Preparing for Auditions
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- Category: Lessons
A super tool to help prepare for auditions is the audio/MIDI sequencer. I use a couple of different ones - Digital Performer and Reaper. DP I've used for years, it's a very capable piece of software. Reaper is in active development and appears to be evolving into a contender in the DAW competition.
Students bring audition pieces to their lessons, these often present a variety of challenges. I encourage students to start work on the pieces at a slow tempo and make every effort to play rhythms very accurately. The goal being to make a strong connection between the activity of the mind and the movement of fingers, control of the embouchure and breath.
With a sequencer and a MIDI wind controller I can record the parts to follow the music with great accuracy and then play the piece at any tempo. One approach, which works well for saxophone students is to record a virtual piano and an acoustic saxophone playing the parts, adding a ride cymbal to keep time. I make several recordings at various speeds which students can download these from my web site. Starting off, I play the head a couple of times with sax and piano, then the sax drops out so the student can jam with the piano. After a couple of chorus the piano drops out leaving the ride cymbal. Once the student feels the rhythm then the ride cymbal frequency can decrease. Usually the cymbal starts off beating quarter notes, then half notes.
This example, Groove Blues, was made with my back-up alto, as my professional horn a Conn New Wonder II Alto was in the shop, as the tempo increased the challenge was to make intonation corrections quickly enough.