So today I had my audition for Berklee and last night I was reading these forums so I would have a better idea of what to expect. Reading these sort of calmed my nerves down a bit, but I couldn’t find a post made by someone who auditioned with a string instrument like a violin. So, to calm the nerves of auditioners like myself I’m just going to write what happened at my audition and interview.
First, I got there early like they say to and I waited quite a bit of time until they told me it was time for me to have my interview. I wasn’t that nervous for the interview, but at times I would be at a loss for words. Which was alright though. So, I walked into the room and this woman introduced herself to me, she works with the admissions office. She started by asking questions like “have you had any lessons?” and “how long have you been playing?” and “What are your favorite genres to play?” and “What other instruments do you play if any?” and “Do you read sheet music or did you learn by ear?”…Then she asked a few questions that Berklee has on their website, like “Why go to Berklee?” and “Have you ever visited the Berklee campus in Boston” and “What makes you unique, what will you bring to Berklee?” and “What is your dream or ideal picture of what you’ll be doing after you graduate?” (I don’t remember specifically how she worded that one). They’ll also ask you what your intended major is (although accepted applicants are undeclared for the first two years). I told her I was interested in Music Production and Engineering, then she asked me if I had any experience with producing. I told her I was unsure if it would count but GarageBand was really my only experience with music production and she said that was good. And when she finished she asked if I had anything else to say or ask that she didn’t already ask. So I just told her what my biggest inspiration was and how I want to emulate that same success, that’s all. Then I asked if accepted would I be able to transfer AP Music Theory exam credits or anything like that. I was told that you can’t really transfer credits but if you do score well on an AP exam they’ll probably put you in higher level/more rigorous courses.
Next she walked me into a small practice room where I got to warm up. There was a MIDI keyboard and a stand with the sight-reading music. I already knew they would let me choose which song to do so I chose to look over the easiest one obviously. It was pretty basic in rhythm and pitches even, I just had to shift a few times, but nothing new. So I basically just looked over the sight reading the whole time and played a few scales.
Finally I had to go audition. There were three men. We didn’t really have an introduction, I’m not sure if that’s something I did wrong. I sort of wish I introduced myself because I heard one of the guys ask another what my name was. So first I played my song, which I played with a backing track that I made on GarageBand. I messed up on my song which I know is a terrible thing to do, I was just so caught up in my nerves but I tried to ignore it after that. After I played my song one of the guys said it was time for the improvisation part. I told him that I really had no experience in improvising because that’s definitely not something I do in orchestra. He told me to play a C Major scale which I swear I know it like the back of my hand and somehow I messed that up a little, but I think he understood I was just really flustered and nervous. It’s alright though since I just stopped myself after messing up and I started over. He did a simple accompaniment type thing on the piano. And I just randomly improved and either he was trying to be nice or he actually liked it cause he was smiling. Then just when I thought it wasn’t as bad as I thought, he changed the key, which I noticed but I told him I had no idea what key he changed it to. So then we moved on to him playing a melody on the piano and making me play it back on my violin. This part was fairly easy for me. He didn’t do anything very challenging. After that he clapped some rhythms in 4 4, this was simple too. After this he had me choose my sight reading piece which was easy like I said, except he cut me off in the middle of playing. I felt bad, I don’t know if that was a good thing or bad thing. I was waiting to be tested on identifying intervals and chord qualities which I was never tested on. I kind of wish they did because I believe I would’ve done much better. After that he said I was done and it was surprisingly short. Then they asked what my inteded major was and I told them and they asked if I had any experience just like my interviewer and I said I used GarageBand to create my backing track and they said it sounded good, I hope that made up for whatever I messed up on. I’m just really disappointed in myself because I know I could’ve done much better and I could’ve been more calm.
So overall, there is really nothing to worry about. Just be confident in yourself. I don’t think I had any confidence to be honest and that’s probably why I messed up. I never had to do any jazz/blues improvisation which I was panicking about. I honestly don’t know if I made it in, hopefully they see through my mistakes and understand that I was just nervous. The only thing I’m questioning is why they made the audition so short for me. Maybe it was 15 minutes but to me it felt so much shorter. I feel like thats a bad thing. I’m just still upset because I feel like there were more things I could’ve said and I could’ve performed much much better. So I’m not feeling very confident in getting accepted.
So as a conclusion to all of this here are my tips:
-Get there early
-Be calm, be very friendly and open
-Just tell them when you have a question
-Make sure your song is as prepared as it can be
-More importantly make sure YOU’RE as prepared as possible both mentally and physically
-Don’t be concerned about what to wear. The Berklee staff dresses pretty casually. All of the people I saw auditioning there dressed pretty casually or even business casual.
-Show them that you have a deep passion for music (physically too while you perform at your audition!)
-Don’t worry too much, it’ll ruin your performance (speaking from experience)
-Have confidence, take control of your audition
Remember, you are in control of your dream, nobody else. Also remember that this audition can make your future, it won’t break it.
GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE