Learning From Behind the Screen Part Two: Clarinet Era

A few years ago, I wrote a blog post about my audition observations when we at the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra held our second flute audition. I felt it was helpful to put my thoughts in a public forum, because we seldom have the opportunity to get a picture of what it is like from behind the screen. This post garnered a lot of attention in the flute community, and so after our recent principal clarinet audition, I felt compelled to write again.

General Thoughts

I’ve had the opportunity now to sit on five woodwind audition committees; at least one for each instrument in the woodwind section. One thing that has really stood out to me is that each instrument presents its own set of unique inherent problems. Ultimately what I’ve realized is that whomever solves these problems the best is well on their way to becoming the winner of the audition. My goal here in the article is to list the clarinet specific problems. One thing to keep in mind is that when I listen to auditions, excerpts are merely a vehicle to gain an overall picture of how someone plays. I almost never get caught in the weeds of details, and I certainly am not concerned about mistakes here and there.

Articulation

When I mention articulation, I’m not speaking about rapid articulation. I think much more care needs to be taken in terms of quality of articulation in clarinet playing. We heard many candidates that seemed to struggle to start notes. There was an inconsistency and unpredictability about the quality of articulation. Sometimes it took the form of an undertone at the beginning of the notes; Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio Espagñol Movement 1 being the most revealing example. Other times it felt like there was a brief moment where it took the sound to develop, a hitch of some sort, which translated into a blossoming effect. For others, there was sort of a scooping sound on the fronts of these articulation, which almost sounded like a “boing” or “doing”. I think a lot of emphasis in clarinet teaching is put on technique and sound production, and not nearly enough emphasis is placed on quality of articulation. In fact, I find that in my own practice and warm up, that articulation practice is often the first thing to go if I feel strapped for time. Consequently, it’s also the first thing to go in my playing. I encourage those on the audition trail to take a great deal of care in the quality of the articulation. It was certainly a separator in this particular circumstance.

Sound Concept Changing with Dynamics

Clarinet is a bit of a fickle beast in this regard. It’s really easy to get bright when louder, and on the other side of the spectrum, to lose the core, focus, and direction in the sound. There was a bit of strange phenomenon in this audition where when candidates would pass a certain dynamic threshold, the sound concept would completely change. It was a bit odd, because once the sound concept changed, it wasn’t even that the sound was louder; it was just different. In some cases, it actually felt like the piano dynamic had a certain resonance that actually made it sound louder than the “loud” dynamics. Record yourself in a large space and try to avoid this phenomenon and refine your quality of sound in all dynamics!

Playing Too Small for the Space

Often times before voting on a candidate, I would ask myself, “can this person play principal clarinet in this orchestra?” Sound and resonance take a lot of time to develop as clarinetists. It takes tinkering with equipment, experimenting with how to blow, and also just a comfort playing in big spaces. One thing I have realized as my career has progressed, is that there is a big difference between volume and resonance. Someone who plays with resonance has a presence to their sound in all dynamic levels, and it is very noticeable behind a screen. It felt to me like too many people where used to playing in a small practice room, and it was if their sound didn’t go past the stand. One of my most common comments in the preliminary round was that the playing was too introverted. When someone who plays with resonance steps on stage during an audition, there is an immediate separation between those candidates and others. As much as you can, get yourself into a large space and learn to fill up the space with sound (but don’t lose quality of sound!).

Intonation

I tried to make the rounds as seamless as possible in terms of switching between B-flat and A clarinet. We all hate picking up a cold instrument and all of the sudden, we are 20 cents flatter than all of our colleagues. That being said, whether you are 20 cents flat or 20 cents sharp, it doesn’t really matter in an audition. What does matter is that you play in tune with yourself. We asked some iteration of Brahms 3, 1st or 2nd movement, on every round of the audition. Major tendencies I heard were flat throat tones and sharp clarion on Bflat clarinet, flat clarion and even flatter throat tones on A clarinet. These are two excerpts that must be mastered in this regard, as it is abundantly apparent who is aware of their instruments’ tendencies and are able to adapt. Every clarinet is different, so make sure you are doing your best to match the pitch and tone color between the throat and clarion registers.

Clarity

This was more apparent in the second round than in the preliminary, mainly because we asked more technical excerpts in the second round, but I always encourage people to not take things too fast. When you think something is the right speed, play it a click slower. Clarity of technique will always trump speed. If the committee wants to hear something faster, they will ask. To go along with speed, always be sure that the direction of your phrases is clear. Recording in large spaces can be unbelievably informative in this regard.

Something as simple as this measure in the Firebird Suite can be a separator between those who play it clearly and those who do not. Phrase to the A# on the third eighth note of the measure and take care to not play it too fast so the committee can hear every 32nd note.

Not Playing the Page

When people play excerpts for me, I find that almost without exception, the first comment I make is “You have lost the forest for the trees”. Us clarinetists are constantly hammering these excerpts to the ground, micromanaging every note. We also take these excerpts to different teachers who all tell us to do different things. I encourage you all to take a few days and zoom out. Ask yourself, “am I playing what is printed on the page?” For example, there was an epidemic of people in this Beethoven 6 excerpt that completely changed their articulation from the first measure to the second measure.

I’m not going to sit here on a soapbox and say that there is anything wrong with that, but in an audition setting, I would not recommend this practice. There is nothing in the music that indicates it, so in my opinion, something like this or anything else similarly should be avoided.

Other Miscellaneous Things

A Clarinet Sounds Different Than B-Flat Clarinet

I think it is very important to have instruments that sound as similar as possible. I heard a fair number of individuals who I disliked the sound of their A clarinet, but enjoyed their B-flat. It’s a very clarinet specific problem, but unfortunately we have to have two instruments that both sound great and as similar as possible.

Warm Ups

I didn’t (and would never) dock anyone for doing it, but in my opinion, there is strictly downside to playing any warm up notes on stage.

Extraneous Noise

Air leaks, foot tapping and loud breathing are all things that committee members can hear. Remember that we are not just picking a musician, but we are picking someone that we have to sit next to for 30 years. None of these things really bother me, save for foot tapping, but I heard more than one good player I voted for not pass because of leaking air.

Mistakes

You do not have to play perfectly to advance or win. That is complete nonsense and categorically false.

Final Thoughts

I was very, very pleased with how this audition went from beginning to end. A HUGE shoutout goes to the ISO personnel department and volunteers, who kept everything on time and running smoothly backstage. My sole intention was to put the candidates in the best position possible to sound their best. I didn’t want any surprises, gotcha moments, or weird stuff; I just wanted to hear everyone at their best, and I think we accomplished that.

There were multiple candidates in the preliminary rounds that I liked very much and voted for, but in some cases I ended up being the only one who voted for them. This kind of thing happens in auditions all of the time. Sometimes it’s simply a product of square peg, round hole. Even one or two different committee members can completely alter the results of an audition. There are so many factors that contribute. My very best advice is to fall in love with the process, because that is where your true power lies. Refine your craft, gather information, and remain curious.

It is always a humbling experience sitting behind the screen. We heard 99 players, and each one should be commended. You all did something that I did not; you showed up and performed. It’s a fascinating process, and truly is a testament to the power of consensus. Each time I have the opportunity to sit on a committee, I tell myself that it is a miracle that I ever won an audition. As one of my colleagues eloquently said to me this past week, it’s kind of like winning an NFL championship. There is always a winner at the end, but for any one team to do it is almost impossible.

Thanks for reading,

Sam