<p>We recently returned from a far-away audition trip where D had the near disaster of having an instrument malfunction about 3 hours before her audition time. A mechanism was stuck (was working perfectly the night before, and wed had the instrument in for a check up less than one month ago.) Despite our being at a huge university with a large music school, there was no repair person on the premises. Thankfully, her clarinet teacher was at home and quickly diagnosed the problem by phone which D was able to fix after a few attempts. I think the clarinet staff would have been sympathetic if she had showed up to her audition with a flawed instrument, and likely would have been able to help her fix it, but at some cost to her confidence level. Fortunately it turned out ok. I guess it would be a good idea to find local repair people before travelling, and if possible to have a basic working knowledge of how to fix your instrument. </p>
<p>One more audition to go! Best of luck, everyone.</p>
<p>I’m glad the crisis was averted! Thank goodness her teacher was available to diagnose the problem. Good luck to your daughter on her final audition!</p>
<p>It is always a good idea to be able to effect simple repairs on your instrument. The problem is that many things require specialized to and/or a good bit of experience to fix. Working on something complicated enough to require the tools or experience can make things much worse.</p>
<p>Many schools are not within easy reach of a competent instrument repair person. There are about two people in the whole country that my wife trusts to work on her flute, for example. Finding one who could do the job on an hour’s notice would have been a stroke of luck even in a large city.</p>
<p>Had she not been able to fix the instrument with a bit of help from her teacher, I think the judges would have been sympathetic. They may well have found her an instrument to borrow, but playing an audition on an unfamiliar instrument is not usually a great option. Glad to hear that everything worked out.</p>
<p>Ouch! D3 had a bow fall apart minutes before one of her auditions last year, so I know how stressful that must have been for you and your D. Glad she was able to get it repaired in time - hope the audition went well!</p>
<p>Stradmom, what a nightmare about the bow! How did she manage to get it repaired? Equipment failure was one of my big worries last year, along with blizzard-surfing.</p>
<p>This hits home to me, my S auditioned on electric guitar and I could not convince him to bring extra strings with him! I don’t know what we would have done if he had broken a string while warming up or during an audition. On a smaller scale, my 8th-grade daughter plays oboe and discovered right before her audition for wind ensemble that her reed was cracked, and she didn’t have an extra one. Luckily, her teacher allowed her to audition the next day. </p>
<p>Glad you were able to fix your problem in time!</p>
<p>@glassharmonica - Thank goodness for the backup bow! Fortunately, we were in Boston, and dashed over to Reunings after the audition. Given that we were leaving for a four day multistate audition trip the next day, it was wonderful that they were able to give her priority. She ended up missing her HS orchestra concert that evening, but …</p>
<p>stradmom, if the instrument was viola, there are some that would say the functionality of the bow doesn’t matter anyway. :D</p>
<p>It’s also been a particularly harsh winter, and even with diligent maintenance of humidity levels, it’s not uncommon for soundposts to shrink, seams pop. Pays to look the instrument over closely on a regular basis. Not all pops immediately effect the tonal qualities. A bit of shrinkage may make the soundpost, or bridge for that matter a bit more susceptible to movement, especially when traveling. While you cannot control everything, being proactive can greatly reduce having to be reactive. </p>
<p>Just another point. Should you suffer an instrument meltdown prior to or during an audition, try not to go into mental meltdown as well. An air of professionalism and calmness will be your best offense in dealing with it.</p>
<p>Remember, you are not the first, nor the last that has endured this scenario.</p>
<p>And be thankful that isn’t a wardrobe malfunction.</p>
<p>CLRN8MOM, my S had the exact same problem occur with his clarinet during an audition day last year. Perhaps some turbulence on the plane jostled the case, or something, not sure. We had the initial panic. But then the Admissions person checking in prospective students kindly phoned the clarinet professors, who referred us to a local instrument shop, and agreed to move S’s audition to end of day. The instrument shop phoned their repair person, who came in early just to fix my son’s instrument. So, we took the time to have lunch, go on the campus tour, and relax a bit during what would have been the scheduled audition time. By the end of the day, things had become very quiet in the audition area, my S felt relaxed, and all was well. The school actually that day moved way up on my S’s list due to the kind assistance from admissions people all the way to music store personnel. While he ended up not choosing it in the end, we will always remember it as a very nice place.</p>