The Confident Musicianing Podcast
Want to get better at your music auditions? You CAN transform the way you audition and The Confident Musicianing Podcast guides you through it.
I’m Eleanor, and together we dive into concrete strategies for the before, during, and after of your audition process so that you can be better prepared and crush that performance! If you’re a music student ready to revolutionize your auditioning, let’s jump in. Tune in every Tuesday for another insight-filled episode; see you there!
The Confident Musicianing Podcast
How To Get Into The Zone For Auditions
When we audition, we need to prepare both mentally and physically. In this episode, we focus on how you can get into the zone for your audition.
We focus first on mental ways, and then on physical. Get into the zone with this episode!
This episode is available as a blog post. Click here to read.
Click here to listen to episode 2: Transforming A Disaster Into A Music Conservatory Acceptance (ask me how I know)
Click here to listen to episode 32: Navigating Juilliard, Working in a Professional Orchestra, and Performing In The Tchaikovsky Competition with Max Blair
Ready to audition with confidence? Click here
Confident auditioning is a skill. Start building it now with The Confident Musician's Audition Guide
Little did I know. As soon as I put those clothes on, my mind went into audition mode. Like my whole mood changed. It was as if I was an athlete that was ready for a big competition. Hello and welcome to the Confident Musicianing Podcast. I'm your host, eleanor, and after countless practice sessions, a ton of broken reeds and seven different music school acceptances in three different countries, I have learned a thing or two about savoring your practicing, becoming your best practice companion and actively working towards your musical goals, and I want to share this with you because I want you to become your best musical self. Are you with me on this? Let's get started. Hey there and welcome.
Your host, Eleanor:Getting into the zone for auditions can be tough, I know, at least for me. Every audition sometimes feels like trial and error with which will work and what won't work for getting into the zone, and it's different for everyone. There is a ton of trial and error, so today we are going to be focusing on things to remember right before that audition so that we can get into the zone. This episode will be split into two sections, mentally and physically. So let's start with mentally. The first thing is to have some things to say to yourself when maybe you start comparing yourself to other people or feeling nervous or really getting out of the focus zone. So we need to have some phrases that can bring us back into that focus and so that we can really get into the zone. The first one that I really like is I am not behind, I am in the right place. I say this to myself all the time when I feel like I am comparing myself to other people and I feel like I am behind. This can be helpful for you if you maybe hear someone that's in the audition room and they are sounding so good and you find yourself comparing yourself to them. This idea of I am not behind, I am in the right place makes it so that you don't need to compare yourself to anyone. It's kind of like if I am meant to get this audition, if I am meant to win or you know, go ahead in the rounds or whatever it is, I am ready to do that. The next one is the judges want me to do. Well. This one is a huge one, especially when you are in the audition and they might seem big and scary, because sometimes our brain makes us feel like the judges are big and scary. And a great way to kind of combat that is to realize that the judges want you to do well. They are looking for someone to win the competition or to get the opportunity or whatever it is. They are looking for that person. So they want you to do well. And the last one is every world class soloist was nervous too, or maybe every, basically just every successful musician who was nervous for their auditions too. Think about your favorite, favorite, favorite musician. Were they nervous for their audition? Probably 100%. And do you think they maybe weren't supposed to be in that audition? Heck, no, because they are the amazing musician that you are thinking of right now.
Your host, Eleanor:If phrases to say to yourself is intriguing and you want to learn more about that, there is an episode all about this. It is episode eight Sweaty Palms Three Things you Need to Say to Yourself Before your Audition. I highly recommend it, so go check it out. It is in the show notes.
