Recording Your Practice is Key
Have you ever played an audition, thought you sounded great, but didn’t advance to the next round?
Sometimes what we hear while we’re playing our audition is NOT what the audition committee hears from the other side of the screen. Maybe while we concentrate on rhythm and intonation, we are letting things like sound and phrasing slip by us. Or if we’re really in the moment and super expressive, we lose the pulse and end up coming across as uneven.
(As a person who has listened to auditions for decades, I can tell you that this happens more than you would think.)
So how do you make sure you're hearing the same thing the committee hears?
The answer is to record yourself. Not just a few times, right before the audition—record early and record often. (It's more important to record yourself frequently than it is to use a high quality recorder. I usually recommend people just record with the voice memo or video function of their phone.)
As painful as it can often be to record and listen to yourself, it is the single most effective way to hear what is actually happening while you play.
Before you throw your recording device across the room, here are some basic techniques to make this experience helpful:
Record your excerpt
Listen back for specific aspects: rhythm, intonation, phrasing
Identify the weak spots
Work on these spots with either a metronome, tuning device, or careful listening
Record the weak spots AGAIN (just the spots, not the whole thing)
If necessary, work on the spots again
When you're satisfied that you have corrected a specific problem, record the entire excerpt again
Breaking down your playing into smaller sections is key. This allows you to really concentrate on specific notes or rhythms that are disrupting your ability to cleanly and beautifully play through your excerpts.
Does this seem like a lot of work? It is! But the players who are successful at auditions are the ones who ensure every note is in time, in tune, and part of a beautiful phrase.
The next time you practice, use a recorder and start this process! I promise you it will only get better.
Happy Recording!