by Katherine Pukinskis –

Surviving music school auditions is like a day-long performance. It’s hard to be at your best (as a human and a musician) when you’re tired, and there’s no way around it: this is going to be a tired time for you. Here are some hints for making it through:

1. Get Sleep. Really. As much as you can. Sacrificing sleep in order to do any kind of work will sacrifice the quality of work that you are able to do. Don’t rely on energy drinks or caffeine to get you through. (Plus, those can really mess with your fine motor control, one of the big skills required for playing an instrument.)

2. Keep to your rituals or create new ones. There are all sorts of variables (eg., travel, time zones, weather) that throw a wrench in your system, and it’s important to have an established routine or set of activities that you can rely on. It can be a daily ritual like stretching before you go to bed, or a pre-audition ritual like always eating eggs for breakfast on audition day.

3. Thank your parents for dealing with you during your crazy stress-monster auditions. When I was auditioning for schools, my parents got used to my routine of not eating or speaking for up to 24 hours before an audition, and then being famished and extremely talkative immediately afterwards. They quietly accepted my peculiarities and chalked them up to the “audition crazies.” If you are lucky enough to have parents who can deal with your crazies, remember to thank them.

4. Keep up with your homework. Teachers are usually pretty great about extensions for projects during this stressful time, but don’t use that as an excuse for not doing any work at all. Use car and plane rides to stay on top of your homework.

5. Have an outlet to get away from music for a while. Sometimes, with all of the practicing and rehearsing and auditioning, it’s just too much music. It’s important to have something that “resets” or “recharges” your work.

And remember, everyone is different. What worked for me may not work for you. The best thing to do is to listen to yourself and take care of the bigger instrument –– you.

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Katherine Pukinskis is a renown composer as well as assistant professor of music and chair of the Contemporary Creative Practice Division at Carnegie Mellon University School of Music. She holds a PhD in Composition from University of Chicago and bachelor and master’s degrees in Composition from Carnegie Mellon University.

Most student musicians inevitably reach a point when they feel stuck. It’s as if they’ve reached their limit, their highest point, and can’t go any further. They keep doing the same routine over and over but don’t experience any growth.

by Donna Schwartz

If you are experiencing that stuck feeling, what you may not realize is that it’s only your own thinking that is keeping you stuck and holding you back from achieving your next goal.

Taming the Mind

Our minds can play really powerful tricks and convince us we are not talented enough to pursue our dreams. Half the journey to success has to do with our mindset. Telling ourselves we can achieve something will likely bring about change.

When I was younger, I would “beat myself up” if I didn’t do well at an audition or performance. I could hear in my head exactly how I wanted the performance to go, but got angry when it didn’t come out the bell of my trumpet. I demanded greatness from myself and most of the time got it.

But sometimes, I didn’t.

Those times, my performance was based in fear: fear of losing my seat in band, fear of not getting into All-State, fear of not getting into the college I wanted.

My practicing leading up to those performances was based in fear, too. My mind wasn’t clear and relaxed enough to reach my goals effectively and efficiently. It became a seesaw of emotions: extreme highs and extreme lows. I led myself to believe that music performance = fear.

My results were also lopsided. I got accepted into All-State one year but not the following. I got into 2 prestigious summer music camps but not into the college of my dreams.

The upshot? I had lots of great performance opportunities. But I had trained myself to think of performance as an event to be feared instead of enjoyed.

The Power of Believing

Beliefs lead our brains to act toward the end result of what we believe.

Does this mean that all you have to do is believe you’re great and then success and riches will follow? No! You still have to set big and small goals, realistically assess your abilities, and have the belief in yourself that over time, you will reach your goals.

For example, if you’re a jazz student, why not believe you are skilled at keeping time while soloing? To do this, you’ll need to keep listening to amazing jazz soloists, like Stanley Turrentine, Sonny Rollins, Freddie Hubbard, etc., to fill your brain with great information.

Action Steps

Pick one piece to work on at a time. If you’re a jazz student, set the metronome or Amazing Slow Downer app at a certain tempo, and work just on keeping your rhythms in good time with the beat. Push yourself to a faster speed, even if it’s just an increase of 1% every day. That 1% over time builds up to huge progress.

The key? While working on your goal, believe that you can achieve it.

When practicing, and especially performing, pick a superstar as your role model. Hear them play in your head when you perform. In time, what comes out of your instrument will be your own version of amazing.

By changing the way we think about ourselves, we can greatly improve our performances and enjoy making music. Granted, this is not easy to do at first, but starting small and looking for that 1% improvement on achieving a goal every day will, in time, yield big results.

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Donna Schwartz has been teaching music for over 26 years and has performed at all types of venues in the NYC metro area.

For high school seniors who are interested in becoming music majors, this is the time of year that’s filled with musical preparation for upcoming college music auditions. Much excitement accompanies this process, and many students find themselves full of worry and trepidation. I would like to share some helpful audition advice to support you as you embark on the very busy audition season ahead.

 by Dr. Michelle Stanley

Preparing For the Big Day

1. Practice, practice, practice!
While I’m not advocating cramming, I urge you to include practice in your day-to-day routine. This includes practicing your entire required repertoire for each school. Be sure to review sight-reading and scales as well. Don’t be surprised if an audition committee requests you to play something that you weren’t expecting. It isn’t the intention to trip you up, but rather to see where you are in your musical development. Not being able to do something doesn’t mean you don’t pass an audition. It simply informs the committee of where you are in your abilities.

2. Create your own audition committee
Often the scariest part of auditioning is performing for a panel of strangers who  give very little feedback during your audition. Re-creating that atmosphere can help control your nerves on the day of your audition. Create an audition committee that will listen to you play through your music prior to your auditions. Pull in classmates, teachers, and friends to listen to you perform. The more strangers, the better! Have them ask you to play certain scales or different repertoire than what you have prepared. Act as you would at your audition. Practice smiling, thanking the committee, and playing your best.

3. The non-musical side
Often your audition begins the moment you walk into the room. Present your best self by being well-dressed, full of poise, friendly, respectful, and confidant. Mistakes are ok – even expected. How you recover, and how you perform overall, are what a committee will remember.

The Mental Game of Auditions

1. It’s all about your potential
An audition committee fully realizes that you are a developing musician who won’t be perfect in every way. If you were perfect, we wouldn’t need to teach you! We listen for potential. Does a student have the potential to be a great student and musician? We often think of your strengths and weaknesses and how they would work with our own teaching styles.

2. Fast fingers aren’t everything!
Playing fast and furiously is a small part of being a good musician. Perform with attention to intonation, integrity of rhythm, thoughtfulness, musicality, and beautiful tone.

3. “Oh no, they stopped me before I finished my piece!”
Don’t worry if a committee stops you early in your piece. It could mean that they could be interested in hearing more of what you have to offer or they felt that they have heard a full representation of your playing. Often there is a limited amount of time that they have to listen to each student and they need to hear as much as they can from you in a short period of time. Be sure to practice stopping in different places in your music and go on to other pieces as you review your repertoire daily.

4. You are the committee too..
While the committee may be assessing you to see if you are a good fit for their school, you should be assessing the school to see if it is the right place for you. Spend time touring the facilities, investigating the program, talking with other students, and most importantly, meet with the teacher that you would study with. If possible, get a lesson. Most teachers are happy to give you a free lesson as you research their school. College is a place where you are going to invest a lot of time and money, and you need to be happy with your choice.

5. The bottom line
The reason you are auditioning to be a music major is because you love music and
you want to become a better musician. Remember that love you have for music while you play. That excitement for music will shine through your performance and dazzle your listeners. Every college audition committee is interested in hearing you do your best. We are rooting for you to have an excellent audition!

Which school to attend?

When you finally have all of your offers from the schools you applied to and auditioned for, you have much to consider. After taking all the steps mentioned above (meeting the applied teacher you would work with, touring the school, talking with students), you should have a good idea about the ‘feel’ of each school.

You will want to consider other issues such geographic location, finances, scholarship offers and comfort with the size of the department and school at large, once you get a feel for each school. Make sure the schools you are serious about have all the degree program(s) you have interest in (especially if you are undecided about what you actually want to pursue). Will you study with a graduate student or the main faculty teacher in your area? What is the size of the studio you would be in? Will you be able to perform in the major ensembles the school offers?

Should you be lucky to get competing offers from several music programs, be sure to communicate those competing offers with each of the applied teachers. Sometimes an offer can be raised if you a school really wants you to attend.

Being a music major is a wonderful experience, full of strong bonds with faculty and students. This unique degree program is one that you will be a part of long after your degree is conferred. You choose to apply to each school through realistic and careful consideration. Choosing a school to attend a particular school is often a matter of following your heart to where you feel that you belong.

