Hi William As one experienced amateur to another, I would be inclined to say you should do whatever works for you.
But also as an amateur with limited practice time, I would be inclined also to suggest that using practice time effectively is of great importance. This is not specifically for auditions, but with regards to any performance. I agree entirely with Hans' point of practicing with the brain engaged. When I come to a new piece, I try if at all possible to have a listen to it before the first rehearsal and and to look at the part at the same time. The aim is to identify the exposed bits, and especially the exposed difficult bits. These are what you will be judged on, both by the conductor and the audience. Therefore these are what your practice must ruthlessly concentrate on. The 5-times-perfect is a good approach to this, particularly by starting slowly and working up to speed. I've described my approach to this on my blog. Practicing a difficult passage effectively http://jonathanhornthoughts.blogspot.com/2009/07/practicing-difficult-passage.html Now, it is these difficult and exposed passages which will also tend to get used in auditions, so if you know how to get these up to scratch quickly, you will be at an advantage. Also, with solo passages, particularly the heroic and romantic ones the horn tends to be given, there is a need to plan how you are going to play it, what you are trying to achieve with the expression, what emotions you want to convey. A 2-bar solo can be routine or wonderful to the audience depending on whether you have worked out precisely where the top of the crescendo should come and how far you should drop down after. As for the more routine accompanying parts of symphonies and other orchestral works, they still have to be played of course, and a few places may still be tricky, but the aim here is support and blending. So the notes need less practice at home, and your main aim is not to be too loud and to make sure you come in at the right point. So listening to recordings can actually be more useful than practicing the part. For a concert I'm playing this weekend, there are about 20 bars in 3 pieces that need some dedicated practice at home, being both exposed and in places difficult. There is one solo passage where I've had to plan and make decisions how I'm going to do the expression. The rest is relatively routine. Regards Jonathan West _______________________________________________ post: [email protected] unsubscribe or set options at https://pegasus.memphis.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
