The Next Level Bassist - Practicing

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of really pushed me to try a lot more. It was a combination of things, but I remember playing Beethoven 9 with him and it was awe-inspiring to experience that incredible piece in the orchestra. After, I came to Juilliard pre-college and it gave me a glimpse into conservatory life. When it came to decision time, I had applied to conservatories and universities. I was undecided but all those experiences made me feel certain that I should go to Juilliard and pursue this full time. NLB: What advice would you give to someone who is in the beginning or middle of their audition career? Was there a hopeful thought that kept you going, or something driving you forward? DC: I would have to say that having a positive and carefree attitude will come through in your playing. My mom always tells me, “Throw your hat in the ring.” There were all these times when I wanted to bail on opportunities like festival auditions because I didn’t think I was prepared enough. The only way you know you’re not going to succeed is to not try. It’s worked out every time for me. You may not know what’s going to happen, but if you bring your confidence and positivity to everything you do, you have a great chance. AJ: I heard this quote a long time ago that when you first start playing an instrument, the things that come out don’t match what you have in your mind. You have tastes and likes or appreciate what a master player is doing, but hearing yourself, you know it’s not the most amazing thing anyone’s ever done. It takes years and years to get to that level – there are still a million things I want to fix in my own playing, but just having patience and not freaking out when things aren’t immediately going your way is a huge part of development and something I want to remember going forward. You can’t have success without patience and dedication. Cut yourself some slack every now and then. You have to push yourself as hard as you can, but realize that you’re just a human and everyone has to work for everything they’ll ever get. Also, having fun with music – I almost forgot! Playing with different people, finding music you like playing – it’s important to find a way to express yourself through music. Jamming, playing something on piano, it’s important to be able to relax while playing music and focus at other times. I played a lot of jazz in high school, although I’m not in the same shape I used to be. I play piano as well. It’s a nice way to visualize music and to sound things out. Bass is notoriously difficult to play in tune, so if you’re looking at something for the first time, it helps to play it robotically on piano to get it in your ear. NLB: Do you have any teaching experience? Did that affect your career? How? Do you plan to teach now? JB: My teaching experience is more sparse than I would like. I’ve been working with the Pre-College division for the last three years; playing in the orchestra, coaching the players, and teaching some private lessons as well. I hope to get more experience in the future. It would be excellent to have a studio in the future. It would help me learn. One of the best ways to develop your playing is to explain those things to someone else. AJ: I’ve taught a few private lessons here and there, and I also taught at a camp for 8-14 year-olds that I went to as a little kid. It was very cool to be on the other side of the fence, conducting orchestra pieces and trying to communicate to eight year-olds what I wanted to happen – it was way harder than I thought it would be! I don’t think teaching has factored into my orchestral career yet, but I wouldn’t have gone into music without the great teaching I had, and I would very much like to pass the baton to the younger generation going forward. That’s how I learned and how I got so much out of music. With teaching, you can see a subject from a totally different angle. Watching someone in a lesson struggle with something I have experienced and overcome, you have to come up with the answers for them all over again. I really think you can use those perspectives to improve your own playing too. It’s like a recording in that way. If not essential, teaching is extremely important to musical development. NLB: Do you have any excerpts or solos for auditions that you feel extra comfortable with? Anything you want to be on a list because you’ll nail it? JB: I’ve always felt very good about my Koussevitzky concerto. In terms of all the solos you can play for auditions, it’s easy to negotiate, easy to be expressive on. I find that the pressure helps me be extra-expressive, too. It’s perhaps the best choice available to us. In terms of excerpts, Beethoven 9 letter M is a fun one. It’s pretty tough, but I know I can play it well and I can have fun with it on stage. I’ve always liked the first movement of Mozart 35. All the excerpts I feel I can groove to are friendly. Tchaikovsky 4 isn’t too difficult, and it’s fun to play loud! DC: I was inclined to say, “No, I don’t feel comfortable with any of them.” (He laughs.) But I feel that the first movement of Brahms 1 at Letter E really caters to some of my strengths. It is a comfortable loud dynamic and it affords a lot of opportunities for big vibrato. I’ve been really developing that into one of my strengths as well. It’s at a moderate tempo so I don’t feel tense while playing it. Pieces like Mozart 35 are always risky for tension, even when they’re under my fingers. I’ve found over the past few years that there are certain excerpts that have been barriers for me. A couple years ago, it was rehearsal 9 in Ein Heldenleben, but performing it at Aspen this past summer, I found a magical something about playing it. I feel like a contender with that one now! Now, I work on Mozart 35 day-in and day-out, and while it’s my current barrier, I
