Audition Tape/CD/DVD not perfect.

College Majors Music Major
1

<p>Hi, I am actually stressing out about making my piano audition tape. I have recently been recording my pieces to get ready for the auditions for college and I am not satisfied with any of my takes (even though my teacher and friends say otherwise). I know the best way for the college to understand how well a applicant is is through live auditions, unfortunately I am an international student who can't leave the country because of the conscription law in my country; so I am doing a audition tape to be sent instead. However, I can't really get all the pieces to be perfect (when I say perfect, I mean getting every note right). Every time I record I have some mistakes every now and then. I know that doing an audition tape is less stressful than auditioning live, but I actually do a little bit worse when I record because I have this constant fear of getting notes wrong (especially at the end of the pieces, I really don't like having to re-record a piece from the start just for a tiny mistake). I do fine when I am practicing, but I don't know.....I really want to do the audition live, but I can't, so I am stuck with this.</p>

<p>So I am just wondering if anyone can share about their experiences about making their audition tapes? Do they have to be like flawless? </p>

<p>I am so stressed out with the constant retakes and I am getting really tired of playing them over and over again. Not that I don't like my pieces, but I just never seem to be able to get a piece through without without any major mistakes.</p>

<p>ps. thanks for reading my ranting btw.</p>

2

<p>I don’t specifically know about piano. My daughter, a woodwind player, got in everywhere she applied, including to some “top” conservatories. she did half live auditions, half CD. She even submitted a CD to some places that supposedly do not accept them, and got in. Anyway, her takes were not perfect. We recorded them at home, ourselves, or at her accompanist’s house.</p>

<p>My daughter says similar things about her recordings. She says she needs a live audience in order to play well, and doesn’t like her recordings.</p>

3

<p>Just so you know you are not alone, my piano-playing D also prefers auditioning live to making recordings, which she finds more stressful. The recordings she made last fall were for pre-screenings, and she passed all of them. We recorded at home, at her teacher’s house, and in a recital hall with a professional recording setup. I think there were a total of five sessions.</p>

<p>I guarantee you that the recordings were not flawless. I don’t think that they expect “flawless” since you are a student! A piece can be very compelling without being flawless.</p>

<p>What took some of the pressure off is that she knew ahead of time that there would be a number of recording sessions, and she would be able to choose which takes she preferred from each session. For each session she worked on maybe four pieces (I’m considering movements of a sonata different pieces for the purpose of this message).
So, for instance, she played the prelude & fugue, the first movement of the classical sonata, the contemporary piece and the Romantic era piece during the first two-hour session. She listened to them critically with her teacher afterwards and decided which she was happy with and which to re-record at the next session. The next session she added in the other two movements of the sonata, the etude, etc. The knowledge that there was plenty of time, and that there was another session coming up, helped a lot with the pressure. In the end she was much more comfortable with the recording process, and she had some good takes. Only one school required that all the recordings be from one session, so she did that one last and at home. For all the other schools, she sent in pieces that were recorded at different sessions.</p>

<p>DO double-check which schools allow you to mix and match recordings, and which schools demand that the entire recording be from one session. And if I’m remembering correctly, I think Eastman wants a recording made within the last six months! So don’t record too early, either, if you are considering applying there.</p>

<p>Congratulations on being organized and ready to record so early - I am assuming you are applying next fall? Why not take your time with future recordings, and if possible plan them about two weeks apart, so that you’ll have time to work on certain passages in between sessions. You won’t need the recordings till fall, and you may find that the pieces change a lot between now and then.</p>

<p>One more thing – I heard from an auditioner that her teacher makes sure the beginnings of pieces are VERY good because the faculties don’t always listen through to the end of recordings. In that case, if you have a take with a small mistake at the beginning, and another take with a small mistake at the end, you might choose the one with the mistake at the end.</p>

<p>Good luck and don’t stress out! You have plenty of time.</p>

4

<p>If you are starting this early and have an aversion to the red recording light I, start recording everything you do now so you get over the recording problem. I would suggest just getting an inexpensive video recorder or even your phone and just record something every single day until you lose the pressure. Don’t keep the recordings, because most places do want something from the last six months, but do listen to them as they will help you practice too. Eventually the recorder “goes away” and you can concentrate on the playing.</p>

<p>I work as an engineer a bit and when it came time to record my kid we just set up a video camera in our favorite sounding room and left it up for a couple of weeks. Each afternoon was used to record whenever the mood dictated with zero pressure. Eventually we had great takes of everything. By the time we had to cut the concertos with accompanist, recording was almost a normal state. Good luck and keep trying until you get past this problem. You will do it.</p>