How Do I Prepare for a Performance, Audition, Jury, or Recital?
One of my biggest pains in life has always been performance-based activities. This was further exasperated when I decided to attend music school. There are always auditions, performances, juries, interviews, recitals and so on. I was actually blindsided about all this. I did not know a single thing about music school etiquette or minimum requirements. My audition process has been refined over the years and involves a combination of self-care, community-care and of course experience.
I could tell you to just practice but honestly that helps no one, especially us anxious folks— I feel like we need an explanation for everything… And that is okay. It is just how our brain is wired. Whenever I was told to practice more, it felt pretty invalidating. It just was downright not helpful because I was already practicing 4 hours a day and juggling a few jobs. ADHD and social anxiety coupled with no real understanding of ways to practice, created a recipe for disaster. It only contributed to my performance anxiety.
There is no one way that you should prepare for that big performance or audition, nor may all of the methods I suggest work for you. I want to simply provide a holistic approach to preparing for that performance and whilst giving an unique perspective. My self-care and community care might look different than yours so this might not fit into your lifestyle. All the same, I do believe you can take some nuggets of wisdom. Ideally, I’d like to also include systemic care, but this requires uprooting an entire system within the music education field (on a national and global scale) and reimagining the room. As advocates, we are constantly working on it. Change is slow. It will take much more time than we think. Regardless, it is up to us to do what we can. Here are some considerations to take to set yourself up for success on that recital, audition or performance!
Self-care is key
No, it is not always about treating yourself to a shopping spree or a spa day the day before your audition. Self-care is not about overindulgence and it is not an emergency-care plan. It is a practice that is ongoing in our lives and I wish more music schools (really everyone) briefed people on this aspect of musicianship. Nothing extensive had to happen but just a short seminar or masterclass would have been helpful. The most I received was a telephone number to a crisis hotline and told to go to therapy (which sure, ideally it is needed but consider the obstacles to getting mental health care).
When I think about self-care, I think about what is needed to be done for my survival and what is needed to be done to maintain a healthy lifestyle, which includes things that I do not necessarily want to do like declining a night out with friends. This will look different for everybody, and it will look different within your life depending what you are experiencing. To keep it short, I am defining my self-care in terms of short-term and long-term self-care.
In the Short-term…
I consider the short term being within the week of the performance— I try to keep it as normal as possible. Almost like it is routine for me to have an audition, performance, or recital. Something about doing that lowers it as a threatening entity. Within the week of the performance, I make sure my week is mapped out, especially the day of the performance or audition. I want to treat the day of the performance like a weekend that happens to have an audition. My morning routine stays the same as usual except I go for a matcha tea instead of coffee. On the day of the performance or audition, I like to make sure I allot time to warm-up and isolate myself, so I can focus on visualization.
In terms of longevity…
How is this related to musicianship and preparing for a performance, you ask? Quite simply, you are not at your best when you are sleep deprived, hungry, or otherwise unhealthy. Your brain function drastically suffers when you don’t get enough sleep or are not nourishing your body—let’s face it, a lot of us have some unhealthy relationship with food or disordered eating. As stated previously, self-care is not an emergency plan. It is about an ongoing practice.
Part of my long-term self-care includes practicing a healthier way of living, decluttering my mind, spending time with loved ones, going to therapy, and pretty much being human outside of music. There was a point in my life where all I did was music day in and day out— I neglected my needs because I was trying to meet unrealistic expectations. That time period was probably where I made the least amount of progress within my life. I saw my skills skyrocket when I prioritized my well-being over being the perfect musician. Kinda funny right? The moment I focused on my humanity over my productivity as a musician, was the moment I saw results.
Not just as a musician but as a person, you need to take care of your overall well-being. If you want to create a productive and optimal environment to do well for your audition or recital, you need to take care of yourself. That means getting enough rest, eating enough, taking breaks, stretching and meeting your emotional and social needs.
