I’m coming at this from a Jazz perspective, so YMMV…
Was he given specific etudes or songs to play? If so, that should take some of the stress out of the situation immediately. Adjudicators often use a specific song (see Billie’s Bounce for Jazz) so that they can really compare apples to apples. Just have him play the song(s) in the most relaxed way he can so show that he’s with the pack. He should NOT attempt a fancy phrase or improvisation unless he can land it. They’re looking for basic, teachable skills.
More importantly, has he been asked to play with an accompanying group? If so, the most important thing is to show that he’s communicating effectively with his bandmates. Look around to the soloists and rhythm section players for cues and to show that he’s having fun playing. Also, again, he should appear to be relaxed.
As I said in another post, the variation in the talent level of the accepted students is sometimes shocking. So far, my son has been pretty surprised at the skill of the students at some of the programs he’s visited and jammed with. Have him do a YouTube search on Thornton performances and he’ll probably feel better. Likewise with Frost.
GL with this, we’re in the absolute thick of it, but I will say that the first couple of rolling audition invitations take all the stress out of it!
First off, this is super common. I would suggest a couple things.
If you are recording on your own, still set up specific times that are prescreen recording sessions. Don’t just record three takes each day. For example, if you need 4 pieces/songs recorded by 11/15, set up 4 one-hour sessions that are your official recording sessions. Put them on the schedule. Do it all formally, with appropriate clothing and time restrictions. This of course works better if you do something like record in a special place (church, hall, etc.) to help create a boundary.
After you are done, send the results to the teacher to decide which is the best option for each piece/song. Only re-record if the teacher says to do it.
Finally, we found that with few exceptions (Colburn, Curtis), schools tend to pass most kids on the prescreen unless they are completely off in terms of level. Nobody is ever perfect.
I like the idea of having his teacher listen to the recording. If I can convince him to bring it in. Unfortunately for contemporary music they just ask for 3 pieces in contrasting styles from various genres. So of course he picked the hardest ones he could find, thinking this is how he will impress the deciders.
I did explain to him today that they are not expecting perfection in the prescreens and that they will like to see improvement when he goes into his audition. He seemed receptive and a little relieved to hear that.
MUCH harder imo…My son is Guitar/Jazz and his college prescreens for jazz were easier for him to record than his audition pieces for Nationals/Modern Band…It was the “2 pieces of contrasting material” that made him crazy and far too particular. He chose the hardest material and it was take after take after…I can see this open ended type of audition causing this!
I read this thinking, are you my son’s mother?? S recorded last Friday and was limited in time because we had rented a studio. (He once spent 6 hours recording a few scales for an audition during Covid, was crying with exhaustion by the end so artificially limiting time is a must for him.) Came home and was very morose cause he was unhappy with ALL of them. I told him to get his teacher’s take - fwiw his teacher is a bit on the strict/demanding side so he trusts his opinion. My opinion on the other hand is useless cause I “don’t understand jazz” and, well, love him too much?? Anyway teacher was fine with them and helped him narrow down the choices.
Of the 4 tunes that he recorded, the final chosen were often earlier takes (one was even his first take) because he was more relaxed. By take 9, you are trying too hard to land it and the stress comes through the recording I feel.
At least for my kid, the “mood” they are in when playing makes soooo much difference. When they get down on “sounding bad,” whether or not they sounded bad, they then tend to sound bad… it’s all in the head. Try again on a good mood day.
The only school that we’ve seen turn down what I’d consider to be good prescreens was Rice. Rice turned down prescreens that Curtis accepted… Also, don’t pick the hardest music. Do more “doable” music “perfectly” (meaning perfect “for you”) and in your own personal style rather than “hard” music with mistakes. Doing overly hard pieces has always tended to go badly in cases that I’ve heard of.
