<p>We just got an email message from one of the schools my D auditions for at Unifieds. It seems they now want her music for her songs downloaded to an Ipod; they had indicated they'd have an accompanist. How is that done?</p>
<p>The school has indicated that they will have an IPod dock for her music. She has an IPhone and we can have the piano piece played and recorded onto that. Can that then be used with the IPad dock? As you can tell I’m technologically challenged.</p>
<p>Once you have the piece loaded onto her IPhone, she can just place the phone into the dock and play it thru the dock speaker. She will probably know how to do it. Best of luck!</p>
<p>When my D was auditioning, we invested in a small IPod speaker system to take with us as occasionally this kind of stuff happens. That was several years ago and systems are even better and less expensive now. Just something you might want to think about.</p>
<p>Make sure she put her phone on AIRPLANE mode, so no calls or texts can come through while she’s singing!</p>
<p>She has an IPhone 5. Will that work with their IPod dock or does she need an adapter?</p>
<p>If she has her songs on a cd will they let her bring a CD player to play them? I know at this point my D has hers on a CD and we would run into a problem if we had to load it onto an iPod. What school wants that? Most have been telling people to bring their own CD player or speakers. We actually had a school acquire a pianist so she no longer needs a CD player for them.</p>
<p>I guess it depends on how old their dock is- I’m not sure I would want to take a chance. One option is that you can buy some little portable speakers that the iphone plugs right into. iHome makes some little mini speakers that sound surprisingly good. I know that the Apple store sells some, but you might google to see if you can get them for less. Just confirm that they will work with the iPhone 5. I think if you shop around you can get them for way less than $50. [iHome</a> iHM79 Rechargeable Mini Speakers - Apple Store (U.S.)](<a href=“http://store.apple.com/us/product/H5132VC/A/ihome-ihm79-rechargeable-mini-speakers?fnode=4b]iHome”>http://store.apple.com/us/product/H5132VC/A/ihome-ihm79-rechargeable-mini-speakers?fnode=4b)</p>
<p>Make sure to get the type of speakers that take batteries. I have heard it is not always easy to find a way to plug in your speakers in the audition room. They also need to have decent volume in case the room is large. If you need to run out because there is no time to ship, you can probably find what you need at Target or Walmart.</p>
<p>You are all making me nervous, as my D is bring her music on her laptop, not on cd or ipod, and I’m hoping noone will have a problem with her playing it straight from her computer. Anyone else done this in the past? If so, were there objections from anyone for doing so? D insists it will be fine…</p>
<p>Mine is bringing her laptop and external speakers for better sound. If it’s loud enough (and she would know) it should be fine.</p>
<p>Thank you! I can breathe again - D does have a set of portable speakers in case she needs them, so I guess we’re okay.</p>
<p>Take an aux cable. I don’t believe any docking system is compatable with the iPhone 5 yet. We got my D a Bose speaker and she has an iPhone 5 and the aux cable is what she uses. Better yet, take two aux cables!!</p>
<p>I don’t know anything about this tech stuff - but hang in there, jeffandann! This is one of those things that the veteran parents are always saying will appear funny in coming years!</p>
<p>Looks like we have to get an adapter to go from the iPhone 5 to the iPod dock. Off to the Apple store today.</p>
<p>walker, what is an aux cable and does it only work with a Bose speaker?</p>
<p>^^^ These are usually called some combination of, “3.5mm stereo mini plug auxiliary adapter male-to-male cable” (search for some combination of these words on amazon and you will find them). This is a small cord with small plugs on both ends (the same size plug as headphones) that allow you to plug a device like an iPod into speakers or a dock using the headphone jack on the iPod (a “jack” is the place where you insert the plug). Any dock should have an input jack for a mini plug. These are available in office supply stores, Best Buy, Target, etc., and I think they even sell these in the stereo vending machines that you see in airports.</p>
<p>Using one of these, you don’t have to worry about capatibility between various Apple devices and a dock. You will have to find the input jack on the dock, however, which is not always easy (sometimes its partially hidden on the side or back).</p>
<p>Just for the record, this method doesn’t always work well for all speaker sytems due to something called a pre-amp. However, it should work for all docks.</p>
<p>You should make sure that the sound level on the iPod is set to at least the middle volume range. This points to the problem with using on-site docks, you may have to adjust the volume to get the sound at an appropriate level, and it is one more thing for the auditionee to have to worry about.</p>
<p>What school is this, Jeffandann??? Worried this could be a school we are here for!</p>
<p>You can also get the aux cables at places like TJ Maxx, Marshall’s etc. They have name brands are are from $4.99 to $7.99 instead of $14-$20 at Target or Best Buy.</p>
<p>No matter what equipment you wind up using, since this is a new wrinkle for you, really try to find a comparable dock to borrow for a bit while still at home so you can do a trial run. I’ve found a fair amount of folks have docks for parties, even dance teachers, etc. I know you’ll be scrambling at the last minute, but if you put the word out quickly, somebody will probably have a dock you can borrow to practice. You might even ask the merchants where you buy your cables or whatever to see if you can do a trial run right at their store with one of their docks and her phone for track cues, setting volume, etc. The settings will possibly need to be different when she’s onsite at the Unifieds, but she’ll feel better prepared on getting set up. It will go a long way towards putting your daughter at ease and give her the sense of being in control before the audition. I also don’t think they will frown upon a brief sound check at the audition, but others might know differently. If they allow that, she should not be shy about asking for the volume to be where she needs it. Break a Leg!</p>
<p>I just looked at my son’s mini speaker. It plugs right into the iPhone and was under $20 at Kohl’s. It puts out a great sound and would work fine for an audition. It would be a nice thing to have for peace of mind at auditions. I would not want to mess around with the iDock at the audition. Just one more thing to worry about, and it would be awkward for the parent to have to go in to fix the sound.</p>