Creating a Support System
Community care is defined as care given from another individual. It can be family, mentors, or friends. What this looks like within the music world (for me) is having family and friends present on my big days. Or them pretending to be jurors and provide constructive feedback. Or perhaps utilizing them to help you through the pre-stage anxiety. During my time in university as a music major with extreme panic disorders, I had a network of friends and mentors who actively supported me and refused to let me give up. I appreciate the time spent with these individuals because many of them offered to practice with me, create recordings that I can play along to, checked in on me, and overall, were just great friends. There was one particular friend that would always ask me if I ate— because I was notorious for having coffee and a bagel at 6 am and not eating until I got home (which was either 9 pm or 3 am). It was the little gestures that got me through. Having people you can depend on is so valuable.
There are the practical things…
So far, we have been talking about basic survival and maintenance of your health and seemingly unrelated things to your music audition. Now we are going to get into the things you have probably heard a million times already if you have been taking any sort of music class. It is all the practical things you have to do. This is the labor that comes along with wanting to be a music professional with formal training.
Follow the Etiquette
When I say this, I mean it: I seriously wish I had someone dishing this out for me in an informative and non-condescending way. My time in university felt like a crash course in being an orchestral musician. (Which little did I know, was simply not the life I wanted)
I didn’t know what was expected of me and why. Not did I know what type of commitment I would be making; I did not know how behind I was. The etiquette, or the standards of being a musician in this particular genre is both unforgiving and not intuitive.
Read up on the music school, orchestra, or organization— There are probably things that they prefer and the more well-informed you are, the better. There are standards of course like how to approach and leave the stage, what to do after the audition or performance, even what to wear! I will create a list expanding on the music norms within the music industry here.
Nowadays, I am off on my own and do my own thing and I will push the boundary on some of these norms— I do not care to uphold antiquated standards like the “dress code”. But again, I do so when it is safe for me to do so and nothing in my life will be in danger if I do not follow the rules and expectations within the classical music world. I cannot stress this enough your safety matters and sometimes we have to follow norms that do not necessarily align with us. This conversation is much more nuanced that I can fit within this section because of our positionality and how we are seen by the world will impact how we are critiqued and judged. It is not all about the music and this is especially true for marginalized people. So once I write that out, I will link it here.
Arrive on time
I cannot stress this enough, arrive on time. On time usually means 15 minutes prior to your call time but not in the music world. You need time to warm-up and mentally prepare for your audition. You will need an hour to set your mind.
Prepare the Paperwork
This physical prep means any pamphlets, copies, or forms should be prepared and ready to go before the start of your audition day. Do not make your life stressful by waiting last minute. It has happened to me a few times and it definitely was not fun— and it can cost you a peace of mind.
Get your instrument in working order
I recommend doing this a month prior because we all know, we have our accustoms and it is a hard adjustment when we get something fixed near the performance… even if it is better, it is different.
A tale as old as time: You need to practice
I know, I know. You Know. We all know.
Practice is key for feeling good about an audition. This is what sets you up for success. There are so many ways we can practice, and it really comes down to: how do we hack our brain to learn new material as efficiently and proficiently as possible. The answer is very different depending on who you talk to— and more than likely, you are going to have a regiment that is different for you depending on your skill, knowledge and capacity.
I am a big fan of asking people how they practice or what they do: classmates, teachers, actors, former musicians and everyone under the sun. Their perspectives are so valuable. I have asked every single one of my teachers how they do it and why and although the answer is similar, the way it is explained is vastly different. To me that is what is key. It is easy to get stuck on how one person explains it, especially as a young person learning to navigate the world but I encourage you to explore outside of your teacher. Even your friends can help.
Let us say you do not have a teacher— One of my all-time favorite blogs is Noa Kageyama’s The BulletProof Musician , because his approach on overcoming performance anxiety comes from a music and psychology background. I find this perspective particularly helpful because I am the type of learner that needs to know the why and understanding our physiology. Another great resource is Rob Knopper’s blog for practical and technical techniques on preparing for auditions. They are easy to read guides and there are a plethora of suggestions on how to practice.
What do you do to prepare? Comment below!
