Audition Success

May 19, 2007 at 9:10 AM

I had an audition for my university orchestra yesterday. Results were e-mailed through this morning. I got into the firsts.
This was slightly surprising for me, because I didn't really prepare a heap for the audition. I was going to be in the orchestra anyway, because we don't have enough strings for there to be competition for places. I didn't really care whether I sat in the seconds or firsts, so I just practiced the excerpts half-heartedly, and went into the audition with the same frame of mind that worked for my last performance. "F**k it, just play"

My last performance was pretty darn good, a big improvement on previous performances. The audition I guess went pretty well, seeing as I got into the firsts. I think this frame of mind works. Maybe you should try it sometime.

From Karen Allendoerfer
Posted on May 19, 2007 at 12:10 PM

Yes, I agree having an attitude of "nothing to lose" helps in auditions. It took me a long time to get there, myself, much longer than it took you. So, congratulations!

From Karen Allendoerfer
Posted on May 19, 2007 at 12:13 PM

But actually, the next step is harder: finding another way than fear to motivate yourself to practice. Still working on that one . . .

From Pauline Lerner
Posted on May 19, 2007 at 9:21 PM

Congratulations. You must have played well at the audition.

From Yixi Zhang
Posted on May 19, 2007 at 9:49 PM

Congratulations!

I agree with Karen that fear is not very good motivation, although it can be quite effective to some people at times. I learned this through the law school years and my limited litigation experience during my article year. Law schools are designed to drive students to work hard by unreasonable amount of work, competition among students and failing students ruthlessly. It probably worked for lazy students, but for those of us self-motivated students, it was pointless and dreadful. I just got sick of all the fear and panic moments, and one day I said to myself, Yixi, you can experience fear, and acknowledge fear, but don't you ever, ever act on fear! I started to focus on the reasons FOR which I do something, not just knowing the reasons are there when I do something. This way, I feel good doing what I do even if I am scared sh**less, as I'm doing something in spite of, but is not driven by, the fear. I hope I'm making sense here.

From William Yap
Posted on May 21, 2007 at 3:24 AM

Congratulations!

It's pretty scary for me to play in front of someone (some times I even feel nervous play for my own teacher).

I played pretty nervously during my last exam and it screwed a few notes here and there, pieces I've practiced hundreds of times!

I agree that performances should not be driven by fear... It is better to be scared/nervous before hand. Think of what causes the fear, work on those issues and then attend the exam with full confidence. That's my plan for the next exam.

Anyways, well done!

From Ashleigh Ellson
Posted on May 22, 2007 at 8:37 AM

Go and research the Yerkes-Dodson curve. There's a peak level of anxiety for everyone. You just have to find it.

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