I think if many of us are honest with ourselves we will admit that our listening skills have not been given proper attention in their development. Most of us have practiced playing much much more than we have practiced listening. This is a major oversight and I am amazed at how this critical skill is so neglected by the great majority of musicians. The good news is that since these skills are so underdeveloped by most we have an opportunity for huge improvement quickly and relatively easily. No matter what level of musician we are we can make a big improvement in ourselves as musicians and people if we improve our listening ability.
Principles of Auditions, Part Three: The Big Day
This is the third and final installment of my series on orchestra audition principles, tips, and tricks. Today covers Audition Day. For Part One covering general philosophy click here, and for Part Two on preparation, click here. Finally the big day has finally arrived! After a thorough, relaxed and joyful preparation, we are now ready to …
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Principles of Auditions – Part Two: The Preparation Process
IQuality preparation is key to any successful performance. Any good coach will tell you that most of the winning of any sports contest will be in the preparation. For John Wooden, widely considered the greatest basketball coach of all time, the outcome of a competition was largely decided in practice leading up to the game. While …
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Principles of Auditions – Part One: General Audition Philosophical Principles
Auditions are a fact of life today in the classical music world. They are almost always required for getting orchestra jobs and into universities and festivals, yet are quite different than regular music playing. Therefore so it is an essential skill for successful classical players to master for a successful career. I did a lot …
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Tips for Beethoven Symphony Trumpet Performance
The following post is reposted from Joshua MacCluer’s blog from December 2015. November came with a big project for us at the HK Phil performing the 9 Beethoven Symphonies with our music director Jaap van Zweden. It was an intense month! The boss has very high standards for Beethoven, it was hard work, and it …
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The Lost Art of Classical Improvisation
In my opinion improvisation is one of the most important and helpful practices a musician can perform, yet one of the most neglected. Today classical music and musicians suffer greatly as a result of this neglect. Musicianship is first and foremost about expression, and only through the practice of improvisation can we can discover our …
The Essential Role of Modeling for Mastery and Rafael Mendez
The following is a repost from Joshua MacCluer’s blog from July 2014. One of the most effective and time tested methods of getting better at something is modeling. I highly recommend the power of modeling for the development of any skill in any area of performance or life. What is modeling exactly? It is a …
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Developing Long Term Relationships with Music
The following is a reprint from Joshua MacCluer’s blog from May 2014. Today I’d like to write a little about the value of developing long term relationships with music. Relationships with music are no different than relationships with people, and just as truly meaningful friendships develop over time, a special performance of a piece of …
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Résumé Writing Tips for Orchestral Musicians
The following is a reprint from Joshua MacCluer’s blog from May 2014. There was great recent news recently for the Hong Kong Philharmonic when we heard the the orchestra is adding 6 new positions, including 4th trumpet. After advertising internationally, we received 171 résumé applications for the 4th trumpet position. When I examined the résumés …
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10 Techniques for Better Fast Playing
The following is a reprint from Lamma Studios Director Joshua MacCluer from March 2014. A staple of the trumpet/cornet repertoire is the arrangement by Herbert L. Clarke of The Carnival of Venice. While impressive sounding, it’s not too difficult to play if it is well practiced. However, it’s very difficult to play if poorly practiced …