Good luck!

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Dr. Michelle Stanley is Assistant Professor of Music (flute) at Colorado State University. She is a member of the Colorado Ballet Orchestra and a regular performer with the Colorado Symphony. Her teaching and performing regularly take her across the United States and abroad.

Link: Dr. Michelle Stanley’s website

by Katherine Pukinskis –

You did it! Whether it was December 1st or 15th, you hit “submit” and paid your fee. Your friends are already relaxing. Their winter break will be spent glued to that Project Runway marathon or watching Harry Potter 1 – 7 in one sitting, in one day. But you, you’re not even halfway done. You’re waiting for the letters that say you have been granted in-person music school auditions. Once you get those letters, a whole new kind of preparation starts.

Hopefully, you were thorough with your “Music School Application Table” in the fall, and you know which schools want to hear your pre-screening pieces or all new repertoire. Either way, you’re prepared. If not, it’s time to put it all together! January is not far away. In fact, it’s almost here.  Now is not the time to stop –– if anything, it’s best to take this time to prepare yourself as well as you can so your auditions in January/February go as well as possible. The more comfortable you are with your rep, the more you can actually perform for the audition panel. It’s way more fun to play or sing when you really know your piece, rather than when you’re thinking, “What’s the next word?” or “Is it an F natural or F sharp in this next passage?” Because you’ve gotten this far in the process and are reading this post, I’m pretty sure you’ve experienced both. And you know that the prepared, confident performance is much more enjoyable for everyone. It’s really tough to be working when all of your friends aren’t, and when all you want to do is relax. And you’re probably exhausted, too! School, SATs, applications, sports, lessons –– it’s been a busy fall and you just want two weeks of doing nothing. So by all means, relax! You’ve earned it. Plus, if you don’t relax a little, you’ll burn out before you’re halfway through auditions. It’s all about balance. Say you were spending eight hours a day in school, two hours on practicing/applications, and two hours for extracurriculars. Now that you’re on vacation, you’ve got eight to ten (or twelve) seemingly “free” hours to relax every day. My suggestion is to keep up your two hours of practice each day, but try to increase your practice time by a few hours, four days per week. Maybe do two practice sessions a day instead of one. You’ll still have plenty of time to sleep in and hang with friends. A little extra work now (when it’s not so tough to work those hours in) will make two hours a day seem like nothing once school starts up again. The audition season is a busy one, and your efforts during this break will help to even out the workload over the next six to ten weeks.

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Katherine Pukinskis is a renown composer as well as assistant professor of music and chair of the Contemporary Creative Practice Division at Carnegie Mellon University School of Music. She holds a PhD in Composition from University of Chicago and bachelor and master’s degrees in Composition from Carnegie Mellon University.

by Dr. Thomas Swenson –

Music competitions are a regular part of life for many students who plan to go to music school and seek a career in music.  Three “realities” of music competitions:

1. Any performance — whether in a competition, a lesson, for friends, or at Carnegie Hall — is just a “snapshot” of your talent and skills. Prepare and do your best, and then be proud that you did!

2. Music evaluators (judges) love music. They are evaluating the communicative power of your performance; they are not judging you personally.

While accuracy is something to continually strive for, most judges want to be emotionally moved by the music. Even with a few errors, music can magically connect people with ideas that transcend language.

3. Music competitions do not have easily quantifiable scores.  Unlike a soccer game, where you simply count the number of goals, music ratings are somewhat subjective. Judges do their best to take into account many things:

• overall musicality
• stylistic elements (somewhat debatable)
• adherence to the score (creative interpretation versus the minutia of the score)
• the entire program you prepared (diverse styles performed equally well)
• the individual pieces (like you, judges simply have music preferences)
• musical intuition (who can really define this?)

5 Benefits Gained from Participating in Music Competitions

1. An opportunity to overcome technical, musical, and mental challenges.

This should be one of the most important goals of entering any competition. Many times you may overcome a challenge in your practicing, but overcoming a challenge in a public venue is a much more celebrated victory.

2. Exposure to many people who appreciate and support music, including teachers, college/university faculty, and potential employers and fans (who may eventually become financial supporters).

Many students have made important connections at competitions that eventually led to scholarships or participation in other unique programs.  Feedback from these people, especially the judges, can help you identify your strengths and areas to further develop.

