After completing the Baermann Bootcamp, I found myself still motivated to keep working on fundamentals, but I was very “scaled out”. I was recently re-introduced to the Jeanjean Vade-Mecum during the Virtual Clarinet Warmups, and decided it would be a good option for another challenge. Vade-Mecum (noun): a handbook or guide that is kept constantly […]
Category: practicing
Finally I have a bit of time and I thought I would post about my Navy Band audition nearly three (!) months ago. If you don’t feel like reading a lot today, here’s is the long story short…I felt extremely prepared, and I probably played the best I’ve ever played in an audition for a […]
Phase 2 is complete! Wow, the last four weeks certainly went by fast. In fact, it feels like I just started this whole process just the other day, but it was 8 weeks ago! Anyway, back then I really wasn’t sure what I would focus on in “phase 3”, other than a two week “taper”. […]
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3 weeks is too long…
7 weeks down. 3 weeks to go til the audition. Can it be over now? I’m starting to get exhausted. And honestly, I don’t feel that optimistic about my abilities on most days. But maybe it has to do with the fact that I’m recording and critiquing myself every day. I have been trying to […]
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Phase 1…complete!
So here’s an update on my audition preparation. Yesterday was the last day of “phase 1”, aka the woodshedding phase. I am happy to report that I have everything pretty much under my fingers. “Pretty much” being the key words here…some excerpts are certainly not clean (*cough* Dance of the Hours *cough*), and the Rossini […]
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Audition prep
Finally, there’s an opening in the Navy band in DC! I’m trying not to be too overzealous about it…I have to win it first. Since the last few auditions haven’t really worked out that great I’m determined to approach this audition in a new way. One of my colleagues (who is actually going up to […]
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I have no talent.
Seriously. I don’t. This has been a topic that I’ve been thinking about a lot the past few months. In the Navy, I have worked with all levels of musicians, from people barely able to play their instruments (thank goodness not at the band right now!) to people who have advanced degrees from major music […]
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Is it really 2014? Crap…
Well, another year in the books. This year went by very fast! I think its true, that the older you get, the faster time goes. I kind of wish that it was the other way around. Not that I hated my childhood, I just think that adulthood is way more fun. Lets see, what happened […]
So lets see…its been almost three years since I’ve taken any kind of audition. Wow that’s crazy! Time has flown by since I’ve been in the Navy. Tomorrow I’m headed to Washington, D.C. once again to be one of the probably hundred clarinetists to take the President’s Own audition. This time is going to be quite […]
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BAM
Relating to my recent post on rhythm…I found this little gem hanging around my feed on Facebook. http://tommcpherson.ca/rhythmic-notation-in-lego/ I think its time to invest in some LEGOs. Have a wonderful day everyone!
Sandy Herrera, Clarinet 