Unlike a few others mentioned, my kid does not have their teacher listen to or review prescreens, competition vids, auditions, etc. even though the teacher is in a major orchestra, so I’d say if your kid feels comfortable with knowing what sounds “good” and sounds like him, then it’s not absolutely necessary to rely on a teacher. It depends on the personalities of the teacher and kid. My kid’s teacher has purposely been moving them towards “adulthood” over the years and treats them like a professional in many ways. He made clear years ago that it would be first the three of us making decisions, then just my kid and the teacher, and finally just my kid on his own, so it’s a matter of what that relationship looks like as to whether the teacher comments or helps choose vids.
In general pre screens are different than main auditions IME, the point is to see if the kid is at the level they expect and also to see if the kid has potential (they like the sound, the artistic choices). One of the reasons they do pre screens to be blunt is before they switched to pre screens, they were inundated with applications, esp at the ‘big’ programs for whatever genre you are talking about. On violin a school like juilliard will get inundated with violinists applying and a lot of them won’t be anywhere near the level required. Based on your description of your son sweating over this (boy did that sound familiar!), it is likely he already knows his level of playing and understands what those schools want, so odds are he will be okay with the pre screen. It definitely doesn’t need to be perfect, I would tell him to listen to it and ask himself if it represents his playing, his style, not if it is totally perfect. One thing I have learned with all this, watching my son both in school and now as a professional musician, that there is diminishing returns with practicing and trying to get it perfect.
Wish him luck,I suspect between the OP and everyone else on here, the kid will do well. Usually kids that obsessed are kids who are at a high level:)
In our experience, adjudicators are more critical of someone performing a piece that is so difficult for them that the basics of tone, intonation, articulation and musicality/style are not solid.
It should not sound as if the piece is a struggle to play.
I think most applicants struggle with “nailing the perfect recording” at this age. Their passion is a blessing and a curse. It does get easier over time.
Yes, to the above. For the OP, remember the teachers see kids audition yearly who will display similar behaviors. It really is better to sound proficient on a piece, then to struggle on a difficult piece. In one your talent will be compromised. In the other, it will shine through. Students come from all backgrounds so being talented and a bit less skilled is OK. That’s what college is for. If they see his background with a lack of a Sat school, but solid talent, they can adjust for that…if he plays the hardest song or not.
My D teaches at the Sat program for voice in her city. She says that it is not uncommon for a kid to show up who is obviously talented (the teachers can hear it) who overshoots to impress. It’s pretty obvious to the teachers. That causes her to wonder: is this kid coachable…or are they obsessed with being the best and then become a bad apple in the bunch. Has happened! Or is the kid simply not real knowledgeable (about talent levels and/or themselves) and trying too hard? That’s OK. Still, it’s best when a kid walks in…does a solid song to show their talent and skill level and sings with a bit of joy (and of course some nerves). They do not simply pick “the best” from auditions. They are often looking for coachable, likeable, joyful and of course talented. Who wants to spend a year with a difficult kid?
This may all feel overwhelming. Being an artist/musician is hard. Some kids hide behind perfection. Some kids (mainly in college) hide behind their talent. But, at some point, they have step forward as themselves…be vulnerable and imperfect…and put themselves in their music. Super scary! For now, he just needs to “sound like himself”. That’s a solid start.
Indeed! I teach computer science in high school. I always tell my students NOT to apply “grit” in coding or debugging - whenever feeling stuck or frustrated, walk away. Many of my high-flyers ignore this advice, but my musician students all agree - if you don’t feel it, take a break and come back later.
Point taken that picking a really difficult piece to play may not have been the best choice. I am afraid that if I suggest he switch out now, after 2 months of practicing, he would see that as me not having confidence in him, which is definitely not the message I want to send. It is actually sounding really good to me.
Regarding his song choice implying that he would be difficult to teach or work with, I really hope that isn’t the case. He is actually very open to instruction and does not have an ego when it comes to music.
His one comment to me after I relayed some of the advice I had gotten on here, was that he felt that commercial music programs would be very different in what they are looking for than traditional classical or jazz performance programs. I have no idea if this is true.
I just wanted to clarify that my comments regarding choosing repertoire that is not “over their head” was meant as a general guideline and not specific to your son.