Your host, Eleanor:The next mental idea is how you approach other people. Now you might be saying to me, eleanor, what do you mean? How you approach other people? Like that's not really mental, but the thing is it starts mental, like it starts from your brain, it starts mentally. So, for instance, try not to see others as competition but as inspiration. If you go into that audition and you try and listen to everyone and then you try and compare yourself and blah, blah, blah, you will never actually get into the zone for auditioning. So if you see others as inspiration rather than competition, you can appreciate the amazing things that they are playing, but also focus on you, because when they're inspiration, that doesn't have to do anything with you negatively. It is not negative. It's the difference between oh my gosh, this person plays so well. I never can play like that. I feel you know an imposter. Blah, blah, blah and then you spiral. Or oh my gosh, this person plays so well, that is amazing. They sound so amazing. That's stops right there. Or it creates a positive thing. I can't wait to sound like that one day Rather than ugh. I can never do this. See the difference. There is a huge difference. So, seeing each other as inspiration rather than competition. Now, let's be honest, this can be tricky. Okay, I'm not saying that this is easy.
Your host, Eleanor:I was faced with this challenge when I auditioned for the Peabody Institute of Music about a year and a half ago and there was this girl who was before me and, oh my gosh, she sounded amazing, absolutely amazing. Her tone, her articulation, everything. And all of a sudden I felt all the confidence that I had been building up that day, all of the you know, focus and self-esteem just completely go away. And in that moment there were two things, two very crucial things that I did to not only get that confidence back but also play my best and get into the Peabody Institute of Music. If you want to listen to that story because it is a great story but also really helpful and insightful that is episode two, all the way back to the beginning of that podcast, episode two transforming a disaster into a music conservatory acceptance. Ask me how. I know that will be in the show notes.
Your host, Eleanor:Okay, we're moving on to physically. Let's start with warming up. So having a regimented warm-up routine is super, duper, duper important, something that you are used to, whatever that is. So think about for you. Think about what do you usually do to warm up now? Is it scales? Is it arpeggios? Is it maybe an excerpt of something you like? Whatever it is, use that to warm up into your audition as well. If you warm up one way and then you get to the audition and you warm up differently, it might feel even more, you know, different and not as comfortable. You want to make yourself feel comfortable and focused. So maybe, but maybe you also go through some of the spots in the audition music before.
Your host, Eleanor:I remember an audition that I recently did. I did that. There were just some runs that I wanted to not practice but just do right just before the audition and that was really helpful for me. So if it differs in that way, that's fine as well. But you know, when you first pick up your instrument you want to maybe play the same scales that you do when you are in the practice room. For me at least, I don't play much before my audition I do play the scales that I would usually play. You know, I do like I have like this thing that I kind of go up and down the instrument like one or two times. It's not really that big, but it's just kind of how I warm up. But for me when I warm up for auditions I soak the reed about 20 minutes before and then I do that warming up thing that I do when I practice and then I basically don't play anything else after that. Every five minutes or so I might, you know, play maybe one or two notes to keep the reed wet, but really I don't want to get fatigued, and if you play an instrument where you get fatigued, do not do not play a ton before and then you get to your audition and you can't play because you are fatigued. Or if you play an instrument that you don't get fatigued on as easily, then maybe your warm-up routine looks a little different. So it is very, very, very different for each and every one of us. And just play around, see what what works for you, and you can also ask your teacher. Asking your teacher is really, really, really helpful.
Your host, Eleanor:Okay so the second physical thing is a bit strange, but I realized this recently it is getting dressed. This might seem silly, but I recently went to the opera and I had absolutely nothing to wear. All I had were my concert and audition clothes and I thought to myself I mean, they're black, you know, they're like nice clothes, I might as well just wear them for the opera. Little did I know. As soon as I put those clothes on, my mind went into audition mode. Like my whole mood changed. It was as if I was an athlete that was ready for a big competition. So what I learned there was clothes are powerful tools to get you into the zone, because as soon as I put those clothes on, I was in the freaking zone.
