and follow the typical sight reading procedures (Look the music for one minute, finger through it, etc.). Each time you do this, find a piece slightly more difficult until you can sight read difficult pieces relatively easy. Also, I was taught to use the S.T.A.R acronym. S- Signature T- Tempo A- Accidentals R- Rhythms Remember, auditioning for a Youth Orchestra means competing with people who are probably as skilled as you are, or maybe more, and just as devoted. Don't be intimidated if you hear some very good musicians. :)

Elle

Only way to get better at sightreading is to just practice it. Go to imslp.org and download excerpts that you have NEVER played before. They might also have etudes/technical exercises from books, but you probably will need to buy a few books for these. Follow the methods the other 2 posters recommended. If you tell your teacher that you need help with sightreading, they can probably help you better than anyone else here can.

Zippy

Related Q & A:

Just Added Q & A:

Find solution

For every problem there is a solution! Proved by Solucija.

  • Got an issue and looking for advice?

  • Ask Solucija to search every corner of the Web for help.

  • Get workable solutions and helpful tips in a moment.

Just ask Solucija about an issue you face and immediately get a list of ready solutions, answers and tips from other Internet users. We always provide the most suitable and complete answer to your question at the top, along with a few good alternatives below.