How did you get into All State?

[Rick F]

"Play with a good tone — Never louder than lovely, never softer than supported."

I love that!

[Colin Bentuba]

I'm principal with the Georgia 9/10 All-State Orchestra (Sophomore). I disagree with the notion that the whole thing is a crapshoot, but the chair placement certainly is. That is to say, if you get first chair one year, don't expect it the next, because you probably won't get it. But any who, on to the practicing. I started in July (When the etudes are published), and didn't relent until January, at the auditions. As a general rule of thumb, don't orient your practice around a specific goal (i.e. All-State), orient your practice around becoming a better player, with various auditions playing a role in you becoming a better tubist. Also, it's not necessarily the AMOUNT of practice you get in, it's the effectiveness of the practice you get in. Do you take lessons? Do you do a standard warm-up? Do you work out of any method books? I use my etude to guide the technique I work on. Don't let the etude consume all of your practice. If you get it, you get it, and if you don't, you don't. Just be as dedicated as you can be, practice hard, but don't over-practice, and let the music flow. Don't be so concentrated on technique that you forget to be musical. Those are just a few of my suggestions. Feel free to message me and I'll give you my email if you need anything! Good luck!

Yeah on the chair placement, don't expect repeats, no one does that.

Practice. Don't make anything you do uncertain. If you really know your stuff it will come off that way.

[Cthuba]

A little thing that may not have been covered.

Practice diligently and try your best, and play your best. If you know for certain that you've done those things then nothing else really matters.

I guess what I'm trying to say is don't let making All-State band/orchestra be the end all be all of your tuba playing. I only made districts in my senior year after playing for tuba for about 6 months and was devastated that I didn't make it to regions. I was young and stupid. It even effected me a little in college, but eventually I understood that we are all on different levels and paths and eventually (with guided practice and effort) success may come.

Just my .02 cents

Goodluck!

[sweaty]

Bloke,

All-State is about more than what you've described. It is a great opportunity for an accomplished young musician to connect with other like-minded kids, to play music which their own school may not be able to do, and to work under a well-respected conductor.

[ThaZhangsta]

Thank you guys so much, I'll be sure to work hard in the next several months.

But I have 2 more questions:
How do you stay calm in the audition room? How do I practice it?
And also How do you keep your lips warmed up in the times that you are not playing in the room? (What should I play during the 30 second warm ups?)

I realized that these 2 factors were some of the big problems that I faced this year.

Thanks again!

[ralphbsz]

How do you stay calm in the audition room? How do I practice it?

I have only vague ideas. Some people have stage fright. Others don't. I used to have a friend (professional violin player, died young in a car crash, I was her piano partner) who had unbelievable nerves of steel, and was never the slightest bit nervous. I think two factors are important (at least for me): One, as bloke already said: be well prepared. Extremely well. If you know that you are much better than you need to be, then you know that nothing that can possible go wrong. Second: Develop a "don't care" attitude. If you're sitting in front of a thousand people (and I'm a piano player, so I tend to sit there by myself), just think of it this way: I've practiced hard, I can do this well, and if something goes wrong, that's not a regrettably accident, but the world will go on. Or if I don't get into this honor ensemble, or don't make the audition for this conservatory, or get last chair instead of first chair, at least it won't be my fault for not practicing enough.

And also How do you keep your lips warmed up in the times that you are not playing in the room?

At the audition for our county honor band, there were trumpets and clarinets tooting in all the stair cases, and four or five tubas sitting outdoors, playing scales and etudes. Most brass players were occasionally buzzing on their mouthpieces, probably to keep them warm. While waiting, I went to the restroom, and the floor of that hallway was completely covered in bassoons, and bassoon students blowing into their reeds and making funny squeaking noises.

What I'm really saying: Maybe the answer is to find a place where you can play a little bit to warm up.

[Eflatdoubler]

To deal with nerves-
Play for people that make you nervous before hand!
Set up a series of mock auditions, right down to having a screen.

Remember to breathe- including the day of when the butterflies start. Many people get so wound up before hand they never focus on the music.
Expect to be nervous- it means you are alive. Read books by Don Green.
Think of the extra energy like a chariot race with extra hp. Just remember 6 hp is better than 2hp, so long as they are all going in the same direction... tune out what it "feels like" and deliver the product of the music.

as for the 30 second warm up- just play simple slow even scales in the key of the piece you are about to perform. Listen to the room and how it responds (I know this is tough with all the bombastic playing occurring). If it is extra dry/boomy take it into consideration.

no sense blowing your face because you missed something once. As James Markey once told me- (paraphrased) if you keep playing a lick over and over the day of an audition to see if you still have it, you will still have that "what if" in your mind when doing it, except now you will be out of gas.
Know the music inside and out and don't get hung up on a mistake...it can't be changed.

