# Gauging the difficulty of pieces...



## Azathoth (Feb 28, 2007)

Hey guys. Some of you might remember me, others might not. Anyway.

I'm 16, live in NYC, and am considering trying to get in to Juilliard's pre-college program. Now, I know I'm not there yet, but auditions aren't until May, so if I work my butt off I might have a shot at pulling a decent audition, which is the only criteria for getting in.

However, currently, I have no idea what my skill level is and I can't ask my teacher for a couple days...and sometimes we have a little trouble communicating particulars. He's Argentinian and while he's a great guy, a great teacher, and very fluent in English, sometimes things get a little lost in translation. Lost enough to be awkward, anyway.

To get in to Juilliard, I'd have to play two of these four options:
1. A prelude and fugue from Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, or a complete suite or partita.
2. A complete sonata by Haydn, Mozart, or Beethoven (excluding Op. 49 and Op. 79).
3. A substantial Romantic work by Mendelssohn, Chopin, Schumann, Brahms, or Liszt (an étude, in addition to a nocturne, waltz, or mazurka by Chopin, may be offered).
4. A work by a 20th-century composer.

Currently I'm working on a duet arrangement of Brahms' 6th Hungarian Dance as well as some easier stuff that's a bit below my abilities. It's from a book called 'My Favorite Duets'; http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/a/item.html?id=69435&item=95967 that book in fact. In that book, I've already played duet arrangements of part of the Danse Macabre by Saint-Saens as well as that overplayed waltz in Ab and the 5th Hungarian Dance by Brahms. I tried this piece: 



 on my own and while I can't do trills yet, I got to a decent speed even though it was slower than that recording.

I know this is a weird question to try to answer, but do you think that between now and May 16 I could be up to where I have to be? I also have to deal with high school, _and_ two AP exams in the first week of May that I'd have to do a lot of studying for. Also, I have a steady boyfriend who I'd rather like to see.

So I guess it boils down to this: in your opinion(s), could a devoted teenager putting in 1-2 hours of practice 5-7 days a week get from where I am now to what Juilliard wants?

And on that note, can someone recommend a good theory book? I've been doing theory with my teacher but I need something more substantial.

Thanks in advance.

-Azzy


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## PostMinimalist (May 14, 2008)

If you live in NY you could go to JSM and ask them to suggest a teacher who is in your district. It's a nice move to get someone who is known to the school as a teacher. It also puts a face to your name early on. If you are polite and courteous to the staff even if they can't really help you then you will have a jump on the game before you start. 
As for practise and improvement its not how much you do but what you do and how focused you are when you do it. Get a solid warm up regime and an organized program not just for the time up til May but for what you do in each practice session. Set small achievable goals and work towards them. Get a serious atitude to study and you'll do fine!
Cheers and good luck.
FC
If you need any help with theory post here specific themes like counterpoint, intervals etc. and the guys here will jump to your rescue!


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