3. An opportunity for your “fans” to witness and acknowledge your growth (some competitions allow an audience).

Anyone watching your performance (typically family, friends, teachers) can provide important feedback about your long-term development.

4. A chance to observe your peers.

You can gauge your own strengths and weaknesses against those of your peers. You may also be exposed to, and inspired by, new and exciting repertoire.

5. An honorable recognition of your musicianship.

If you happen to place in, or win, a competition, include it in future applications and your résumé.

Final Advice for Anyone Thinking about Music Competitions

• Seek out competitions that are at the appropriate level for your development.  Doing so ensures that you are more likely to have a positive experience.
• Prepare to your best ability, perform your best, and be proud of your performance—no matter what actually happens.
• Good resources –– books, articles, videos, and even “performance coaches” –– can help you develop strategies for performing at your peak.
• Be proud of winning a competition, but remember it is only a momentary recognition. Be respectful and sensitive to your peers who don’t fare as well as you.
• Consider lessons with music school faculty or local lessons within your community on violin, piano, wind instruments, voice, etc. specifically geared toward helping you prepare for competitions.

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Dr. Thomas Swenson teaches at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. He has been a national leader in the field of piano pedagogy and in the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA). Dr. Swenson holds degrees from Minnesota State University, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and the University of Oklahoma.

Photo Credit: Interlochen Center for the Arts

by Daniel Weidlein –

Every musician has to learn the art of practicing. Nobody will deny that it can feel like a chore sometimes, perhaps even more often than not, but to become a successful musician you have to learn how to love it. To practice successfully, you need direction. That sounds simple enough, but every musician I talk to agrees that maintaining a precise and focused practice plan is the hardest and yet most essential element of conquering the practice room.

I once had a conversation about practice with Carl Allen, Artistic Director of Jazz Studies at Juilliard and a stickler for long practice sessions. He offered an interesting take on practicing. He asked me how much I practiced every day. I asked him in return if that included various rehearsals with different groups and so forth, in which case I could have told him easily twelve hours a day. He told me that absolutely in no way should I consider a rehearsal or other group playing situation a part of my practice. Sure it’s all valuable experience, he said, but playing with other people is not practicing—you need both. He then suggested that if I practiced for those twelve hours a day on top of everything else, just think how much better I would be…

Many of my favorite jazz musicians, including John Coltrane, became great after a period of time where they did nothing but eat, sleep (occasionally), and practice. Unfortunately the college lifestyle doesn’t quite allow for that. You have classes, you have rehearsals, you have to eat…it all adds up and sometimes it’s surprisingly hard to find the time to practice. You want to do all these things—they give your experience as a musician much more breadth. But in order to be successful and continually improve, you need to maximize your productivity in the time you DO have to practice.

To improve, you need to set goals. It’s easy to set large goals: “I want to play in the top orchestra at my school,” “I want to nail my audition for Celine Dion’s show in Vegas,” “I want to learn all 32 million choruses of John Coltrane’s solo on Giant Steps.” All of these are great goals. But you need to set smaller goals, too. “I’m going to play long tones for ten minutes every day to start my practice session.” Or, “I will learn this one digital pattern today. Tomorrow I will play it in three other keys. Next week I’ll play it in all twelve keys.” The key to successful practice is breaking your goals down into simpler parts. In the latter example, I didn’t put the cart before the horse by saying “I’m going to learn this pattern in all twelve keys.” Though a relatively small goal, it’s still too large. If you set such a goal, you’re bound to start learning the pattern in other keys before you’ve really mastered it in the first key. But if you perfect it in one key, then move on to the next, you should be flying through all twelve keys by the third or fourth key because it’s become so ingrained in your muscle memory. Combine a set of smaller goals to build toward one larger goal and you’ll be surprised at how quickly you can move toward those larger goals.

Good practice requires unbelievable patience and diligence, but nobody ever said this musician thing was easy, right? Keep practicing and it’s bound to pay off.

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Daniel Weidlein graduated in 2012 with a BM in Jazz Saxophone Performance with a minor in Recording from the USC Thornton School of Music where he studied with Bob Mintzer, Bob Sheppard, and Alan Pasqua. He performs and records as a saxophonist, runs the Beat Cave, a recording studio in Los Angeles, and also works as a composer, producer, engineer and member of various jazz groups including the Vintage Modernists. Visit his website at danielweidlein.com.