tpter1

Too add to this:
It reminds me of something I read on Jay Friedman's site: "style wins auditions".

He goes on to discuss how ANYONE can say the pledge of allegience. But to make someone stop dead in their tracks; to say it and convey how deeply you believe those words to be true, takes the sames skill set as it does to win a job. Your voice, its quality, how your phrase it, where you place the emphasis, and how convincingly you say it.

What I gather from that is that everybody at an audition basically can say the right words (that is, play all the right notes at the right time); but you must separate yourself by making the committee stop "twiddling their thumbs" as he says.

To get to that point, to relax enough to do that, to be able to concentrate at the level required and work through the nerves is what preparation is all about.

As Manny said earlier, fundamentals will get you there because then you won't have to think about them.

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-Glenn
"Roses have thorns; shining waters mud. Clouds and eclipses stain the moon and the sun; and history reeks of the wrongs we have done. After today, after today, consider me gone."- Sting

Derek Reaban

Knight,

You’re already received lot’s of great advice, but there’s one specific concept that I didn’t see anyone target yet. Let’s say you do everything in all of the above posts (less the medication) and you find that you still move past that positive nervous energy to something that’s harmful to your playing. What then?

Your mind always wants to be busy. It needs something to occupy it. If you think to yourself “I’m not going to be nervous at my audition” you haven’t given your mind anything constructive to think about. It’s like telling a 4-year-old NOT to hit their brother. All they hear is “Hit Your Brother”!

I took an audition a couple of years ago that was one of my personal best showings. I really feel like I played as well as I was capable of playing (my nervous energy remained in check). My instructor gave me a concept that was a variation on something that Norm Bolter (2nd trombone in the BSO) said once. When he would go on stage to audition, he says a mantra to himself, "Pitch and Rhythm, Pitch and Rhythm". My instructor thought it would be better for me to flood my mind with what it is that is coming up (pure musical ideas) rather than "what ifs" and/or verbal commands. So I started to sing through the opening phrase of the Hummel (the first thing that I was to play in the auditon) to give my mind something constructive to do. It really worked for me!

Your conscious mind is literally like a little kid in audition situations, getting into mischief that will cause the rest of your body to perform below it’s capabilities. If you want your kids to be good in a busy waiting room and the associated appointment, you better bring some quiet activities along to keep them occupied until it’s your turn to accomplish your business. If you forget to plan the quiet activities, you are potentially going to be frustrated at them for being “kids”. You’ll spend your energy trying to keep them quiet and then you’ll be less prepared for your important meeting because your mind is less focused (just like the audition situation). Giving your conscious mind something to do (singing through musical phrases in your mind) is just like providing the quiet activity for your kids in the waiting room. It requires some preparation and discipline to do it, but the payoff is you can play to the level of your current preparation.

Keep simple (positive) music thoughts going through your head and your mind will allow you to play your best.

Here's a link to an article by Bryan Edgett that you might enjoy.

Hope this helps!

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Derek Reaban
Tempe, Arizona

Rick Chartrand

Part of my approach is to get rid of any nervousness all together, which is something that you'd want to do. Manny's approach is to know your stuff so well that you can do it with your eyes closed which is valuable in ANY situation. I think that if you put both ideas together that would really illiminate ANY problems. On Mannys alphabet analogy, make sure you can recite the alphabet forwards, backwards and upside down for the committee. The best piece of advice is in Mannys signature... Don't practice for SOMETHING. Practice for EVERYTHING and you'll be ready for ANYTHING

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Those who are jealous of me have no sucess;
Those who are my equal may be kindred.
mmccourt and schilke b6 may consume my leavings.

brian moon

Did he ever tell you how Norman killed a fly on the wall by blasting a high note on his alto?

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Revelation 3:20

Derek Reaban

Brian,

I haven't heard that one. Please share!

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Derek Reaban
Tempe, Arizona

brian moon

Derek that's about the whole story. One day at Tanglewood, Norman put his bell right up to a fly on the wall, aimed and fired = dead fly. I didn't see him do it the first time. I am pretty sure that Norman that told me about it. Someone else bore witness to the event. Now that I think about it I can picture him doing it, it might have happened more than once. It happened in the boy's dorm at the Windsor Mountain School.

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Revelation 3:20

maccluer

You might check out Don Greene's books. Try "Performance Success" or his website Dongreene.com. It has helped numerous musicians and other performers overcome performance anxiety.

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www.joshuamaccluer.com

gringoloco

I've never seen Norman Kill the fly, but I believe it. I've seen him do plenty of other AMAZING things too. He is one of the most amazing energies I've ever encountered. He was probably my biggest influence when I was in Boston.

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Be well,
Rob

Siegtrmpt

Lots of good ideas here. In addition to solid preparation, keeping the focus on making music and playing well seems to help my students do better. Let the judges worry about the results.

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Bill S.- NY Bach 6, 38 Mt. Vernon 43 Bach "C" cornet, NY Bach trombone 6vii Monette mouthpieces