I absolutely would not suggest he change his selection. I am guessing he is doing fine with mastering it, but just making himself crazy in the process. We had the same scenario. At some point they all are able to submit something they are reasonably satisfied with. Even if it seems frustrating at times, all part of the process.
My son is a classical instrumentalist. I agree with your son that the repertoire can be more defined and perhaps more predictable than commercial music.
Edited to Add: It is hard as a parent watch our kids struggle with something they love so much. We see their talent but our feedback does not help because we are “just the parent.”
Again this gets better with time and experience for them. Now when my son needs to submit a recording for a festival or fellowship, I have gotten the report from him: “Nailed it on the second take. It wasn’t perfect, but it is a reflection of me and I think they will like it.” Music to my ears (pun intended)
Don’t worry. I’m sure that he is easy to work with. The comments are just to give you some context and some assurance that perfection and difficult pieces are not necessary and why. And…I have a feeling his hard song may not be a reach. I’m kind of guessing he’s fine.
Yes, at this point, let him play what he wants. But you can still stand firm no matter the genre, no matter what the song…that he’s FINE (without doing hours of takes!). Standing firm in your belief of your kid (or having blind faith) is what all parents need to do…when their kids start to worry. It’s an important task!
I second that even though I wasn’t officially being the one supported. All of these comments were super helpful and comforting for me. I’m a lot less stressed about my kid getting his prescreens recorded now.
…and just to add to this prescreen (or any performance/audition scenario) discussion, I think kids should ask “am I playing this music or is this music playing me?” - like especially for classical, if you watch a video of a kid playing a piece and you are an experienced listener for that instrument, it’s really obvious if the kid is struggling to keep up with the piece and working sooo hard to “do it right” versus if the music just flows and the performer truly takes charge of that piece and kind of becomes one with it. Obviously, professionals take charge of their pieces and it looks like they’re barely trying at all. If you’re trying too hard and that struggle is obvious to the listener or viewer, then the piece is probably too hard.
The reality of all the material that needs preparing is starting to hit my kid. Tonight we began talking about maybe removing some schools from his list. One that’s on the chopping block is Case Western Reserve. We liked it because of the connection with the Cleveland Institute of Music and because of their Dual Degree program. However, his teacher (double bass) has concerns about the faculty there, and a friend from Ohio says she didn’t like Cleveland all when she visited it a few times. None of us have ever been there! Does anyone have experience with Case and have thoughts on it?
I can’t answer questions about the school. I hope that others will reply…or you can find answers elsewhere. I just wanted to say that what you are experiencing is common. Kids should try to get their top, solid choices done first…and then see what else they can complete. It’s the same with audition time. Time and money will be a factor going forward. Still it all works out. It’s just part of the process to get to ONE school.
Kid auditioned at CIM - the neighborhood is beautiful (museums, concert hall etc.) so I wouldn’t let that be a detractor. Ask your kid’s teacher about the faculty concerns. We found one of the faculty great (percussion) but the other was extremely critical for the sake of being critical (and a prima done to boot). Kid didn’t get in, but was very put off by that faculty member so probably wouldn’t have gone.
I’d say faculty for your instrument is actually quite good at CIM. I’ve heard more reasons for not applying this (and last year) revolving around the general chaos that’s happened there over the past few years with conductors, teacher pay, etc. that has damaged that school’s reputation in at least some people’s eyes. I know kids who are not applying there simply because they just want to focus on their music and not the latest protest or scandal over whatever perceived injustice is occurring. However, if you’re going for a dual degree situation, then there’s less of a concern that you are professionally hurt in any way by what’s going on at the upper levels over there.
S recorded last Friday and was limited in time because we had rented a studio. (He once spent 6 hours recording a few scales for an audition during Covid, was crying with exhaustion by the end so artificially limiting time is a must for him.) Came home and was very morose cause he was unhappy with ALL of them. I told him to get his teacher’s take - fwiw his teacher is a bit on the strict/demanding side so he trusts his opinion. My opinion on the other hand is useless cause I “don’t understand jazz” and, well, love him too much?? Anyway teacher was fine with them and helped him narrow down the choices.