Music Audition Tips
How do you practice for an audition? How do you calm down before a music audition?
Whether you are auditioning for Districts, All-States, a music school or another competition, it can be hard to know exactly how to prepare for a music audition.
Sure, you know you need to practice the audition material, but how can you optimize your practice sessions to ensure a successful performance?
The 4 practice tips below will help you to prepare for optimum success at your next audition!
1.) Give Yourself Time
Just as cramming for a test isn’t going to produce the best results, neither is trying to learn the music a few days before an audition. Give yourself as much time as possible to learn the music.
2.) Mix it Up
At most auditions, you will be asked to play an excerpt of the material you prepared. This means that you could be asked to start anywhere, including right in the middle of that tricky passage!
Prevent yourself from freezing up when this happens by practicing starting the piece at many different parts. Start from the end or start from the middle, but don’t always start at the beginning or you’ll be thrown off when asked to do anything different!
3.) Practice for an Audience
Practicing by yourself is definitely necessary for success. But in order to play well at the audition, you need to practice playing in front of people.
While you may not be able to recreate the atmosphere of the audition exactly beforehand, you can practice playing for others to get used to performing the music. Ask friends, family, or fellow musicians to listen to you play and be sure to ask for feedback afterwards!
4.) Practice Being Nervous
How do you calm down before a music audition? Sometimes it seems like the harder you try to not get nervous, the more nervous you get! Instead of focusing on suppressing all your nerves, focus on practicing being nervous. Recreating the way you feel when you walk in the audition room while practicing can be a big help.
Does your heart start pounding when you audition? Try running up some stairs or doing jumping jacks before practicing. Practice when you’re tired, not feeling your best, etc. and you’ll be that much more prepared for practicing with discomfort or nerves in the audition room.
No matter what audition you have coming up, these tips will help you to not only practice, but practice effectively. Effective practice is the key to a successful audition and being prepared is the best way to calm your nerves. Which of these tips are you going to use when you practice for your next audition?
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