Band Contest (UIL) Quick Tips

CONFIDENTLY PROJECT DYNAMICS!

It is band contest season (UIL for those of you in Texas).  Here are 3 tips that can be helpful in getting all that hard work transferred from the band hall to the concert stage:

1. BE CONFIDENT.  You can’t control the results, so don’t focus on them. Set the example for your band by focusing on what you do control –  namely your preparation  and effort. (Check out my article on this and more John Wooden ideas here.)

2. PROJECT THE SOUND. If you haven’t been already pounding this, START! Sound projection can (and should) be an integral part of all music preparation. See my article on sound projection at http://apps.texasbandmasters.org/archives/pdfs/bmr/2009-09-dean.pdf

3. PUSH DYNAMICS. At those final rehearsals: Dynamics, Dynamics, and more Dynamics!! You can even overdo it a little on this. Legendary clarinetist Daniel Bonade pointed out that there is a tendency to play “coldly” in actual performance.  Overdoing it a little with dynamics and phrasing in rehearsals will help it turn out about right in the actual concert.

Remember, judges are like everybody else, they want to hear MUSIC, not just right notes. Confidently projecting beautiful dynamics will certainly make the music better.

NOTE: Photo above is Isaac Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall. The photo is in public domain and can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Carnegie-hall-isaac-stern.jpg.

Celebrate JAZZ and Get a Free Frank Sinatra Poster

April is Jazz Appreciation Month! Click here to get the above poster for free. They want you to tell them about your most memorable Frank Sinatra moments. Here’s mine:

“When I studied jazz saxophone in college, my teacher told me that I should listen to Frank Sinatra to learn about phrasing. It took me a few years before I got around to taking his advice. When I finally did, it eventually hit me that Frank Sinatra was THE BEST. He is now my favorite jazz singer of all time – no one else is even close.”

ClarinetMike Blog One Year Anniversary Contest: Two Clarinetists Win Free Clarinet CD’s!

Clarinetists from Brazil and Michigan, USA each won my recent clarinet CD (pictured above). They have been contacted and will soon be receiving a CD! Thanks to all who entered!

ClarinetMike Blog One Year Anniversary! Enter Contest to Win a Free Clarinet CD!

To celebrate the one year anniversary of this clarinet blog (and for PR purposes), I’ve decided to have another contest like last year. I will be giving away a free clarinet CD to a couple of randomly chosen winners.

To enter to win a clarinet CD:

Subscribe to my blog by email (see the button to the right of this post) or just post a comment to this posting.

(NOTE: If you subscribe with RSS you will need to notify me with a comment or email, etc.  so that you will be eligible to win a CD. )

FYI, if you already subscribe, etc., just send me an email to be entered.

To be eligible, you must subscribe, post a comment or email me between NOW and 11:59 pm CST on Wednesday, April 4.

One entry per person. I will announce the winners on Thursday, April 5. Past winners ARE eligible to participate.

Please repost this and forward to your friends!

thanks! Mike

ClarinetMike Blog One Year Anniversary! Enter Contest to Win a Clarinet CD!

To celebrate the one year anniversary of this clarinet blog (and for PR purposes), I’ve decided to have another contest like last year. I will be giving away a free clarinet CD to a couple of randomly chosen winners.

To enter to win a clarinet CD:

Subscribe to my blog by email (see the button to the right of this post) or just post a comment to this posting.

(NOTE: If you subscribe with RSS you will need to notify me with a comment or email, etc.  so that you will be eligible to win a CD. )

FYI, if you already subscribe, etc., just send me an email to be entered.

To be eligible, you must subscribe, post a comment or email me between NOW and 11:59 pm CST on Wednesday, April 4.

One entry per person. I will announce the winners on Thursday, April 5. Past winners ARE eligible to participate.

Please repost this and forward to your friends!

thanks! Mike

Travel Tip: Take Band-Aids (Plasters)

Take Band-Aids on every trip.

A few years ago I was on tour in England staying in the very nice dorms at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester and I accidentally cut my finger. It wasn’t much of a cut, but I needed a band-aid and did not have one. Thankfully, the nice folks at the dorm had some band-aids – my British buddies call them “plasters.”  Now, I always take band-aids with me on all trips.

ClarinetMike says, “When you go on the road, take some Band-Aids.”

My Updated Facebook Musician Page with Timeline

Check out my updated Facebook Musician Page: www.facebook.com/michaeldeanclarinet

In the  ever-changing world of Facebook, there is a big change coming. It looks like all Facebook pages (personal and musician) will automatically be updated to Facebook Timeline on March 30, 2012.

I’ve already made the jump to Timeline with my personal page, http://www.facebook.com/clarinetmike. (Please add me as a Friend, if you haven’t already!)

Last night I published my updated Facebook musician/band page with the new Timeline. I’ve been posting video and adding pictures the last few weeks and last night I also added the CD Baby Music Store app to my page. The Music Store has audio clips from my solo clarinet CD, Desertscape.  Most of the audio clips from the CD are previews, but I did set it up to play all of Desert Deluge and Dreaming.

So, check out my new Facebook musician  page at http://www.facebook.com/michaeldeanclarinet.  (Also, please click “Like” to join me on it.)

FYI, CD Baby mentioned above is a fantastic place to create and sell your own CD’s. I’ll have to write up a blog post on them in the future. The skinny is: CD Baby Rules!

ClarinetMike says, “Get ready for Facebook Timeline and check out CD Baby.”