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Have you ever auditioned for anything?

Auraflash

Auraflash

Keep ya head downn~
Title says it all, whether it's for a school band, a choir, a play, anything. And if you audition, what do you usually do to prepare/get rid of nervousness?

I recently auditioned for a high school wind ensemble for Bb Clarinet. Yeahhh my chances are pretty darn low considering the fact so many people try out. I practiced for only a week, since I had no idea when the auditions were until someone told me 8 days in advance. I think I was nervous enough to mess up two notes in my audition piece, but overall I did okay.
 
From the moment you learn it exists, start practicing. So far, I've done three successful school auditions; two for bands and one for Pit Orchestra. All I can say is be prepared.
 
I'm pretty sure I learned that the hard way. :unsure:

This is technically my first audition for anything, unless ones for middle school wind ensemble(which is just to play a piece of music my teacher hands out decently well) count.

By the way, what instrument do you play?
 
...Lucky... T.T I'm competing against about maybe 50+ people for 20 spots, because the high school I will be going to has 2 other middle schools that sends kids to the school.
 
My school musical, in which I get a progressively more prominent role every year;

Pirates of Penzance - Generic Background Pirate (No Acting, No Lines)
South Pacific - Sailor Who Interacts With Main Character (No Acting, No Lines)
Kiss Me, Kate - The Innkeeper (Acting, No Lines)
Oliver! - The Policeman (Acting, Lines)

I figure I get a role with a name next year, if the pattern continues.
 
Chorale since freshman year, plays since...before eighth grade/freshman year (see, I think the mindset with that first one was "no parts for you because we have high schoolers)

used to be one play per year until last year, now it's two
 
successful auditions:
wind ensemble

unsuccessful auditions:
odyssey of the mind, talent show, jazz choir (two years), jazz band, all-district band

:(
 
Talent show at my school with piano, a few other piano things at my music school, and a play in third grade. This is my first year doing the talent show.

...I've been playing the piano for ~7 years but I'm always nervous. :3
 
I have a pending audition... I'm going to audition for concert and show choirs this march. hopefully I make it. *crosses fingers*
 
Not as far as "successful audition determines whether or not you're even allowed to be in the group/performance/etc.", no, because in my middle and high school choir, plays, etc. participation was mandatory. The only thing I actually had to audition for was our eighth-grade production of Oliver!, and that was more a matter of "which role(s)" than anything else; everything else we ever did was either just asked for or handed to us and we'd better like it or else.

Given a choice, I'd probably have avoided most of those things. I don't hate singing or acting/performing, but I can think of other ways I'd rather spend my time both in and out of school.
 
Be prepared! Be overprepared! Breathe deeply! Imagine you're playing to your stand! Concentrate! Don't let your thoughts wander, and DEFINITELY don't dwell on any mistakes you make whilst playing.

Uhm, auditions... yeah... well I was in a singy dancy thing for like 6 years and you do mini-auditions at the end of each year. (I suck at dancing very very much so I was promoted eventually, mostly to fit the new age groups, but always one of the oldest kids)
Was in band for also, about 6 years. You auditioned every time you wanted to go up... and when you wanted to join... so probably did 4 auditions all together, all on the Bb clarinet, and after the band shut down I auditioned for orchestra on bassoon, I was kinda over the requirements for that and they were super happy to be accepting 3 whole bassoons into the orchestra. Funny enough though, in band, I started on 3rd desk, moved up to 1st the next year because all our good people left, then was demoted to 2nd... then 3rd... then when I moved up to the next ensemble the conductor (sits in on all the auditions) looked at me like HMMM bass. So yeah I was playing bass... ahem. OH yeah and once you were in the top ensembles you had to audition every year! So I would have done another clarinet audition for the band, whoopsie.