[graybach]

Thank you guys so much, I'll be sure to work hard in the next several months.

But I have 2 more questions:
How do you stay calm in the audition room? How do I practice it?
And also How do you keep your lips warmed up in the times that you are not playing in the room? (What should I play during the 30 second warm ups?)

I realized that these 2 factors were some of the big problems that I faced this year.

Thanks again!

As far as staying calm in the audition room and how to practice it: I had several private students while I was in college. One thing I did with them, (admittedly I had more people at my disposal because I was part of a large tuba studio and they would do the mock audition judging for a 6-pack ) was to have my students come to my school and do a run-through of the exact audition they would be taking. It was behind a screen with 2 judges in a room in which they had never been. I acted as the monitor because the monitor, unlike the judges, was visible. We ran through the audition EXACTLY as they would do this on audition day, screen and everything, with comments and score sheets. I did it two or three times with them, and they told me that by the time they got to the audition, it helped with their nerves. They weren't perfectly calm and it didn't make all their problems go away, but simulating exact audition conditions exactly as they are on audition day will help. Get a few of your buddies in band to do this with you and maybe your band director and your family. Play for as many people as possible. Along the same lines, I remember an interview in the ITEA Journal with (among others) Alan Baer, principal tuba player of the New York Philharmonic, about his success with auditions. One of his pieces of advice was to take care of all the known factors before audition day, (in his case plane tickets, cab, negotiating several instruments, etc.), and leave as little as possible to chance. Be as prepared as possible- Make sure to get enough to eat. Get there with enough time to familiarize yourself with your surroundings, have a good warm-up, etc. He said a lot of other very helpful things, but I don't have the article in front of me, and this is my lunch break. I would add to that- Also remember that what you play in the audition room, on the stage, etc., is always an extension of the practice room. Run through the pieces several times in their entirety, blowing through the mistakes (Of course deal with mistakes, but that's not the point here) and going on like you'll have to do on audition day. And mentally think that your audition is nothing but the latest practice session, just that this time you're doing your practice routine in front of the judges.
As far as keeping your lips warm- Buzz on the mouthpiece if you can't play your horn...

[Tubadude999]

Being calm during auditions comes from doing a lot of auditions. It's not something you can control, at least in most cases.

[Biggs]

I lived in Massachusetts, which was crucial to my success at All-State auditions.

Hi. What do you mean?

I mean that the level of competition in the state where I grew up was proportional to my ability. Had I (assuming the same level of tuba ability), grown up in Texas or any number of other states, I doubt I would have been accepted into that state's all-state band. There were, of course, some very fine players in Massachusetts who were (and still are!) much better than me. There was not, however, an insurmountable preponderance of such players.

[Cthuba]

That having been said, those people were not chosen for those bands because their goals were to be chosen for those bands. Moreover, their goals and achievements, generally, reached far beyond the goal of being chosen for those bands (which is the point that I've been trying to make to the person who started this thread)...
.

+2

[Tubadude999]

This could be a really stupid question, but from what it sounds like, Texas operates on a quota system from each district (PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong). Why don't they just wise up and move to something like Georgia where everyone has a fair (relatively) shot??

[TubaDanny43]

I've made the Texas ATSSB All- State band for the past 3 years (Junior now) and it has not been easy. Some people don't think of ATSSB as highly as TMEA but I know the amount of time and work I put in to it. Main thing I stayed away from is other things that may take up your mine time. You must have all of your time and thought devoted to your playing.

-Definitely do not take major time off during the holiday breaks.
-Take your music slow. Not the tempo but the process of learning it. It's very hard to break bad habits.
-Almost always work with a metronome.
-Record and listen to yourself a lot.
-Always seek out additional help.

Making it is just an all around great experience. You get to play great music, you get to meet some pretty cool people, and the convention is usually awesome.

I've had a VERY helpful trumpet band director since I was in 5th grade all the way up til' last year but he did leave so this year i decided to take a lesson with Lee Hipp (Principal Tuba Player of the San Antonio Symphony) a week before my Area auditions and man did it make a difference.

Just my 2 cents.

[Michael Bush]

-Definitely do not take major time off during the holiday breaks.
-Take your music slow. Not the tempo but the process of learning it. It's very hard to break bad habits.
-Almost always work with a metronome.
-Record and listen to yourself a lot.
-Always seek out additional help.

This is a good point. My experience was in a different world: Kentucky in the '70s & '80s. The level of competition was lower, but it was also proportional. In that more modest context I made All-State every year I was eligible. This, I thought and still think, was because of being willing and even determined to do the boring kinds of practice most of the competition was not willing to sit there and do, but which improves your overall playing habits.