Is your child auditioning for a spot in a music school?
Here are 6 tips to support them AND you.
1. Calm down!
Your auditioning offspring needs you to stay the course and manage your own anxiety. Take a brisk walk or get other exercise; take three long breaths when you get antsy; seek out other adults to vent with if you need to. Whatever you do, don’t let your anxiety spill out and onto your child. At the same time, kids are masters of reading between the lines. Don’t let the audition be like the elephant in the room. Acknowledge it. But don’t harp on it.
2. Have faith.
No matter what happens, your child will be fine. Really. It may be hard to imagine, but it’s true. The more you do whatever you can to feel and experience this within, the better you’ll be at transmitting this message to your child, verbally and non-verbally .
3. Remember this is THEIR audition.
One of the worst things you can do is show up like the mom of a recent American Idol contestant did. In her effort to support her child, the audition became all about her. This will not go over well with music schools!
4. Be supportive but not overbearing.
Auditions are anxiety-provoking on several levels. Most of all, kids need a sense of consistency and support at this time. Checking in with your child is important. So is maintaining an awareness of how they are doing. Peppering them with questions, however, is bound to backfire, especially if they’re not used to talking about their feelings.
5. Keep healthy food around.
It’s easy for kids to get run down around audition time. Having healthy, easy-to-grab food around will serve them well. Good hydration is important, too.
6. Congratulate yourself.
You’ve done a ton of work to help get your child to this point in time. Now it’s time to breathe and hold down the fort, while they test the waters of what lies ahead.
Photo Credit: CU Denver LYNX Camp, Robert King Photography
Arianna Gilbert
My mom is totally unsupportive of my want to go into music and it isnt just the financials of it. Any tips on how to navigate the auditions without them?
MajoringInMusic
Hi Arianna,
Sorry to hear you don’t feel supported by your mom regarding your desire to audition for a spot as a music major in college. I hope she’s shared with you her specific concerns so that you can understand her perspective and then share yours with her.
Is there a teacher or counselor who knows your musical strengths who might have a conversation with your mom?
Also, this article may be helpful to share with your mom: https://majoringinmusic.com/transferable-skills-music-majors-gain/
Be sure to read it as well so you can have a discussion with her about her concerns and how this article may address some or all of them.
Note that MajoringInMusic.com does offer fee-based consulting if you don’t find what you need at no cost on the website. But do look first for articles that speak to your interests, that you can share with your mother, and that may help you both have a useful dialogue together.