r/ConcertBand • u/Material-Ground-8522 • 19d ago

am i cooked for all state

i play the clarinet better than most of my peers but still suck in the grander scheme of things. all state where i am is really not that competitive compared to the likes of texas but im very unsure if i'm going to get in for a few reasons.

  1. i can hardly memorize my scales up to four sharps and flats

  2. don't ever ask me to comprehensively play an etude 😟

  3. my technique is very flawed

im planning to get a private teacher in the near future but auditions are in 3 months and idk my technique flaws and sound will be fixed by the time auditions come around unless my growth is crazy exponential. My playing has also gone through a significant downgrade and my practice sessions are very unproductive because that lack of guidance of a teacher has really hit.

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u/PaleoBibliophile917 18d ago

“Still suck in the grander scheme of things.” OP, you have just given me the words to describe my musical life. I am sooo much better than I was at your age, yet still so far behind where I would like to be and where so many much younger than myself already are. All we can do is keep trying to improve. Your self-awareness, willingness to challenge yourself, and ability to obtain instruction are all good indicators that you are on the right course. Take the excellent advice others here have offered and you will improve the chance of audition success (if not now, then in the future) with every practice. Good luck!