First audition!

It was looking like my S’s first audition would be one where we hadn’t done a pre-visit, on the other side of the country, major city, super competitive. It was a little daunting. So, he did a quick early action no-prescreen application last month and has his first audition in a week or so. We haven’t visited this one either but we’re familiar with the city/school, so we’re going in with a pretty relaxed attitude. He’s more excited than nervous.

Still, it’s a college audition and he’s never done one of those before…

Any tips or things you wish you’d known/done/not done that you’re willing to pass on?

Congratulations. So, you have a remote audition and a more local audition coming up within a week?

Hi ScreenName48105. You might want to read through some of this from last year. Wishing the best for your S. It is a challeging and exciting time. http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/1730336-tell-us-about-audition-day-2015-p1.html

@Singersmom07, thanks for that link - exactly what I was looking for.

@GoForth, the other-side-of-the-country audition is far from a sure thing since prescreens just went out. It just happens to be the first of all the possible audition dates. Audition next weekend is in Boston, so still a plane ride away. But I lived in Boston for a long time, so its familiar territory.

Overall, though, I think my S appreciated having at least one audition before all the prescreens went out. Regardless of what his teachers and others have told him, it’s impossible not to have those moments of “what if I don’t get any auditions??” S’s list isn’t heavy in safeties.

Treat yourself, relax and enjoy your time with your son!! That’s probably the best thing that you can do for him.

There’s nothing you need to do. I’m a long distance runner and we always so “the hay is in the barn” on race day. You being relaxed, level-headed and supportive is the best thing.

Congrats and enjoy the ride!

A few thoughts based on my recollections of my son’s auditioning experiences and what he told me about them. They may be obvious, but for what they’re worth:

  1. Understand the logistics of the audition in advance (parents can help with this one!). E.g., where is the audition going to be held? Where is the building located and what room? When do you need to be there? Are there practice rooms reserved for warm-up? There will be enough going on that you don’t want to be worrying about logistics on the day of the audition.
  2. Learn as much as you can in advance about the format of the audition. E.g., how long is it (typically 10-15 minutes, but some are longer)? Will you get to pick what you play or will they (usually you get to pick the first – if so, decide what you’re going to play first in advance)? How much improv will they ask for? Sight reading? Ear-training exercises? Do they also do an interview (most don’t, but a few, like Berklee, do)? If there’s an interview, what questions are they likely to ask? Most schools will have some if not all of this information on their website. The link that @Singersmom07 posted may also have a first-hand account of the audition at the relevant school or your son may have friends who have auditioned there whom he can talk with. The goal is to have as few surprises as possible after you walk into the room.
  3. Go in well rested. A good night’s sleep is important.
  4. Have fun! Yes, auditions are stressful, but they can be fun too. In jazz, typically the school will provide a rhythm section (or two-thirds of it if you’re already on a rhythm section instrument), and usually they’re really good musicians. Try to connect with them when you’re playing. Try to forget that it’s an audition. My son found that at some schools he was playing with a drummer and a bass player who were as good as or better than he’d ever played with and he said it really was fun and lifted his game. There’s a great blog post from a bass player who’s now in the Juilliard jazz program about his audition there – where he got to play his audition with Helen Sung on piano and Luca Santaniello on drums: http://blog.juilliard.edu/archives/556
  5. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Easier said than done, I know. But my son tried to go into auditions with the attitude that he could only do as well as he could do, and whatever the outcome was, it was. It helped him to relax a bit and, once he started playing, to forget he was in an audition and just focus on enjoying the music.

Good luck to you and your son!!

1)If you are travelling any distance, try to fly in the day before at least, so the kid has a chance to rest before the audition. For one of his auditions, we had to do a coast to coast redeye, and his audition was that afternoon (we landed around 8am local time). It ended up my son got into that school but it was not his best audition

2)I agree with someone else, try to get familiar with the school in advance, maybe find out where the auditions are held, and if possible, try and see if they will let the student use a practice room before the day of the audition (some may, others will not).

3)When going into the audition room, the student shouldn’t take anything out of the way the panel looks at him/her, if they even talk much to them, or make eye contact. When playing, don’t take anything out of facial expressions, or if it looks like some of the panel members are sleeping, it probably doesn’t mean much. If you are auditoning at the end of the day, for example, the panel members may be somewhat burned out or hungry, or otherwise have had a long day (if there is a panel, some schools may only be one teacher.

4)One piece of advice I thought was valuable was don’t think of it as an audition, think of it as going into a peformance, the thought is different. One of the things I have heard from several violin faculty is that students are so focused on playing perfectly, that they can forget about the music and expression. It is obvious that kids need to be mindful of their playing and technique, but if you lose the musicality, that may well cause you to fail the audition.

5)Don’t take anything out of the length of it after the audition (and yes, folks, post audition matters, too). The reason is that the after of one audition, especially the first one you do, may affect later ones. For example, if the audition only lasts let’s say 8 minutes, the tendency can be to think “Wow, I bombed that”, and going into the next audition if they think that, it may affect their playing, make them too self conscious, etc. Likewise, you could do a 15 minute audition and think that means you must have done well, and get overconfident, when a 15 minute audition could mean they wanted to hear more because the playing was inconsistent (it also may not mean anything at all). Basically, don’t put any weight into the length, whether they talked to you, etc, it generally cannot tell you anything.

