bloke wrote:
I believe another thing about a "live" audition is that the STUDENT somehow must GET THEIR REAR-END TO THE AUDITION. Even if a bunch of students are traveling together in a van or bus, each individual student had to get up REALLY EARLY on THAT Saturday morning and show up down at the school with THEIR instrument and THEIR mouthpiece and THEIR music.
HOW DARRRRRRE YOU
This would requier personal responsability !!
Your obvoiusly not from a California school distrect !
Personal responsability isn't too keen a thing here either. I had a parent pull her precious out of band last year 2 weeks before the concert because her precious didn't turn in a couple of practice logs and her grade dropped a little bit and because I didn't caudle her precious enough. Made me sick to my stomach to know that I had to explain to the rest of the band (all 6 of them) why they were now down a person and missing a part in their music The rest of that group worked their little tails off to make up for the difference and they did a good job. I was so proud of them and made sure to tell them so.
I say be honest with them. Have them play for you and determine with them then if you will record their audition. Encourage them not to be afraid to ask for help. If you have a university near by, see if some of the students from there can help them out. That would give the college students some experience in teaching and it would help your students. It might even motivate them.
Just my thoughts.
"Sometimes B#, Never B♭, Always B♮."
"Without Music, Life would B♭."
Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote:
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.
Wayne Gretzky wrote: You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.
Vincent Van Gogh wrote: What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?
et al.
There's a lot to be gained from trying your best and failing, so long as you understand the risks. Even children understand this concept. Every audition I've ever won or lost started with me saying "Well, they gotta take somebody." A number of variables including judges' aesthetics, the competition getting the flu, or a lucky bounce, could produce surprises.
I believe I completely understand the concerns of the original post. I have a couple of things to say in response:
1) If a student has worked hard, I would not discourage their attempt at the
audition. If there is a lack of effort, that is when I would try to intervene.
When I judge these competitions, I try to be patient if I believe the student
has worked hard. Sometimes, however, it is obvious they made little or no
effort. I find this tests my patience.
2) When working with students in preparation for such an event, I stress the
importance of the preparation. While the effort and desire to succeed
are important, to me they are not the most important. Much can be gained in
the preparation process.
I further agree with what was stated concerning learning about success and failure. If we are guaranteed to succeed, we cannot truly succeed. The possibility of failure makes that possible.
knuxie wrote:1. Focus on the process. Make sure they get a copy.
2. Don't blow smoke. If they don't have a shot, why do they need false hopes? Refer to No. 1.
Ken
That just inspired another thought...I hope not a "Jack Handy" one. How 'bout...
"I'm not sure that you're experienced enough to make it this year, but I want you to learn how to make a recording and submit it to a competition. We're going to keep a extra copy of your submission here, so that NEXT YEAR we can listen to it again and you will see how much you have progressed in just one year's time."
DING! DING! DING! Folks, we have a winner here. Combines everything talked about on the thread into one easy interchange.
bloke wrote:"I'm not sure that you're experienced enough to make it this year, but I want you to learn how to make a recording and submit it to a competition. We're going to keep a extra copy of your submission here, so that NEXT YEAR we can listen to it again and you will see how much you have progressed in just one year's time."
DING! DING! DING! Folks, we have a winner here. Combines everything talked about on the thread into one easy interchange.
Bloke's interchange is a good interchange, but I'm not quite sure if it's an easy interchange. That's something that I think only Mr. Chadtuba can determine.
The rest of that group worked their little tails off to make up for the difference and they did a good job. I was so proud of them and made sure to tell them so.
