<p>Tcove -- unfortunately, your experience is not all that uncommon. I have had it happen to me, even in professional situations. Although I hope it doesn't happen to your D again, at some point it probably will. </p>
<p>To avoid incidents like this, be sure to spend some time with the pianist before you sing, as Prof H. suggested. If this isn't enough to ensure that your audition goes smoothly, AS SOON as the song begins to go wrong, i.e. wrong tempo, wrong notes, etc., politely stop and say something like..."I'm terribly sorry, I think I gave you the wrong tempo. I'd like to sing it a bit faster. Could we start again?" Even if the pianist doesn't improve, at least the audition panel will be aware that there's a problem.</p>
<p>Again, Prof H was correct in saying you must "lead" the pianist. Many young performers do not know how to do this; it's the difference between an active and a passive performance, and it's a skill that should be rehearsed.</p>
<p>It is most important to stay positive, cheerful, and DO NOT PLACE THE BLAME on the accompanist. A negative attitude will get you rejected just as quickly as a bad performance.</p>
<p>Finally, try not to let the pianist's errors -- or anything else that may be going on in the room -- make you lose your concentration. Staying focused is indeed the sign of a true professional. Even in professional situations, all sorts things CAN AND WILL happen while you are performing. If you are truly "in the moment", you should be able to give a solid performance and salvage a bad situation. Good luck next time!</p>
<p>I see that I cross-posted with MusThCC -- I agree with the comment that asking to start over is risky. However, if the audition song is already a train wreck, it won't do you much good to finish it badly. If you are careful to be polite about it, I think it's worth the risk to ask.</p>
<p>I generally agree with onstage & MusThCC, and also think that it is extremely important to not just "hand the sheetmusic to the accompanist", but to spend some time going over the songs you are planning to sing. I can totally see that this may not be easy to remember as you step into that audition room however. </p>
<p>My D has had a lot of mixed experiences with accompanists from outstanding to mediocre, and when going over the tempo she now generally asks the accompanist if they are ok with just "following her" if there remains any question. Most of the time the accompanist will oblige. </p>
<p>She feels that somehow asking to start a song over does not go over too well. She has witnessed this at a couple of auditions where all those auditioning were in the room.</p>
<p>This is what I advise my college students to do in professional auditions... keep going.</p>
<p>I agree with what has been said above -- unless there is no other recourse (in which case be very polite, and do not blame the accompanist) -- keep going, lead the accompanist, finish without accompaniment if the pianist drops out. This will show you to be poised and professional. </p>
<p>I wish smooth sailing for all of you and hope you will not run into this issue.</p>
<p>Wow! I find all of this fascinating! My S went to try outs at a well-known person's dinner theatre last year, and the pianist would not let him sing his first choice song because he couldn't play it! I wasn't too upset as I wasn't looking forward to an hour and a half commute each way, but he was livid!
It's also informative, though, 'cause if they are willing to put up with poor performance all day, they probably are not what we are looking for in a school!</p>
<p>I have a bit of a predicament, and I need some advice! </p>
<p>I am doing some auditions this spring that require recorded accompaniment. Last year in this situation, my high school choir teacher recorded it to CD for me. However, this year he has said he doesn't have time to do it. The voice teacher at my current college is not the most pleasant person to deal with and is not an experienced accompanist. So when I asked her if she would be willing to help me and even offered to pay her for her services, she said she could only record it on tape, and only if the songs were easy enough for her to play (which they should be), and so I should give her my music and she will look at it if she has time. My auditions are in 6 weeks, so this has me a little nervous.</p>
<p>Basically, my question is this: Is it acceptable to use lower-quality taped accompaniment for college auditions? And if not, does anyone have any ideas as to how I can get my music recorded? (I live in the St. Louis area.)</p>
<p>My cousin is a professional musician and accompanist in NYC and wants to accompany my daughter at her auditions in NYC. She will be auditioning at MMC, Pace and NYU. Is it an accepted practice to provide your own accompanist?</p>
<p>I had a pianist stop and ask to start over at one of my auditions. hehe</p>
<p>miss mill- you can buy a digital recorder, some are very good. i have one made by roland that was $300, but it records better than CD quality music. if you have the money it is WELL worth the investment for lessons, auditions, workshops, rehearsals, master classes, and so on. as well, you can pay a pianist by searching something as simple as the Internet. good luck! (I don't like those MIDI arrangements...)</p>
