CHARLES SCHLUETER ON AUDITIONS
by Charles Schlueter   www.cschlueter.com

April, 2006

An audition is the most unrealistic performance any musician will ever face. Why is it unrealistic? About 50 years ago, someone came up with the idea of Music Minus One recordings. For example, a brass quintet minus the first trumpet part; so one could "play along" with the recordings, so as to get the "experience" of playing with an ensemble. An orchestral audition is Music Minus One (hundred). Often it can be one of the shortest performances anyone will ever experience-10-30 minutes-- that can potentially have the most profound impact on a professional career.

An audition is also part of the process through which musicians get into conservatories so they can study to be prepared for getting a position in a symphony orchestra. Usually for this type of audition, the musician will play a couple of etudes, one or two solo pieces and three or four orchestral excerpts Usually when auditioning for an orchestra, the etudes are omitted, although in some recent orchestra auditions, etudes have been requested. In the United States the repertoire for auditions is derived primarily from significant orchestral passages in preliminary through semi-final and final rounds. In the final round the musician will usually be asked for a solo work and occasionally will also play either chamber music or with the section or in some cases with the full orchestra. In many European orchestras the emphasis is on solo rather than orchestral literature.

In the "good old days" prior to 40 years ago, when an orchestra had an opening, the conductor might call a teacher of whatever instrumental position was open, and ask if he (in those days most of the teachers were men and most of the prospective orchestral musicians were men) had any students "who were ready." If the teacher had someone to recommend, that was that. No further audition! In the mid-1960's orchestra members got more involved in the workings of their orchestras and that included the audition process. This resulted in "audition committees" being formed, to have some input about those auditioning. In most cases, the committees would hear preliminary rounds of auditions and vote on those candidates to be advanced. (In the late-1970's, orchestras started allowing tape recordings to be used for preliminary rounds). Today, the conductor (music director) will hear only the final round and has the final say as to who will be hired. Even though the committee will vote on a candidate, very often this becomes only an "advisory."

Regardless of the format, however, auditioning can be one of the most stressful, anxiety-raising, frustrating, and (depending on the outcome), either depressing or exhilarating experiences a musician will ever have.

There are some musicians who can play a "great" audition (no anxiety, note-perfect playing), but have little or no experience or even awareness of playing in an ensemble. This often results in the "winner" not keeping the job. On the other hand there are players who "perform" at a very high artistic level, but in an audition, experience almost debilitating anxiety. Probably the musicians most "prepared" are those just out of the conservatories, because they have been studying and practicing orchestral repertoire, though in most cases, have not had the actual "performance experience." One would think then that after years of professional experience, those musicians would have the upper hand at an audition. That is not necessarily the case. It used to be said, the conductor wants someone 20 years old with 25 years experience. Now, very often the conductor wants someone 20 years old with no experience, so they can mold him or her. That rarely if ever works. It seems to be the consensus that older players are not flexible, which is not the case at all; the older player with experience is able to be more flexible because of having played with many different conductors. Another negative factor for the "experienced" player is that the longer one plays in a professional environment, the more difficult it is to play a "naked audition," i.e. just playing excerpts without the rest of the ensemble. Psychologically this person can be regressed back to the "first audition," generating feelings of insecurity and being tested. This can be reversed or controlled, but it adds to the complications that auditions bring with them and do not simplify the ordeal.

That said, auditioning is currently a fact of life, and if someone wants to pursue an orchestral career, then he/she has to learn how to present one's self in the most positive manner when playing an audition.

So, how should that be done? First of all, it is assumed that when a musician decides to "audition," he/she has achieved a fairly high level of proficiency on the instrument and an awareness of music in general and the orchestral repertoire in particular. In a time frame of anywhere from about ten minutes to a half hour, it is necessary to be able to show one's credentials, i.e., to make a positive, personal, musical statement encompassing sound, style, rhythm, dynamics, phrasing, of course, interpretation.

So how does one prepare for an audition? There is part of the problem. It has been said that if one is prepared, there will be no anxiety. The implication is if you know and can play the repertoire, everything will be fine.

Although audition issues are similar for all players, these comments will pertain to trumpet players specifically.

