A guide for professional musicians on how to succeed in joining an orchestra or ensemble, and how to survive as an orchestral musician during their career. Preface vii Sir Peter Maxwell Davies Prologue 1(2) Foreword 3(4) Acknowledgements 7(6) Introduction to the Orchestral Profession 13(6) What Are the Chances of Success? The Formative Years 19(24) Persistence Music Competitions Is Your Teacher Right for You? Quality of Instrument How Dear Can They Be? Stolen Instruments Wrong Notes Learn the Score Goals Play Music With and For People Music School You Are Not Doing Enough Practice! Warming Up Injuries Music College ... ... Or University? Are You Sure You Want to Do This? The Right Personality After College Performing Philosophies 43(9) A Musical Vision The Je Ne Sais Quoi The Journey Singers in the Coffee Queue Learn to Conduct The Composer's Condensed Universe Style The Bar CD Culture How Many Takes Does It Take? Study or Mimic Soul Music Auditions 52(33) When Should You Start Applying? Students CV Versus Resume The Audition Loophole -- Back Door The Audition The Panel How Long Will I Be in There? What Are We Looking For in an Audition? Orchestral Excerpts What Do You Do with the Bars' Rest? Sight-Reading The Truth About Sight-Reading in the Profession Audition Nerves The Warm-Up Room Rumours Auditions for Extra Work Subsidiary Instruments Pre-Audition Post-Audition Rejection Letter At What Point Should I Quit? Ensemble 85(27) All Orchestras Are Different Know Your Role Accompanying Blending Vibrato Note-Endings Articulation Rhythm Rubato Dynamics ppp-fff Back-Desk Soloists Finally Nerves 112(21) Why Do You Get Nervous? Practice Nerve Targets Split It Up Visualization Don't Worry ... The Public The Performing Circle Red-Light Nerves Re-takes Nerves: the `Virus' Diet Drugs Alcohol Lucky Charms Controlling Your Nerves Before the Performance Controlling Your Nerves During the Performance Still Nervous? Should You Give Up? Towel in the Bidet Counting 133(10) Look Out The Domino Factor Counting Strategies What Do You Do? Sounds Wrong? Sounds Right? Not Sure? Asking for Help Still Lost Emergency Mode Count Upwards Complex Music Shouldn't Mean Complicated Counting You Are Not Alone Lost Souls Conductors 143(13) The Player's Wish: A Clear Up-Beat Do You Know Exactly When You Are About to Play? Upsetting the Apple Cart What Difference Do Conductors Make? Bad Conductors Why We Need Them Where Did They Come From? Conductors' Traits How to Cook a Conductor The Baton Makes No Sound There Are Wonderful Conductors Too When to Play, a Possible Answer Intonation 156(29) Science Lesson Hearing Natural Harmonics Harmonic Mixtures Maths Lesson Singing Lesson Making Cents History Lesson Pythagorean Tuning Meantone Tuning Well-Tempered Tuning Equal Temperament Tuning Orchestral Temperament Warning! Practical Experiment Wolves and Ghosts Second Maths Lesson The Oboe's A Tuning Up Orchestras Which is Best: Sharp or Flat? Tuning Tips Still Out of Tune? How Much Work? The Mechanics of the Orchestra 185(20) Behind the Scenes How Much Does an Orchestra Cost to Run? Do Any Orchestras Make a Profit? The Duty Sheet We Don't Work Very Hard! Maintenance `Cello Strings Oboe Reeds Bumping Breathing and Bowing Transposing Instruments How to Transpose The Clarinet Problem The Union Rotation in the Ranks Working Your Way Up the Ranks What Are We Worth? Surviving in the Orchestral Profession 205(15) Being Booked The Fixer A Fixer's Top Tips The Route to Work All Those Notes to Learn Networking and Common Mistakes Keeping in Shape Waiting in the Green Room Tours Holidays Survival Tips Alternative Careers 220(10) Chamber Music Strike Up the Band Original Instruments Management or Administration Music Critic Epilogue 230(3) Index 233