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What to Pack for Your Audition
Congratulations! You’ve passed the recording round for a competition, made it past a preliminary round, got accepted to an honor band (or All State Band), got your audition time for your college audition, or sent in your application for the latest orchestra audition. You know the obvious next steps – and if you don’t, take a look at my audition checklist. As you pack and prepare for your audition, carefully read any correspondence for any specific instructions or directions. Whether you are competing in a solo, orchestral, chamber, or any other kind of competition, don’t forget to bring these items with you: A bottle of water – The last thing…
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The Prepared Musician’s Guide to Planning for Auditions
Every musician’s favorite time of year is quickly approaching…audition season! Whether you’re preparing for college auditions, conservatory auditions, All State auditions, summer festivals, solo competitions, or some other kind of audition, it can be hard to plan the logistics of getting to and from each place (let alone play well at each audition!) That’s where I can help. You see, I have a little problem – I am an obsessive list maker. Not always a bad thing, but it can easily get out of hand. I use the following list for every audition I take to make sure that I don’t forget anything in the pre-audition preparation frenzy. For each…
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Overcome Your Practice Plateau With These Practice Hacks
Have you ever walked out of the practice room and wondered what the heck you spent the last few hours doing? Maybe it wasn’t a terrible practice session, but it probably wasn’t that great either, right? Sometimes practicing feels like walking up the down escalator – having to redo passages you’ve already practiced, struggling with the same problems, zoning out or going on autopilot, or not knowing how to take your music to the next level. Congratulations, you’ve reached a practice plateau. Practice plateaus occur when we become complacent with our practice routine. It’s so easy to make practicing just another item on your endless to-do list, but when you’re not dedicating focus…
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How to Cure “Musician’s Block”
Why do only writers get a name for dry spells in creativity (aka writer’s block)? All artists, whether it be painters, dancers, actors, or musicians, are prone to slumps in inspiration. Henceforth, let’s start referring to this as musician’s block (or musician’s Bloch is you like a good composer pun). An unfair advantage writers and other artists have over musicians is that they usually have a tangible stopping and starting point from which to resume. If a writer is stuck on the ending of a novel, their existing work doesn’t vanish. Musicians’ work is dependent on daily practice – a drop in creativity during an important performance or audition can…
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Why All State Auditions are Stunting your Musical Growth
Let me preface this post by saying that I have had nothing besides positive experiences from All State band and orchestra (except for the sporadic bouts of crippling self doubt and heart-palpitating audition anxiety, but that’s for another discussion). It is a great way to fuel competitive spirit among young musicians while fostering friendship and teamwork. I am still close friends with several people I met in All State band and orchestra nearly ten years ago (I even went to prom with a fellow All State clarinetist!). Social aspects aside, All State ensembles are an incredible opportunity for growing musicians. The key word here is “growing” musician. In middle and…