6)Compartmentalize the auditions, basically treat each one like it is the only one you are doing, and prepare for it like that. The thing about auditions is they are all going to be different, the teachers are likely looking at different things, and if you try and tailor an audition to what you experienced in the past with other auditions, you may be hurting yourself. Play each as if it is the only one you are doing…that doesn’t mean if you notice you are playing too flat or too sharp to try and improve it, but don’t think that a past audition at school A otherwise has any relevance to what School B is looking for…

7)Some kids hit the starbucks and such before auditions, and I would recommend not doing that, from what have heard and seen, can affect playing (I know, some people can drink 2 extra large coffees and not have it affect them). Caffeine and sugar can really foul up playing, have seen that one in action:).

Just for a little fun…and it seems appropriate bc your email says First Audition! It won’t be the last. I took this off my D’s facebook page as many of her friends are auditioning for summer and YAP post graduate programs now. Even though it’s for a bit older students, it’s still relevant to college auditions as follows.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/thesecretopera/14-signs-its-audition-season-oiky

5 new friends will probably happen as you go from place to place

6 money issues will definitely happen to the adults!

7 you'll be able to guess what people are auditioning for what by the clothes - with a quick glance you'll think "oh they must be auditioning jazz at the same time as opera"

10 be sure to bring copies of copies of copies...

11 don't read ANYTHING into the panel

14 that what this community is for!

Welcome to the audition circuit!

Thanks for everyone’s feedback. From my end, the credit cards are cleared and ready to go!

I hadn’t thought about clothes. Do most kids dress like they would for a performance?

Interestingly enough, it was a pretty big adjustment for him from “performance” mode to recording the prescreens. The first take of the first song went close to 8 minutes… having a little too much fun. A lot of takes to get it down to the required 4 minutes. He’s not into cramming all the good stuff at the beginning of his solos and really doesn’t like playing that way, but he’s had to rethink things since he may get cut off after just one chorus. (Mom logic suggests he might “plan” out his solo but I’m told that’s blaspheme and akin to cheating…)

Formal wear is inappropriate but men should wear a jacket and a tie.

I’m not sure if this is a jazz audition but this might prove to be helpful:

www.music.ucla.edu/files/acrobatfiles/music/Home%20page/Getting_the_Big_scholarship_Dyas_101515.pdf

If this is a jazz audition, I 'm out of depth! But, in general for any audition, if asked to pick your starting piece, start with what sounds best and what you are most comfortable with.

First impression is important. I’ve heard if kids thinking they’d get the worrisome requirement out of the way, hoping to end strong. Bad, bad strategy. That worrisome piece may not even be asked for - don’t offer it!

Also, as Musicprnt indicates, every place is different. Don’t read too much into an interaction with faculty - good or bad - and don’t try to apply the circumstances of one school’s audition to another.

Good luck!

Plan to take your son shopping at a men’s store hopefully with a hip young guy or gal that will help him find a cool pair of slacks, shirt, tie and jacket if necessary. He should have audition clothing that is comfortable, clean and looks “stylish” for a young guy.

I did not notice jazz players or even some classical men always wearing jackets. So I’ll let others comment on that. But looking your best will help. Even if the panel is casual (they are already in) the student should be making an effort to impress.

Put yourself in the panels shoes. Do you want to offer a spot and money to someone who put on a wrinkled pair of dockers and scuffed up shoes for an important audition at a prestigious program? Maybe. But maybe not if all things are equal. Looking like you care is a good thing.

OK, didn’t have to worry about clothes. He was planning on suit and tie anyway. He gigs a lot; he’s used to the dress code. He’s talked to a few friends who have auditioned at the school and seems to know what to expect. He doesn’t seem worried at all. He wants to know what restaurants we’re going to try… [rolling eyes]

Although we traveled with our son to NYC and I drove him to his auditions in Boston, I did not go in with him to any of the schools. A friend’s father drove him to Eastman. That being said my son reported some pretty awful behavior by other parents on audition day. DON’T BE THAT PARENT. Don’t go trying to tell another musician how amazing your own son is. Don’t hover. Don’t go asking questions that your child should be asking. Be there to hug your child, keep your child safe and smile.

I took my daughter to UW Madison 2 weeks ago for her first audition. Music Ed/voice/choral conducting. It was really a calm atmosphere. There were 4 adjudicators. They had 20 minute auditions- 2 songs and sight reading. The accompanist came out to discuss with the student before the audition to review music. After all kids were finished, they called us all back in (again this was only voice auditions) and had a group discussion with parents and kids. Then the kids went off to take an hour long music theory exam. We were notified of her acceptance less than two weeks later. Very chill and lovely.

@Mezzo’sMama is this our first acceptance for this year’s acceptance thread?

@stacjip:
I think my son would have amputated me at the neck if I tried to go with him to the auditions. In LA I was still in the throes of a bad respiratory infection and was not in great shape, in Boston I initially walked to the school with him, to get an idea of where it was and so forth, but then he insisted I 'rest" in the hotel…but yeah, parents can act like jerks. When my son walked into the audition room at one school, there was an irate parent yelling at the audition panel in a mixture of english and Canadian French (he assumed it wasn’t complimentary), kind of freaked him him a bit…

I’ll check and ask! Thanks, @Singersmom07 !

Amazing!