Kentucky 2018-2019 French Horn All-State Clinic, held 9-26-18
Intro
Etude recordings
Scales
All major scales 2 octaves (except B and C)
Required for All-District and All-State
These are the easy part of the audition. Know them well
Knowing these scales (and corresponding arpeggios) will make audition music much easier
All-State Etude 1, excerpt from Kopprasch #27
Give recommended tempo (quart= 76-90)
Discuss challenges in playing whole thing too slow (breathing)
Play through under tempo (around 60-70)
Discuss etude characteristics
Very steady rhythm.
Although there are lots of 16ths, keep tempo comfy for you
Make sure that long notes (8ths, quarts) are full value
In beginning, practice small chunks slowly (8th subdivision)
Articulation
Two different slur patterns
3-note slur/1-note tongue
2-note slur/2-note tongue
Each pattern corresponds to different musical line
EXCEPT mm 7, 10, and 18
Dynamics
Unusual for Kopprasch.
Most Kopp dynamics are p or f.
This has mf (with cresc from f into subito mf)
Don’t overdo the piano - still keep it strong.
Melody
Two different melodies, mostly matching the slur/tongue patterns.
Practice strategies for 3-note slur pattern
Out of time: play from 3rd to 4th 16th as scale
Out of time: play 3rd to 4th 16th as skip - do a few of these back to back
In time: play 1st 16th as dotted eighth, leave out 2nd/3rd 16th, play 4th 16th. Blow air through dotted eighth
In time: add 2nd/3rd 16th back in, but keep air the same as previous step. All lower notes are just chromatics w/valves
Practice strategies for 2-note slur pattern
Identify whether these are scales or arpeggios.
KNOW YOUR SCALES AND ARPEGGIOS
In time: Play the scales as written, slowly, and speed up.
Out of time: Play arpeggios in root position (1-3-5).
In time: Play arpeggios as written in music (3-1-3-5, 1-3-1-5, etc.). Make sure same notes match pitch. If necessary, fill in the gaps between arpeggio notes.
Questions
All-State Etude 2, excerpt from Shoemaker Legato Etudes #6
Note tempo - actually faster than the Kopprasch (but feels slow due to bigger note values).
Discuss challenges in playing whole thing too slow (endurance)
Play through under tempo (around 90)
Discuss etude characteristics
Rhythm
More variety in note lengths - make sure to count rhythm very carefully. Especially mm 2-3, mm 11, mm 25, and all long notes.
Metronome
Better to go faster in small chunks, than to try and do long sections at slower tempo
Measure 13-15 will likely require more time to speed up. Plan practice session(s) accordingly.
Articulation
This is from a book of Legato Studies. This gives big clue in overall style.
Accents under slurs are “pushed” with air, not too heavy.
Tongued accents are similar - not sfz like, but weighty.
Keep staccato notes bouncy - they are all in quieter dynamics.
In staccato notes before a rest, make sure the sound tapers quickly - don’t cut off with throat/tongue.
Dynamics
Only two markings - f and p. Many times the changes are sudden
Bring out the cresc and decresc when they are written - especially on long tones.
Melody
Lots of repetition. Make sure to plan out practice to focus on difficult/new sections instead of playing straight through.
Same 3-note slur motive from Kopprasch at beginning.
Make sure and identify scales/arpeggios in 8th and 16th note figures. This make notes and melody much easier to play.
Practice strategies
Big jumps (mm 3-4, mm 7, mm 10, etc.)
Out of time: Play first note, then a scale to next note
Out of time: Play as a gliss-y slur. Speed up gliss.
In time: Play as gliss-y slur, move valves to eliminate as much gliss as possible (keep air the same).
16th notes (mm 13-15, mm 22)
Identify scale/arpeggio of 16th figure
For arpeggios, notice partials between the written notes.
Try mm 14 (with pickups) on F 1-3
Play with normal fingerings, but hit “between partials
Coordinate air/valves to skip those partials
Practice scales slowly.
For mm. 15, start on D4, and work backwards up the scale to A4