<p>I have an audition coming up in roughly a month (it's during President's Day weekend). For now, I have two questions.</p>
<p>1) Which is better to play -- a piece that I have had about 4 month's worth of lessons for + almost 1.5 years of practicing BUT I really hate the piece and I think it might show, or a piece I like a lot more, have only had three lessons for, and practiced for only about a month? </p>
<p>I play cello, and the pieces in question are Bach Suite No. 3 Prelude (the one I hate but have more experience with) and Bach Suite No. 3 Gigue. For the Gigue, my teacher said I really got the essence of the piece, but that's just one person. </p>
<p>2) How do you fly with a cello? I know there's the check-in route, but I've never heard of any good coming from doing that. My cello teacher and a few other local teachers all had their instruments wrecked after flights departing from the airport I will use.</p>
<p>If you value your cello, you buy a ticket for it and keep it with you. I find it really hard to believe that any professional cellist in your area wouldn’t know that. Use Google and look up the new regulations for flying with instruments which will show you what rights you have.
I’ll be interested to see what others say, but I’d say that a young musician should go with the piece that you’ve worked on the longest. You’re not often going to have the chance to select rep and that means playing things you may not be crazy about; you suck it up and do what you have to. One thing doesn’t add up though;did you begin working on the Prelude before you took it in to a lesson? You state that you’ve had 4 months of lessons on it but practiced it for a year and a half; muscle memory is a good thing, but if what you have in there is wrong, then you may have to rethink things.</p>
<p>The old piece.
Buy a seat for the cello or drive.</p>
<p>Thanks. Well, maybe the teachers felt ridiculous buying a seat for the cello. I’d heard about it before, but I just wanted to see what the options were.</p>
<p>I had lessons on the Prelude a while back. I have somewhat of an unusual situation. I got injured + sick in sophomore year, and then for financial reasons, my parents couldn’t take me to lessons. (They’re okay with a music major because I plan to double major). So it was really a surprise that I passed the prescreen. I played this Prelude as one of the pieces for my prescreen, and I wince whenever I hear/watch my video. </p>
<p>Anyways, back to the Prelude. I had lessons on it my freshman year. I stopped playing it at lessons after four months. After that, I picked it up again in junior year when I’d recovered. That’s why the practicing doesn’t fit with the lessons. I guess my saving grace has been that I’ve kept video records of all my lessons. </p>
<p>I think the reason I hate the Prelude has to do with the part that I can’t consistently reach. It seems that my hand shrunk a bit. There’s a few small things too, like my bow hand gets super stiff towards the end, when I want it to be loose so I can play chords. My bow hand feels really unnatural when I play. I’ve tried watching the video lessons, but can’t figure it out. </p>
<p>I would have asked my music major friend to help me, but she’s been busy with her grad school apps. And college is just overall busy. </p>
<p>About the Prelude – it is unlikely you will play the whole piece, so if the part is at the end it is unlikely they will get to it. But-- I have a different thought on Gigue vs. Prelude.</p>
<ol>
<li>Go with what your teacher says.</li>
<li>Go with the piece you love and that seems easier and more fluid to you. Bach isn’t technically difficult, so the Gigue may be doable.</li>
</ol>
<p>About the cello: if you don’t want to buy an extra seat, then buy or borrow a flight case. The problem with the flight case, however, is that it’s very heavy and awkward on the ground. </p>
<p>My son has flown often with his cello domestically and internationally, using a flight case and checking his cello. He’s used different types of flight cases - one which encases his regular BAM case, and another which is the sole case. Both work. He loosens the strings, packs some of his socks& t-shirts in the case and it’s worked fine. On the other hand, a friend on an international trip couldn’t find a flight case big enough for his cello and just used his regular hard case. It arrived with the neck broken - but he was able to get it fixed before the concert! (This was China - lots of luthiers there!) There have been lots of stories lately about airlines refusing to allow cellos on board, even when a seat has been purchased. If you have a super expensive cello - that’s what I would do - buy a seat (in the bulkhead), go early, double-check all requirements with the airline - get a confirmation in writing that it will be allowed. On the other hand, if you have insurance, and you can imagine replacing your cello with another comparable one, go ahead and buy, rent or borrow a flight case. And follow the instructions for properly preparing the cello before the flight.</p>
<p>As for what to play - what kind of program are you auditioning for?</p>
<p>SpiritManager, somehow I forgot that your son plays the cello!</p>
<p>The difficult part is in the middle. I don’t know how well you know the Prelude, but it’s the part where there’s transitioning into thumb position, and the subsequent passage. I tried playing the Gigue yesterday, and was surprised that I still had it memorized and in decent condition. </p>
<p>The program I’m auditioning for – it’s entry into a music major. It’s not the dual program associated with the nearby conservatory, although if I do get into the music major program, I would be allowed to take lessons with the conservatory. There are scholarship opportunities that would also be determined by the audition. </p>
<p>The requirements are one solo work, one etude (I asked, and they said they prefer Bach for the etude), two-octave major scale, and two-octave melodic minor scale. </p>
<p>For my pre-screen, I played the Prelude and Faure Elegie. </p>
<p>Thanks for the information about flight cases. It’s really helpful. :)</p>
<p>I just don’t know much about cello… so I’ll leave that advice up to the experts. I’d go with the piece you feel most comfortable with. If your teacher feels the Gigue is in good shape, you should listen to him. I think there is often too much emphasis placed on going with a piece you’ve played for a long, long, time. The scary section of the Prelude may serve to psyche you out. </p>
<p>Oh, I didn’t realize. </p>
<p>Yeah, I could see that happening. When I played a different piece for a competition, I was really tense and I rushed and made a lot of mistakes in the last few measures because I almost dropped my bow. </p>