So the candidate spends hours practicing the repertoire, striving to achieve that state of perfection (accuracy). In some cases this can result in an antipathy (even hatred), or a phobia towards certain excerpts. In the meantime, the player will ignore (or take for granted) the basic prerequisites, which has made him or her a fine player: i.e. areas like breathing, concept of tone, articulation, dynamics, phrasing or nuance. One becomes totally focused on the product, rather than the process.

Unfortunately there is no product when we play an instrument; if it comes out fantastic, it's gone; if it comes out less than fantastic, it is gone also.

Also, unfortunately, the mind will dredge up the feelings of the first time one played in public, and recreate that emotional state. It's that emotional state that can cause things to go terribly awry at an audition.

Here are some criteria pertinent to an audition:

Accuracy. Of course, accuracy is important and because of today's digital recordings, editing can result in flawless, note-perfect renditions. Rarely, if ever, are any mistakes heard on recordings.

This is probably one of the reasons why accuracy has taken on an excessive degree of importance today, making it almost an obsession.

What does accuracy mean? If the musician plays no wrong notes, but does not play with any nuance, inflection, or timbre, or awareness of style, which would make his playing into an artistic musical interpretation, he may in fact be "missing" all the notes.

Dynamics. The advice "avoid dynamic extremes" is sometimes given. The only reason someone would recommend this would be in pursuit of playing safe, not taking chances.

But what does this lead to? If a marking of fff is rendered f, or ppp becomes p, then the committee/conductor will probably think either that this person has a very limited dynamic range, or this person is not paying attention to what the composer has written, or the person has been overly cautious.

Although there is absolutely no consensus as to a precise decibel-level for each dynamic, the candidate must show he is capable of playing at all dynamic levels, including at the extremes. Dynamics are also relative to the composer. A ff in a Beethoven symphony is not as loud as in a Mahler symphony. It is necessary to establish the relative dynamic range according to composer and context. An integral part of dynamics is timbre, which is often overlooked or ignored. Timbre is one of those areas that is hard to verbalize; it can mean resonance (darkness) or intensity (brilliance) or a combination. It can be achieved with vibrato or changing the velocity (speed) of the air. There is also the area of intensity, which is determined by articulation or rhythm. (Notes that are legato or slurred will not have as much intensity as notes that are staccato (detaché); sixteenth notes have more intensity than quarter notes or half notes.) Then there is the acoustics of the venue where the audition is played. If an audition is played in an empty concert hall, the amount of reverberation can be a distraction also.

What is the committee and/or conductor looking for?
If this question goes through the mind, as one is about to begin playing, it will very probably significantly raise the anxiety level. It is up to the musician to show the committee/conductor what he/she can do, and it is up to the committee/conductor to decide whether this is what they are looking for.

What does it mean, for a candidate, to show what he/she can do? One must play with a beautiful sound, a strong rhythmic sense, a wide variety of articulation, and a wide range of dynamics and timbre. Intelligent phrasing and an awareness of style, combined with the above, will display one's personal musicianship and an understanding of interpretation.

Should one take an audition for the experience?
There are no two auditions alike, so the experience acquired will probably not be directly useful to all future auditions.

For a simulation of the audition experience, try this: stand by a bus stop. Step out into the street as the bus approaches. Stay in its path until it is about ten feet away. Jump back to the curb!! This will give the tremendous rush of adrenalin, similar to what one experiences at auditions. Try at your own risk; the author claims no responsibility or liability.

That said, there are still going to be trumpet players who will want to audition "for the experience." Why? Probably it is because of the belief that only participation in the real thing will help in overcoming audition anxiety.

Anxiety (or as it is known by its other names: stage fright, performance nerves, etc.) will manifest itself in auditions more so than in "normal" performances-such as rehearsals or concerts. An audition is the ultimate anxiety-raising situation that we have to cope with. One's credentials are being examined, tested, challenged, and ultimately judged. The future is at stake. One's reputation is on the line. It is a kind of competition, a contest; one must 'prove' oneself in a highly competitive context where one is compared to other candidates.

