How to win a Competition is not a mystery. There is an old saying: “Practice! Practice! Practice! That is how you get to Carnegie Hall!” in addition to practice though, you simply must be the best!
Having not only played in Carnegie Hall, myself, and in other international venues, competitions, exams and juries; but also having been a judge and university professor for 17 years; AND having prepared students for these same situations for over 40 years, I am going to share with you some effective ways TO WIN!
First. . . WHAT IS WINNING? Winning is about being the best, or at least convincing the “higher powers that be”, that you are the best candidate in the situation. In music, it means playing EVERYTHING written on the page, and then some! It means being OUTSTANDING and being a STAR!
Without question, you must play all the correct notes and rhythms! Even one wrong note can be a disqualifying factor. Demonstrate ALL the dynamics with great contrast, so there is no ambiguity in their representation. The listener must be able to say,” that was a crescendo. . . or that was a subito piano.” PUT YOUR HEART INTO IT!
Find out who is the greatest, most recognized, performer of your piece, and listen to it being performed a few “million zillion” times! Get it in your ear correctly—that means played by a professional. Recently, one of my young flute students performed Allegretto by Godard. We found a gorgeous flawless interpretation on YouTube for him to hear.
Having said that, how do you know what to listen for? Keep your music in front of you when you are listening. If it has a piano part, watch that as well. See how the parts fit together. Listen to the beginning and ending of notes; the phrasing; the ornaments; how the
dynamics are demonstrated. PRACTICE until YOU sound like THAT!!!
The BEST means a flawless performance. While many professionals play almost perfect performances; the key word here is “almost”. Ask any outstanding musician, and he/she will tell you that the performance was not perfect… it isn’t ever PERFECT; but when you practice, you try to come as close as possible. If you do happen to make a mistake, keep playing; continue as if nothing has happened.
One of the greatest piano accompanists in the world, Phillip Moll, told me that that repeats were in the music so you could get it right the second time! Ha! Ha! Phillip very rarely made mistakes, BECAUSE he practiced almost 8 hours a day, memorizing, thinking, and making the music beautiful and meaningful. One of my teachers, Julius Baker, principal flutist in the New York Philharmonic, said that EACH NOTE had meaning, and it is the performer’s duty to interpret and bring that meaning of music to the audience. Bring BEAUTY and PERFECTION of your piece to your listener and CONVINCE them you are the BEST!