About Forza Excerpts
The Forza Excerpts platform is developed by Rob Ault, a member of the Orchestra of English National Opera, Professor of Bass Clarinet at Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and a visiting clarinet teacher at Eton College.
August 2020
Back in March, my students at Guildhall were in the thick of their preparations for mid-year assessments and they were busy studying the orchestral excerpts. Then when lockdown arrived, and instrumental lessons moved online, I wondered if I might be able to find new resources that could supplement my teaching, but that could also give the students an alternative way of making music - after all, they had quickly become frustrated that they weren’t able to collaborate with other musicians - with their fellow students, in ensembles and in orchestras.
Back in March, my students at Guildhall were in the thick of their preparations for mid-year assessments and they were busy studying the orchestral excerpts. Then when lockdown arrived, and instrumental lessons moved online, I wondered if I might be able to find new resources that could supplement my teaching, but that could also give the students an alternative way of making music - after all, they had quickly become frustrated that they weren’t able to collaborate with other musicians - with their fellow students, in ensembles and in orchestras.
I didn’t get too far with my online search, and sitting at my computer I began to experiment with a few ideas. I felt I would need to create the resources I wanted myself, if they were going to work in the way that I wanted. Much of what I first tried was basic - awful, frankly - and now very much deleted! But slowly I got to grips with what I needed to do to create the orchestral excerpts offered on this website. I began with bass clarinet excerpts of course, quickly decided I wanted to offer much more than that, and with a huge learning curve ahead of me the idea of the Forza Excerpts platform began to take shape.
Working for a busy opera orchestra and teaching in the gaps in the schedule, I would never normally have time to think about a project such as this. But with theatres, conservatoires and schools firmly closed I launched wholeheartedly into it - it’s kept me sane!
I have done a lot of very enjoyable testing, using as many different speakers, headphones and earbuds as I could get my hands on. And I’ve enlisted the help of students and professional colleagues, all of whom have been so kind to join in - they have all provided enormously valuable feedback.
The remote teaching of recent months has demonstrated that technology has an increasingly important role to play in our musical lives. I am thrilled that Forza Excerpts is able to contribute to that role, and I am excited about the ongoing development of the platform.
Working for a busy opera orchestra and teaching in the gaps in the schedule, I would never normally have time to think about a project such as this. But with theatres, conservatoires and schools firmly closed I launched wholeheartedly into it - it’s kept me sane!
I have done a lot of very enjoyable testing, using as many different speakers, headphones and earbuds as I could get my hands on. And I’ve enlisted the help of students and professional colleagues, all of whom have been so kind to join in - they have all provided enormously valuable feedback.
The remote teaching of recent months has demonstrated that technology has an increasingly important role to play in our musical lives. I am thrilled that Forza Excerpts is able to contribute to that role, and I am excited about the ongoing development of the platform.
About Forza Excerpts