When Doug Yeo was retiring from Boston, he said the audition committee will not be comparing you to the other auditionees. they will be comparing you to me.bloke wrote: Thu Jul 09, 2026 1:43 pm Rather than comparing oneself to the locals, patting oneself on the back for being selected at the college's concerto competition, or even beginning to view oneself as exceeding the playing prowess of their regular studio teacher, serious audition candidates should be emulating and attempting to measure up to the world's finest instrumentalists (ALL instruments) and vocalists, and the actually-qualified and serious candidates do this.
The Cost of a Big Audition
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Re: The Cost of a Big Audition
Re: The Cost of a Big Audition
This is similar to the advice I've started to give students who are going out for All State or college auditions. It's something that I wish I had figured out much earlier in life, as I think it would have freed me up more in my playing.
There is a vast difference between hoping you play well and showing the committee how a piece should be played. Watch any masterclass on YouTube where a pro is teaching a student (even a high level student) and you can see the dynamic: The student is asking through their playing, and the teacher is telling. There is an intention to "telling" that listeners can sense, and that is how you have to approach auditions. Don't let them see you as an applicant. They don't want an applicant. They want their next principal to declare themself.
To be clear: It is insanely hard to get to a technical facility with an instrument that allows you to "tell" with your playing. Because in order to do so, you need to, with approximately 99% accuracy, produce precisely the sound you have in your head. But that is where the work is: technical exercises, etudes, solos, etc...Not just excerpts. Master the instrument and then you can play anything. But someone limited to hacking out excerpts all day every day will never get there.
The more I listen to Roger Bobo, the clearer that is. Listen to his Variations in Olden Style. There is no question that he had the facility to play any excerpt you put in front of him exactly how he wanted. He could take that insane technique and simply apply it to a different setting.
There is a vast difference between hoping you play well and showing the committee how a piece should be played. Watch any masterclass on YouTube where a pro is teaching a student (even a high level student) and you can see the dynamic: The student is asking through their playing, and the teacher is telling. There is an intention to "telling" that listeners can sense, and that is how you have to approach auditions. Don't let them see you as an applicant. They don't want an applicant. They want their next principal to declare themself.
To be clear: It is insanely hard to get to a technical facility with an instrument that allows you to "tell" with your playing. Because in order to do so, you need to, with approximately 99% accuracy, produce precisely the sound you have in your head. But that is where the work is: technical exercises, etudes, solos, etc...Not just excerpts. Master the instrument and then you can play anything. But someone limited to hacking out excerpts all day every day will never get there.
The more I listen to Roger Bobo, the clearer that is. Listen to his Variations in Olden Style. There is no question that he had the facility to play any excerpt you put in front of him exactly how he wanted. He could take that insane technique and simply apply it to a different setting.
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Re: The Cost of a Big Audition
tubanh84 wrote: Thu Jul 09, 2026 2:54 pm This is similar to the advice I've started to give students who are going out for All State or college auditions. It's something that I wish I had figured out much earlier in life, as I think it would have freed me up more in my playing.
There is a vast difference between hoping you play well and showing the committee how a piece should be played. Watch any masterclass on YouTube where a pro is teaching a student (even a high level student) and you can see the dynamic: The student is asking through their playing, and the teacher is telling. There is an intention to "telling" that listeners can sense, and that is how you have to approach auditions. Don't let them see you as an applicant. They don't want an applicant. They want their next principal to declare themself.
To be clear: It is insanely hard to get to a technical facility with an instrument that allows you to "tell" with your playing. Because in order to do so, you need to, with approximately 99% accuracy, produce precisely the sound you have in your head. But that is where the work is: technical exercises, etudes, solos, etc...Not just excerpts. Master the instrument and then you can play anything. But someone limited to hacking out excerpts all day every day will never get there.
The more I listen to Roger Bobo, the clearer that is. Listen to his Variations in Olden Style. There is no question that he had the facility to play any excerpt you put in front of him exactly how he wanted. He could take that insane technique and simply apply it to a different setting.
Fantastic advice. This video is the first thing I thought of when you talked about asking and telling through playing.