know that I’m going to find the way to negotiate it. AJ: Mahler 2 first page is my favorite excerpt – it’s really, really loud and then really, really quiet, and very rhythmic – all these things are my strong suits. I really enjoy being very intense and, not metronomic, but incredibly insistent. One thing that Joe Conyers told me leading up to this was that he tries to make every excerpt his favorite excerpt – don’t have a nemesis on your list! That was a big part of my preparation. The committee was going to hear everything on the list and I needed to be ready for that no matter what. I constantly freak out about Mozart 35, the first movement. It’s really easy to not get that excerpt exactly right. The fourth movement…Well I’ve worked on it so much because I used to hate it, so that’s more comfortable now. But when you look at the first movement, there are all these octaves that will sound wrong if they’re not exactly right, followed by trills in the low register. These are things I have to work on a lot to feel comfortable. NLB: How does an orchestra job fit in with your career goals? Did you always want the job, did you grow to love it, do you want to use it as a platform for something else? JB: Getting a job – any job – has always been at the forefront of my mind. Now that I have that, I’d like to collaborate as much as possible. Once I’m settled in, I’d love to give more recitals and participate in more chamber music. It’s hard to say whatever else is down the road, but I’m open to the possibility! AJ: I’ve never had a job before so this is the beginning of a very new phase for me. Right now, I feel like I already know how to play in orchestra, but i want to build those skills as much as I can. I would like to play principal at some point in my life, but I’m sure I could be happy playing in National for the rest of my life. Well, I’m assuming, because I haven’t actually played there yet! If the opportunity ever came up, I wouldn’t turn it down, but all that is still a long way down the road. I’m focused on what’s immediately ahead. NLB: Final thoughts? DC: I’d have to take the Nike slogan: Just Do It. The only way you know you’re not going to win is by not doing it! JB: Everything that I’ve done in school has been leading up to this. All the non-professional auditions have all been geared towards preparing me for an orchestral audition. I don’t want to generalize, but it seems that many people want to put off auditioning until they feel ready. I started preparing for the Buffalo audition when I first arrived at school! Get excerpts under your belt, start thinking about the con- certi and Bach movements that you will need to play in a few years. Take strategic summer festival auditions that include repertoire you haven’t seen yet, and plan out your future over a long period of time. Get your hands on some lists, find out what might be asked of you. Take nearby auditions. You have to get used to doing this. If you feel good with your playing, the bar isn’t so impossibly high that you shouldn’t try! AJ: Patience and enjoying music are two incredibly important ingredients to a successful music career. I haven’t exactly started my own career yet, but music is totally awesome and musicians are blessed to be able to devote their lives to something so beautiful and wonderful. The audition mentality is opposed to the fundamental nature of music, which is about openness and sharing and feelings. That’s more like real life, where auditions make you worry about out-playing someone, outrunning the bear. The real test of an audition is to have technical mastery and a personality. You have to develop them both – they’re really two sides of the same coin. Hal Robinson has always told me that he likes to develop musicality in his playing as early in his approach to a new piece as possible, because you can’t really accomplish anything without caring about it. Raised in Ridgefield, CT, Jonathan Borden is entering his final year of undergraduate studies at the Juilliard School studying under Albert Laszlo. He has appeared with the Tanglewood Music Center, the Pacific Music Festival, the Aspen Music Festival and School, and the Sarasota Music Festival. He will begin with the Buffalo Philharmonic in January 2014. Alex Jacobsen, from Albuquerque, New Mexico, began studying bass at age 14 with Mark Tatum. When he was 18, he was accepted into the Curtis institute of Music where he studied with Hal Robinson and Edgar Meyer. He has attended Brevard Music Center, Aspen Music Festival and School, and the Verbier Festival. Daniel Carson started the bass in his fourth grade music class and has been playing for 11 years. He has studied with numerous teachers, including Andy Anderson, Jason Heath, Lawrence Hurst, and, most recently, Bruce Bransby. Next Level assist • 7
Page 1 and 2: The ext evel N L The Practice Issue
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Page 9 and 10: To Practice or Not to Practice... B
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Page 19 and 20: S = Slap H = Hammer On P = Pull Off
Page 21 and 22: Practice is universally recognized
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