<p>blank slate - I dn't know about the 3 schools you mentioned; some places will not let you use your own accompanist, some will allow it but may not love the idea, and some are okay with it. I would definitely ask them directly well ahead of the auditions to find out their view of it.</p>
<p>blank slate - after having my D go through MMC audition earlier this fall, I simply don't think that how MMC runs their audition - with everyone in the room taking turns singing their songs in front of their peers - is particularly conducive to bringing your own accompanist. I can't imagine how this would work. Would your cousin sit alongside your D in the room with everyone else until it is her turn? Would your D run out when she is called to bring her into the room and she would sit in the hallway in the interim? I don't know but it just does not feel right. Just my 2 cents though :).</p>
<p>I have really only heard of auditions for Vocal Performance programs where prospective students brought along their own accompanists, not so much MT.</p>
<p>My D is doing a HS audition for a straight play. The director wants 2 monologues, both about 30 seconds in length. One should be close to the actor (in my D's case, a 15 year old girl) and one should be very different and/or they should be different styles, but contemporary. This strikes me as a tough thing to find. Any ideas on these kinds of monologues or where to find them?Thanks!</p>
<p>HSN - really interesting, and also quite exciting to see that your D's HS takes this approach for the audition process. My D's HS auditions, and the quality of the production, are a real joke, I won't go into detail :). Here is a website with lots of information that I think may be helpful. Good luck!</p>
<p>Wow, 30 second monologues? That is really, really short! My D has been struggling to trim her college monologues to a minute for those schools which require it. Half of that is hardly any time at all! That said, it's nice that your kid's high school takes the audition process seriously. Tell her to break a leg!!</p>
<p>MTgrlsmom--thank you so much for your input. I was also trying to figure out how the logistics would work at MMC, but felt I should ask the question as I would be upset if she got there and others had their own accompanists.
I actually think being able to handle new situations and applying your own improv techniques for that is an excellent skill to learn and have. At my Ds current school she had a MT audition mishap with an accompanist as well. I'm not sure about the exact details, but she changed her song the morning before (not a good idea) and thought she had it down perfectly when she went into the audition. The pianist messed up one of the bars or else played it differently from her voice teacher which threw her off and she forgot the words. She waited, caught up and kept going as if nothing had happened, nailed the final money note and was accepted into the program. They took only 6 out of 200. I suppose the idea is that all auditors know that life happens and maybe how a performer handles those surprises is just as important as hitting the notes. Anyway, I appreciate your input. How did your Ds MMC audition go? It appears to be a natural and less stressful way to audition to me.</p>
<p>soozievt--we have not had any interaction on this forum, but I wanted you to know that I look forward to your posts and have learned much from you. As my D heads into her NY auditions I feel more comfortable with the knowledge you have given me. She also has read your posts with much appreciation. I did note that NYU doesn't use live music. My D already knew that and has her cd ready. I'm glad she is many steps ahead of me and is the one orchestrating her auditioning process!</p>
<p>Blank slate, thank you for your kind words. The forum has many helpful members and many supportive members and it's a great place to visit for someone going into this field, or their parents. </p>
<p>I wish your D a lot of luck in her upcoming auditions. I mentioned NYU's taped accompaniment because you asked about bringing your own accompanist and mentioned NYU on your list of three schools and so I wanted to make sure you knew that nobody had any live accompaniment at NYU but I see you already know. I would not bring your own accompanist to other auditions without checking directly with the colleges first. While it may feel odd ot have an accompanist you have never sang with before, that is the nature of the audition world. Hopefully the accompanist is good at accompanying and sight reading. The singer should sing and let the accompanist follow her and not vice versa. Mark the music well and be very clear how you want it played. Also, discuss that briefly when handing the pianist your music. Sing it how you normally sing it and let the accompanist follow suit. Everyone is in the same situation. </p>
<p>I read on another post of yours on CC about some concern about what voice types NYU is looking for and let me assure you that there are many different voice types in the program. People's strengths differ. And no matter your strength, they will work with you once in the program on your weaker areas to develop a range of voice and singing style and not let you just rely on what you already do well. I recall reading that your D has a "big voice". Actually, so does my D. She goes to CAP but there are plenty of sweet gorgeous soprano voices in the program as well. She developed her legit soprano there and those kids had the challenge of developing their belt. So, they take all types. Break a leg wishes.</p>