Junior Saxophone: Audition Solo 1B, Moderato
Make the crescendo in measure 1 land on the first note of measure 2. The A should be the loudest note of those two measures – don’t peak too soon. Make sure to connect measure 3 into measure 4. Blow through the half note so it leads naturally into the next measure. (The same advice applies for measures 10 into 11, 11 into 12, 14 into 15, and 22 into 23). Play the last notes of measures 5, 7, 23, etc. as pick-up notes into the following measures. Keep your staccato notes detached, but not brittle. In all things, try to make your different dynamics noticeable, so that your “mf” has a color of its own, as does each dynamic level throughout the etude.
Clinic Saxophone: Audition Solo 2C, Allegro con spirito / Andante cantabile / Allegro con spirito
Try to add vibrato where possible. The quarter-notes that end measures 1 and 2 should have some vibrato. Don’t end these notes, and the last note of measure 3 with your tongue. They should end with an “H” sound, not a “T.” Even when there are not dynamics written, gently shape the line. As the notes go up in pitch, so should the dynamic level increase; and vice versa when descending. From measure 9-13, the crescendo should be much greater.
In the slow section, beginning at measure 17, add more vibrato. All of the quarter-notes in this section are long enough to add vibrato. At the return to the A theme in measure 25, if you think about how the opening measure felt, you will be consistent in getting the same volume and style. In measures 30 and 32, hold the quarter-notes longer than the eighth-notes that end passages in
Senior Saxophone: Audition Solo 3E, Allegretto
At the beginning, keep the rhythm crisp, but don’t let the dotted sixteenth notes become brittle. At measure 3, make a noticeable subito forte, but keep the tone beautiful. In measure 5, slur to the low E at the end of the measure. The staccato is meant to lift at the end of the note, but not to tongue the beginning. The grace notes at the beginning of measure 8 should be prior to the beat.
In measure 9, use the alternate C# fingering. For most saxophones the best alternate is: octave key + G key. This fingering makes the note a bit sharper and blends into the upper register better. In measure 11, use the alternate F# fingering on the first two F#s, but not the last note of the measure.
Make a crescendo in measure 18. As the notes go up in pitch, it is natural to follow that direction dynamically. This is normal musicianship, and should be followed generally as a rule of thumb. From Measure 17-22, there is a chromatic scale that connects over time, beginning with the B in measure 17, then C in measure 19, etc. If you listen to the notes in this chromatic scale, you can judge the crescendo very accurately to the E at the beginning of measure 22.
Be careful in measure 27 not to add notes between D# and F. It is going to be tempting to add the E in between. Again, shape the line musically in the direction the pitches lead. As the pitch goes up, so should the dynamics in general terms.
Download the performance notes [pdf].