stringfollies

My S plays the violin and has his first audition next Saturday. He knows all his scales backwards and forwards, but to play them really well, he has to work each note for intonation - this is very time-consuming. There is much practising to do and little time left and we are wondering how likely it is that scales will be requested.

musicianmom

From our experience and the experience of others we know who auditioned at conservatories and higher level music departments, I think scales are often not heard - even though they are typically indicated as required audition material. I don't know that I would assume they won't be required from your son, however. Any individual school can do whatever they want!

Maybe he can prioritize his practice - concerto will definietely be heard, Bach (if on the audition repertoire list) will definietley be heard. Etudes, if requested, are usually not heard unless the student indicates he has Paganini level material prepared. Paganini or equivalent is often listened to - I assume just so the faculty can see the level of playing on the more difficult technical material. If concerto, Bach or other required pieces are still weak, your son may want to concentrate on those working on the assumption that these are the most likely works to be performed.

Perhaps your son's teacher has gotten feedback from previous students who auditioned at the schools your S is looking at? If he knows any students attending the schools where he's auditioning, I'd have him send a quick email question! Auditions experiences can vary by year, but I think are kept fairly constant.

Best of luck!

violadad

At the three conservatory level schools my son applied to, scales were part of the audition requirements, but he was never asked to play them.

shennie

My son is a cello major. At 4 undergrad and 4 grad auditions he was only ever asked to play scales once, and that was for a regional audition that was videotaped by an admissions staff person, so they just had the same formula for each person.

lorelei2702

Etudes are very much a part of the repertory heard at conservatories, for some they must be memorized. So, if they say etudes, you need to play them and play them well.

musicianmom

Lorelei, I would agree that if etudes are requested, they should be well prepared. However, they may not be heard. Our experience and those of friends in my S's audition year -

Juiliiard - Paganini, yes
CIM - Paganini, no
Oberlin - Paganini yes, others with Rode or equivalent - no
NEC - Paganini, yes
Northwestern - Paganini, yes Rode, Kreutzer - no
MSM - no
Peabody - Paganini - yes, taped for regional

Cosmos

For Curtis, a B-flat major scale in 2 octaves has been part of the bass requirement for the past few years at least and people have been asked to play it.

Also, Todd Seeber (BSO bassist) always told us that his old teacher, Henry Portnoi (former principal bass of the BSO), used to say, "The three most important things in auditions are intonation, intonation, and intonation - in that order!"

So even if it's time consuming to work up scales, do it because it helps with all other aspects of playing and in everything else you ever have to play in your life.

ImperialZeppelin

Indiana University (Jacob) makes you play scales, minor scale at that...

musicianmom

Stringfollies, I had another thought that might be helpful for your son if he isn't aware already. Frequently, the auditioners will ask the student to cut to a cadenza of the concerto after playing the opening page or so. He might want to practise being "disrupted", then starting from another spot.

Sometimes, students have picked up the notion that they really need only the first 1 - 3 pages or so of their concerto. Just a warning that although that is sometimes the case, S heard at least one auditioner play beautifully for 3 pages - then total memory slip when she wasn't cut-off. She had to get her music to continue and it was clear that the remainder of the 1st movement of her concerto was not well learned.

At one venue, S played the opening page or so of his concerto, then was asked to cut to cadenza that occurred mid-way through the movement. The auditioners then had him continue until he reached the end of the work. He hadn't really expected to play the final pages of his long concerto, but was well prepared to do so. He was extremely proud of himself when he heard one of the professors remark to another - "He's got the whole thing!"

Again, best of luck! The best preparation is to be prepared musically and mentally and not to second guess what may or may not be listened to! In the end, anything is fair game.

stringfollies

Thanks for all the guidance. His concerto is almost perfect from beg. to end. The Bach is getting there. The Paganini Caprice is very very hard, but he's working (won't need it for another 3 weeks). His intonation is generally almost flawless (the Paganini is harder). He would rather not spend a lot of time on scales and arpeggios right now - they are pretty well displayed in the concerto anyway. We are growing more hopful!

thumper1

DS is not a string player. He also did not have to play any scales for either undergrad or grad school auditions. BUT he does say...if you are auditioning as a performance major, scales should be automatic for you...all of them. If asked, you should be able to play them and with good intonation on your instrument.

stringfollies

good luck to string players everywhere on that one! i know a professional violist in a major orchestra who is preparing an audition for another orchestra - she practises intonation for hours each day still. intonation is a constant search for string players.

Cosmos

I'm of the mindset that intonation is really the most important thing in playing music. Being a musician is the same as being an athlete. You have to condition yourself everyday. Doesn't matter if there's an audition coming up or a competition. If you do scales and exercises, they will help you with everything else you're doing. I have three auditions next month, and if I have only a little bit of time to practice on a given day, I do scales and exercises.

Scales are basically the best thing in the entire world because you can practice so many different things while you're practicing scales. Bow control (bow speed, placement, and pressure), long tones, bow strokes (marcato, martele, spiccato, staccato, legato, etc.), intonation (using a drone helps), hand posture, limiting tension in the arms/hands/fingers/etc.... Everything can be worked on while working on scales! They're wonderful.

In my opinion, forgoing scales should never happen.

thumper1

Cosmos....my son would agree with you. And I also agree that intonation is something that instrumentalists need to work on all of the time...that is a skill that is in need of constant honing and practice.

thzxcyl

... except for pianists. That would be the job of the piano technicians. Maybe for that reasons I can hardly think of any school that ask for scales (as an audition requirement) for piano.