two excuses i hear a lot about why people don’t record their audition:
they’re not allowed to, or
they don’t know where to hide the recording device.
hmm…. legit excuses, or not? what do you think?
the problem is that if you don’t record your audition, you’ll never know how you really sounded in the room.
you may think you know. but between the extra adrenaline and the nerves (which this website says can produce a "sense of doom” which i totally get), you’re not in your right mind at an audition.
to really understand what happened at your audition and what you can do about it, you need to listen to your actual audition recording and play it for others.
for instance, if you don’t have room for a bulky zoom recorder, or you’re not allowed to bring in a cell phone, what about a secret spy pen? james bond would approve:
in this video i’ll show you how to sneak a recording device into your audition.
i also compared 7 recording devices to see which one works best.
i tested two different pens, a heart necklace, and a USB key against some of the more standard recording devices.
so check out the results and listen to the difference in each recording device.
want to really know how
you sounded in the room?
check out these recording devices.
it’s episode #7 of the auditionhacker podcast, and i’ll go over:
how i spent 6 months perfecting the 12 delécluse études,
the special strategy i used in preparation, called “the magical shrinking self-recording workflow”,
how preparation needs to be structured for a recording vs. a live audition, and
my best tips and strategies to make a recording session go smoothly.
it’s episode #6 of the auditionhacker podcast, and i’m going over:
the legendary and now-defunct practice of challenges,
adopting the olympian mindset as a musician, and
the most accurate indicator of future audition success.
i've worked with hundreds of musicians on audition preparation. and nothing - NOTHING - has been as effective and life-changing as when they start self-recording the right way.
imprecise rhythm is something that can get you cut from an audition IMMEDIATELY (regardless of your instrument). and great rhythm is something that an audition committee can sense, both consciously and subconsciously. hearing someone play in the pocket just feels good.
well, i have a few tricks up my sleeve to straighten out my rhythm, and today i'm sharing one of the most effective strategies.
in today's episode, i'll go over:
my audition journey and how i ended up winning the met opera job,
3 of my favorite audition hacks, and
the one thing that's so much more meaningful than the result of the audition.
things i do on audition day:
warm up by playing on the hotel pillow,
watch vast amounts of tv shows on my phone, and
never drink coffee.
when i was in detroit in february i got to interview three great DSO musicians on how they approach audition day. pretty fascinating to see how their approaches are so different from each other.
i’m endlessly fascinated with how musicians practice (as you know). so i was fortunate to talk to augustin hadelich, international violin soloist, about how he gets ready to play a different concerto with a different orchestra every week.
it's episode #8 of the auditionhacker podcast, and i'll go over my best methods for getting better feedback.