Not Just to Win Auditions: Playing Orchestral Percussion Excerpts for Pedagogy and Enrichment

Abstract

Teachers and performers have advocated the study of orchestral excerpts for many decades. There are articles, dissertations, reference books, and method books that provide annotated and edited excerpts for use by students.It is well known that obtaining the actual music to the excerpt for practice or to prioritize which excerpts may be asked on an audition can be a difficult and daunting task. Playing orchestral excerpts can seem complicated. Students and teachers may not know what excerpts to play or on which to start.This research has produced a collection of a wide variety of orchestral percussion excerpts collected that are analyzed in the style of Kodály song retrieval systems commonly used by general music education teachers around the world. The Orchestral Percussion Excerpt Retrieval System presented in this document contains 100 excerpts and combines features of the excerpts (keywords that describe the excerpts and are searchable), recommended recordings and internet links, average tempi, and practice suggestions that involve a reference, link to a source, or document. The printed version also includes an index.Use of a retrieval system allows teachers the flexibility to select appropriate music that supports the concepts and objectives of music lessons within a sequenced curriculum. Adaptation to the study of orchestral percussion excerpts could involve sight-reading, playing and singing simultaneously, and musical/technical interpretation. It challenges the students to think critically, listen intently, and encourages a style of practice that involves self-reflection. Use of this retrieval system can aid in the development of music literacy and music enrichment by encouraging both the practice of and listening to historically great works of music.