Why audition?

 

Let’s put it this way, one day you might want to study music in college; or you may want to play in the campus orchestra and NOT study music; or you may graduate from high school, get a job, and may want to keep playing; or you may graduate from college and decide you want to play in a community orchestra. You are most likely going to be asked to play an audition.

 

Case in point, I’ve known these people who have continued to play and have played auditions:

 

T.M.: auditioned to study music at two universities. He decided to go to the university that offered him free tuition, room and board, fees…. He graduated and then won an audition to get into a master’s degree program at another university.

 

C.C.: went to a university to study accounting. She auditioned to play in the university orchestra and was accepted. She graduated and moved out of state for a job. To meet people, she auditioned for a community orchestra and has been playing since.

 

B.H.: is currently studying engineering at a school out of state. She auditioned and is now playing in the university orchestra.

 

C.S. graduated from high school and started working. He continued playing with friends, plays in a community orchestra, and continues with private lessons.

 

H.G. went to a university to study engineering. He won an audition to play in the university orchestra and to take lessons. Not only did he play through college, but he was also awarded a scholarship because of playing in a quartet that performed for university fund-raisers and events. He has now graduated and has moved to Arizona to work as an engineer and is playing with a community orchestra.

 

T.J. went to the School of Mines to study engineering. Like H.G. he was awarded a scholarship because of playing in a student quartet that performed for university events.

 

M.C. studied Medicine eventually becoming a doctor. She played all through her studies and continues to play in community orchestras and in a quartet, just to relax.

 

C.O. has decided to study music performance. He auditioned at three music schools and won all three auditions. He decided to attend the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. 

 

And the list goes on.

 

Is auditioning fun? No. Is it easy? No. Can it be a good experience? Yes!

 

Here are some tips for preparing for an audition:

1.Plan ahead! Know the requirements for the audition and prepare accordingly.

 

2.Before you even play, study the music. What are they looking for? Are there a lot of different bowings, articulations, dynamics? Is it a page full of sixteenth notes? The excerpt may have been chosen to see just how well you can pay spicatto, staccato; in third or fourth position. What challenges are ahead as you learn the excerpt?

 

3.Prepare WELL in advance. Let’s say you have an audition in one month. Learn the music NOW, set the goal that you COULD play the audition in two weeks. Learn the music and then practice playing the audition. I’ll get to that in a bit.

 

4.WRITE IN YOUR MUSIC. If you catch a mistake while practicing, stop and write in some hierographic mark that will remind you to correct that mistake. If you have a passage you want to ask your teacher or a colleague about, put a star in that spot or a post-it.

 

5.Listen to recordings of the excerpts you are asked to play. Recordings can tell you a lot about stylistic nuance, the tempo, the dynamics. Listen to numerous recordings. Take notes in your music of your observations. “That passage should be off the string.” “That passage is very, very piano.” And beware, anybody can post a video on say YouTube. They may not be good recordings. Or they may be great!

 

6.Practice slowly paying attention to INTONATION, RHYTHM, TEMPO, TONE AND DYNAMICS. Take your time and PAY ATTENTION to ALL of the markings in the music, i.e. bowings, dynamics, articulations, tempo markings, if they provide fingerings you may be asked to use those fingerings.

 

7.Every time you practice, think of it as though you’re giving yourself a lesson. How did it go? What went really well? What can you fix? What do you need help with?

 

8.Perform for others. Once you have a good grip of the music, play your audition music for a friend, for a parent, sibling, your dog. Play in front of someone every day.

 

9.Once you have learned the audition music, record yourself. Set up your recording equipment. First warm up, practice a bit, and then record yourself playing through your audition material without stopping. Turn off the recorder, write down your thoughts BEFORE YOU LISTEN TO THE RECORDING. What went well, what didn’t sound so great? THEN, listen to your recording. Take notes again as you listen. Do this often.

 

10.Practice playing the audition. Record MOCK auditions. Set up an audition time for yourself. “Today, I’m going to play an audition at 4:10 p.m.” Set up your recording equipment and a music stand. Go to another room and warm up or practice passages of your pieces. Don’t overplay the music though. You can mess yourself up by playing it too much. Five minutes before your mock audition time, stop warming up. Go record your audition playing straight through, no correcting, no stopping to cry or to laugh. Turn the recording equipment off and write down your self-observations and THEN listen to the recording.

 

You can do this, if you take it seriously! Ready? GO!