Pat Harbison with Glen Kostur, sax (UNM jazz faculty) and student combo

NMBQ with soloist: L-R, Spencer Aston, Rob Roy McGregor, Susie Fritts, Jeff Piper, Paul Carlson, Debra Taylor

Brass choir of UNM and high school students, conducted by Eric Rombach-Kendall (UNM Faculty) - please click image for larger version

The University of New Mexico Brass Day and Trumpet Workshop provided a breath of fresh air to the Albuquerque music scene. The activities on 20 November 2005 included masterclasses and performances by Rob Roy McGregor, Patrick Harbison and the New Mexico Brass Quintet (NMBQ). This annual event is geared towards New Mexico high school brass students and their preparation for the upcoming All-State auditions. Afternoon activities included various masterclasses focused on improvisation, audition preparation in general, and audition preparation specific to the New Mexico All-State lists. Mock auditions with members of the NMBQ and other graduate students at the University of New Mexico (UNM) provided valuable practice and feedback for each student in attendance. An evening concert capped off the day's activities. Highlights from the program included sight-reading experience for high school students in a mass trumpet ensemble fanfare and a Gabrieli double brass quintet, several student ensembles from UNM, and a set by the NMBQ including Rob Roy McGregor as soloist on Purcell’s Sonata, and Spencer Aston as soloist on Luther Henderson’s arrangement of Amazing Grace. The concert concluded with Patrick Harbison soloing on a set of tunes with a UNM student combo and friends.

Patrick Harbison opened his masterclass on improvisation with a discussion on the differences between classical and jazz musicians. He posed the question to the audience, “What skills do jazz musicians have that classical musicians do not?” Improvisation, playing by ear, and transcribing were answers given by the New Mexico high school students in the audience. Harbison responded by agreeing with these skills being important to the jazz idiom, but added that classical musicians should also employ these skills as well. Every brass player, whether playing lead in a big band or third trumpet in an orchestra, needs “excellent musicianship, ear training, and a technique that becomes transparent” to properly express a musical idea.

With all general comments now addressed, it was time to concentrate on the topic of the day. Harbison presented a clear and methodical approach to learning the art of improvisation. First and foremost, the performer must have absolute command of all types of scales (major, minor, diminished, whole tone, modal, etc) as well as a solid understanding of chord changes. Harbison practices by immersion with one scale per day, every day, for 30 minutes. Each day brings a new scale and a new harmonic sound to explore. In addition, Harbison stressed the importance of listening often and transcribing many tunes by different artists. The audience was then given the framework for a three-step formula for successful transcription.

Step 1: Listen and be able to sing the tune without the aid of any notation. This should be done with all musical nuances such as color, articulation, etc.

Step 2: Once you are able to vocalize the complete musical example, than you begin to play it on your instrument. This step is also executed without musical notation and including all musical nuances.

Step 3: Notate what has been learned. Only when steps 1 and 2 are completed is it time to put ink on paper and write down the example for future reference. Improvisation is an aural skill: without thoroughly internalizing the aural and theoretical aspects of a tune, you are not ready to notate on staff paper.

Patrick Harbison outlined some beneficial ideas often overlooked in our quest to be fine musicians, regardless of your medium for expression. We must always remember, “Music is sound. Notes on paper are only a prompt for us to think about sound.” Harbison closed the afternoon session with a demonstration improvisation of Confirmation, accompanied by a Jamey Aebersold CD.

Next, Rob Roy McGregor began his PowerPoint presentation on audition preparation. Using a carefully-planned strategy in conjunction with musical examples, excerpts, and lists, McGregor addressed all aspects of auditioning from beginning to end. He began by using the 1998 Los Angeles Philharmonic principal trumpet audition as an example. When preparing for an audition of this caliber, each candidate must enter a mental state of concentration that hovers between abject boredom and total panic, allowing your brain to be focused and engaged in the task at hand. Practicing variations on each excerpt will keep you in the comfort zone between these two extremes. McGregor used the ballerina’s dance from Petrouchka as an example to illustrate his point. This excerpt is asked on almost all audition lists and is one of the most difficult to execute. It is compared in the presentation with “walking a tight-rope in high heels!” An excerpt such as this must be prepared by exercising constructive repetition. At this point in the masterclass, McGregor played sound clips of himself on the dance and multiple rhythmic, metric, and harmonic variations from his audition preparation books.

Once preparation is completed, the focus must now shift to the audition day and the execution of a successful audition. McGregor listed five tips for a successful audition day:

• Choose Hummel! When given the choice between playing the Haydn or Hummel Concerto (which was the case in the 1998 LA audition), choose Hummel. It is recommended as the piece with more musical interest and capacity to showcase the candidate’s abilities.
• Relax your face. Many great athletes use this technique to prepare their body for maximum performance. Relaxation of the facial muscles has a psychological affect on the mind, which translates into a physiological affect on the body, resulting in the ability to efficiently execute a successful audition.
• Do not socialize until it is over. The audition circuit is small and we often run in to the same people, many of whom we would like to catch up with on the latest gossip. Allow for only a quick hello and arrange to meet up later that day. Stay focused on the task at hand.
• Take Power Bars in your case. In a perfect world, every audition will run on time and every organization holding these auditions will provide coffee and treats for the candidates. I need not say more than BE PREPARED!
• Get plenty of sleep. Staying well rested is essential for maximum mental and physical performance. Sometimes when traveling across time zones, sleep aides may even be necessary to ensure a good nights sleep. It is advised however, that any medication used to ensure a successful audition has been used before in a “trial run” to observe any reaction your body may encounter.

McGregor’s 60-minute discussion was wrapped up with a few final thoughts. It is imperative that in our daily practice regimen we focus time on improvement and maintenance of our fundamental tone production. (As I always tell my students, if you do not have a good sound, nobody will want to listen to you.) Finally, when you are excused from the audition (as we all are at many points in our career) do not take it personally. The committee is not against you. They want you to play well so they can hire a new colleague. Sometimes the committee really enjoyed your playing but simply felt that your sound did not fit within the section. All you can do is prepare and perform to the best of your ability; the rest is out of your control.

Websites:
UNM Department of Music
Patrick Harbison
Rob Roy McGregor's company, Balquhidder Music
New Mexico Brass Quintet