School bands, uh... well the first high school band I was in I had been playing years longer than everyone else by the time I got to high school! Man they were so boring >; so uhhhh... well I didn't really audition for those I don't think, since my teacher was at the school anyway he'd have a really good idea of my skill level. I got pretty bored of the clarinet part after a while, and switched onto my second (bassoon!) instrument, and then moved to play bassoon in the higher ensemble the next year... which I really regret, the part is so boring and easy in comparison even if I was not as experienced at the instrument. But that's how low tier bands go, right?!
I auditioned to try to go to a music specialising type school and failed >; I made quite a blunder of the audition and probably didn't say anything good on the not-so-musical side too (everything non music I did was pretty awful) so blurrrhg
My teacher, erm, invited me to go to another not-so-intense music specialising type school for which I had to audition, even though the teachers for both of my instruments taught there so doing an audition for them would be kinda silly! But yeah that wasn't too hard because some kids don't like scales. Part of the audition was doing the cycle of 5ths (or 4ths depending where you're from) in order, which was something my out of school band did for warmups every rehearsal... unfair advantage lololol? Anyway I got a place there playing bassoon in the orchestra and 2nd clarinet, and next year they shovelated me onto bass (the other bass clarinet players hated the poor bass >: poor poor bass, nobody loves it... except the conductor and me) and the bassoon player was always kinda resentful that I was playing instead of his buddy, but his buddy wanted to play in jazz band instead anyway or something, and I guess at that school all the players and teachers conspired throughout the year what the desks would be the next and said that a lot of the judging was from the teachers rather than the audition, though a badly screwed up audition could net you a bad place, too!

Dude this sounds like my life story. TL;DR I play clarinet and bassoon and also got to bass clarinet because once they know you even slightly like bass, you are not going to go back. ;; (but it's better than 3rd desk in higher repertoire wooo yeah blue shades fghsdfhjk)

EDIT: Oh right yes Kratos reminded me of course! I mean, it is compulsory to play in these school bands but there are lower ensembles and desks that I avoided... well, sometimes... ehehehee~
And the out of school one of course is more dependent on the audition and many people dump their offer if they get lower than the position they wanted!
And all my school musical/acting things always SUCKED and I usually was assigned a part in the pit, or whatever role nobody else wanted that I could yell enough for :3 (I have no shaaaame)
 
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In choir I usually audition. IE my choir teacher has us sing the solo part and chooses who she wants to do it. She likes to shuffle people around so everyone gets a chance, so I usually get something. :D Used to freak me out, but now I'm okay with it.

Musical theater...Well. I've had to audition for my musicals outside of school, but it's a class that I pay for so it's more like 'hmm what role suits you' as opposed to 'will you be in the show?' Once I auditioned for a role in a community theater production, but didn't even get a callback. :| And at school...acting and singing auditions if you want a role. Tried last year for the heck of it even though Grade 9's/freshmen can't get parts other than ensemble which you don't need to audition for. Due to the low percentage of talented theater people (and, well, I guess how well my audition stuff went this year) I managed to get an actual part this year. It's a big-ish one, too - and the first part I've ever wanted, auditioned for and GOTTEN. Usually I get a part that I am really disappointed with, so I was SO HAPPY. :D

But yeah. Auditions are SCARY. I just go in there and try not to freeze up. xD
 
There are competitions for band twice a year, once as an audition for all-county, once for all-state. I do it both times every year; the funny thing is, last time I auditioned for all-state, I made it in, but last time I auditioned for all-county, I didn't.
 
School Musical-Beauty and The Beast I was The Beast
School Musical- Dear Edwina I was the New Kid, Bobby (actually more important than you would think)
School Band- Got first chair
Jazz All-State -> Tried, but unfortunately didn't make it. There's next year, though!

All I can say is, know your stuff, I guess. That's how I go all of those things (Except All-State, that is. I wasn't as well prepped for that.) But, I can't really think of anything to get rid of the jitters with but be confident. Going into The Beauty and The Beast, I actually tried out for Lefu. Somehow I landed the lead. *shrugs*
 
Well me and my mates tried out for the X Factor, but it wasn't serious.
We sang 'Chocolate Salty Balls'.
We, uh, didn't get through.
 
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