It is necessary, in everyday practice that the player develops the skills for countering (learning the antidotes for) the side effects of anxiety. It is too late to deal with the anxiety at an actual audition. The effects of anxiety must first be understood in general. Anxiety is a type of fear often described through expressions like "to have a knot in one's stomach." This is not just an expression. If anxiety is not dealt with and dissipated, it will be somatized. That is, the anxiety will be pushed into the muscles, making one tense. The muscles of the stomach and abdomen do indeed contract (forming a knot).

There are basically two types of anxiety: (1) Chronic, which everyone has in one degree or another and which is sort of inherited from one's family; and (2) Acute, which is what is experienced when there is a real threat. Regardless of which type of anxiety, the body (and mind) will react in the same way. It is sometimes referred to "flight or fight syndrome." The first thing that happens when the anxiety level increases, is that the breathing becomes inhibited.

Indeed, anxiety can cause one to almost stop breathing, which in turn, will raise the anxiety level. In addition to the negative effect on breathing, anxiety can cause the heart and pulse rate to increase dramatically, blood pressure to rise, palms to begin to perspire, the mouth to become dry or the saliva to become 'ropey.'

So what to do? Most trumpet players have a tendency to not inhale nearly enough on a regular basis. Some people advise: "Only take in the amount of air you need." The implication is to inhale according to the length of a passage to be played. However, the length of tubing in the instrument in which the air column must be set into vibration, is the same-no matter whether one note or many measures must be played. There is also a tendency to inhale less when the dynamic is soft.

It is often overlooked (or not even learned or acknowledged) that the body--and brain-also requires oxygen to function efficiently, so it's even more important to inhale to the maximum potential.) It has been said that taking in too much air will make one tight. In fact, it can make one aware of how tight they already are. So it is necessary to get rid of (or minimize) the tension. This can only be achieved by focusing on inhaling on a regular, daily basis. It's too late to suddenly think about this at an audition.

Air is the raw material out of which sound is created. The function of the lips (embouchure) is to make the air in the instrument vibrate at the appropriate frequency to play the notes required. If the player inhales insufficiently, it will result in too much velocity in expelling the air (playing). This will result in notes not speaking or missing the notes or having too much intensity (which will result in incorrect or inappropriate dynamics.) When a note doesn't speak, the trumpet player will usually interpret this as "the lips not vibrating." What is actually happening is that the air is moving too fast for the lips to make the air in the trumpet vibrate at the appropriate speed, resulting in the appropriate note. So when anxiety compounds the already neglected inhalation, because of added tightness, one does not (indeed, cannot) play at the level required.

When practicing in general, not necessarily for an "audition," it is important to never try to play anything exactly the same way twice. (In the first place, it's impossible, and the second place, why would anyone want to?) If the musician (trumpet player) would spend time analyzing the music, rather than analyzing one's "mechanics," much more knowledge would be gained and one's performance skills would be enhanced. One is obligated to play the same notes, same rhythms, (but not necessarily the same tempi), but one should always try to do something different with nuance, inflection, phrasing, dynamics, and timbre, within the context of what the composer has written. Even when practicing scales and arpeggios, attention must be given to rhythm, intonation, articulation, inflection and dynamics. If one learns to practice this way, using the imagination, there will be a several fringe benefits: (1) Practicing will become more enjoyable, and (2) keeping the conscious mind occupied with something other than being judgmental, the anxiety level will more likely be lowered, and (3) in this way, not only consistency (accuracy) will be achieved, but when this approach is used when preparing for an audition, the performance will sound more creative, spontaneous, and "fresh." And best of all, there will be many "choices" for the actual performance. This applies not only to etudes, but also to solos and orchestral repertoire.

If this approach to practicing is pursued, then it can be applied to repertoire for auditioning purposes and performing in general. The focus will be on making music, not just on "not missing" any notes.

After acquiring all the necessary 'skills,' i.e., proficiency on the instrument, audition experience, handling anxiety, presenting one's musicianly credentials in the best possible manner, then what? There is always luck! I played auditions that I thought were terrific, but I didn't win the auditions. There were auditions when I thought I didn't stand a chance because of how terribly I had played, and I got the job! So if someone says to you, "Good luck on the audition," by all means accept it.