Your host, Eleanor:Having clothes that are just for auditions or performances can really help your body and mind know that they are about to be really focused and they need to kind of get into that zone. For me, I have specific audition clothes and also specific hairstyles as well, and they are very familiar to me and my body knows that it is time to focus. When I put those clothes on and I do my hair that way, it is time to focus. All that to say, I didn't end up wearing those clothes to the opera because I wanted to relax. One bonus thing before we finish today, and that is showing confidence, even if you don't necessarily feel it. I recently sat down with Max Blair, the assistant principal oboist of the Pittsburgh Symphony, and we chatted all about this. The idea is basically, even if you feel nervous on the inside, if you show confidence on the outside, it can really help your insides feel better. So here's a quick clip from that I had a really interesting experience around this.
Max Blair:The first summer I went to Verbier, which is the summer festival in Switzerland. I went for the first time when I was 20, and the average age there is like 26 maybe.
Your host, Eleanor:Okay so.
Max Blair:I was like one of the younger people and just a lot of other stuff happened like leading up to it, like I missed my flight to Europe, I don't know. There was a lot of external things. Anyway, I got there and I was just not feeling good about the situation.
Max Blair:And and that kind of endured throughout the first few weeks of the festival and I I was kind of struggling and then you know, eventually I was playing principal on the first act of Beveled Jurassic, gergiev conducting, and there was there's's in that first act there's a lot of touchy woodwind moments where there's intonation things and soft attacks and and oboesolos and and I don't know the. He said gergiev said in in addressing those passages. It wasn't specifically directed at me but but it was really important for me to hear at that time.
Max Blair:it was like you know, the first thing you need to do is just play like, just play out and play confidently, even if you don't feel like it and if it's too loud or if it's out of tune or whatever, we'll address that and it doesn't have to be uh, you know, a personal slight against you as a person.
Max Blair:It's just, we'll just work on it yeah and and so I just took from that like exactly what we're talking about, where, even if you don't feel you have to play confidently and then pick whatever issues may come up. But you're first offering me to be one of you know, sort of extroverted confidence and just forthright playing and then deal with the detail later. And that was really a turning point for me as an orchestral player, like when I got back to school the following year. My playing in orchestra was like much better and totally different, just yeah, more, whatever that is.
Your host, Eleanor:Yeah.
Max Blair:A bit more confident yeah.
Your host, Eleanor:All right If you want to listen to the whole thing of that episode. That episode is titled Navigating Juilliard, working in a Professional Orchestra and Performing in the Tchaikovsky Competition with Max Blair. That is episode 32. The link for it is in the show notes, so make sure you go check that out. Let's do a quick, quick, quick recap.
Your host, Eleanor:The first thing is mentally, so that is some things that you can say to yourself, for instance, I'm not behind, I am in the right place. If you want to learn more about things to say to yourself right before that audition, episode eight is your episode. It is in the show notes. And the next, the next thing is how you approach other people, seeing others as inspiration rather than competition. And if you want to learn more about how I use this technique to kind of regain my confidence and play my best in an audition where beforehand I was so, so, so intimidated by the girl before me, that is episode two. It is in the show notes.
Your host, Eleanor:The next section is physically, for instance, warming up. Having a regimented warm-up routine is super duper, duper important, something that you are used to kind of figuring out what warm-up routine works for you, because everyone is different. And the last thing is getting dressed, which seems silly, I know, but having clothes that are specific for your audition can really help your brain remember like, okay, when I wear these clothes, we are in the zone. The bonus thing is, with Max Blair, this idea of even if you feel nervous on the inside, if you show confidence on the outside, it can help your insides feel better, all right, well, that's about it for this episode. Thank you so much for listening. As always, all the links to do with this episode will be in the show notes, from the blog post that goes with this episode, to episode eight sweaty palms three things you need to say to yourself before your audition.
Your host, Eleanor:To episode two transforming a disaster into a music conservatory acceptance. Ask Me how I Know. All the way to episode 32, which is Navigating Juilliard, working in a Professional Orchestra and Performing in the Tchaikovsky Competition with Max Blair. Do yourself a favor and take a look at these show notes because, let's be honest, there's some pretty good stuff in there, and if you want to show your love and support for the Confident Musicianing Podcast, make sure that you give it a follow and I will see you in the next episode. Bye.
