Bombed Auditions

[ThomasP]

I once sight read something in 3/8. I played it in one and it was supposed to be in 3. The presence of 32nd notes should have been a give away. Along with the marking at the top that had eighth note=?? It was something I'll never forget.

[TubaRay]

I once sight read something in 3/8. I played it in one and it was supposed to be in 3. The presence of 32nd notes should have been a give away. Along with the marking at the top that had eighth note=?? It was something I'll never forget.

Sometimes the lessons we learn are really HARD lessons. The fact that you won't forget means that you got something very positive out of it. That sounds good to me. I hope you feel the same.

[kontrabass]

Laughed off the "major and minor scales" when I saw the excerpt list.

Played wrong notes.

[Leland]

I once sight read something in 3/8. I played it in one and it was supposed to be in 3. The presence of 32nd notes should have been a give away. Along with the marking at the top that had eighth note=?? It was something I'll never forget.

lol.. that would've been wild to see going through my head: "Holy jeezus, this is FAST!! What the hell are they thinking!??!?"

Me, I got too nervous about sucking, so when I played a lyrical, slow excerpt, my chops turned rock hard, my windstream became as narrow as a coffee straw, and my lips got a case of the shakes -- which all made me go, "Oh crap, I'm really sucking now!" and my playing got even worse.

Eh, oh well. I've found that, ironically enough, I play best when I don't care.

[Leland]

One thing is certain:

That one excerpt on the list that is evaluated by the applicant as "no problem" ends up being "the problem".

Heh...

Actually, I knew that the soft, slow excerpt carried the greatest exposure and, thus, the greatest risk. The other ones were easy -- loud, fast, notey, etc. All I had to do with those was honk them out with clarity and in time, and they went pretty well. But, after one mini-frack in the ballad, I was toast.

[MaryAnn]

Eh, oh well. I've found that, ironically enough, I play best when I don't care.

Oh, this is SO true. If I can just get myself out of the "performing" mindset into the "showing off" mindset, all goes immensely better.

MA

[windshieldbug]

And somthing else they asked me to do which just totally confused me

If you don't understand, ASK! You may feel awkward for doing it, but it's better than looking like you understand it, and THEN messing up!

In the 70's, when I took one orchestral audition, the first 15 minutes were sight reading... then came another sight reading excerpt, so I asked the maestro how fast he wanted it. He looked at me crossly, and said "Standard tempo!". So I asked again, and the maestro said "You know!". So I said I didn't, and he fumed more, but it turned out that orchestra manager had sent me the wrong excerpt list. I thought that I was going down in flames, but the conducter shouted "Holy crap! You mean you've been sight reading all this!?". I got the gig. And it taught me a valuable lesson- if you don't understand, ask, no matter how stupid you think it makes you look!

[Tom Holtz]

Eh, oh well. I've found that, ironically enough, I play best when I don't care.

Amen, brother.

[Leland]

I thought that I was going down in flames, but the conducter shouted "Holy crap! You mean you've been sight reading all this!?". I got the gig.

LOL... THAT is funny...

[Leland]

Eh, oh well. I've found that, ironically enough, I play best when I don't care.

Oh, this is SO true. If I can just get myself out of the "performing" mindset into the "showing off" mindset, all goes immensely better.

MA

When I can make it work, I liken it to an article I read once in Snowboarder Magazine that talked about riding through trees. Briefly --

If you go in there and look at all the trees you have to avoid, there are a LOT to see -- too many to keep track of, in fact. Since you're focused on the trees (focusing on possible mistakes.. ah!), you're pretty much guaranteed to hit one.

But, if you get into the trees and look instead for the path of white space in between, you'll find a lot less to worry about, and it becomes much easier to focus on the line, allowing you to make it through unscathed.

Bad: "I won't screw up, I won't screw up..."
Good: "Yeah, check this sh!% out!"

Make sense?

I had posted this earlier in another thread:
Back in college, I played for chair placement in an intercollegiate honor band. I didn't give a rat's *** about what chair I was going to get. I was already there, and how everyone got there was pretty silly anyway -- our professors had rated us and submitted their recommendations, and we were chosen. It was one step away from simply being appointed to the band. I practiced the parts anyway, and when I went in there, I hadn't given myself anything to worry about -- I just honked away, nailing every note with the auditioner two feet away in our little practice room, and I ended up with first chair.

[TubaRay]

Actually, Leland, your snowboard example makes perfect sense. Now, in a practical sense, this is not always easily accomplished.

[Leland]

Actually, Leland, your snowboard example makes perfect sense. Now, in a practical sense, this is not always easily accomplished.

I never said it was easy...