Ways to Make Your Audition Easy

 As audition dates in several U.S. cities quickly approach once again for the Berklee College of Music many hopeful musicians are looking for guidance that can prepare them for this exciting and intimidating process.  Last winter in an effort to help our readers and students prepare for auditions, Lessonface featured an article “Five Tips for Acing Your Berklee Audition” where we covered advice on what to know, planning the logistics of your audition day, and ways to stand out.  

Lessonface is here to help again!  Check out these extra guidelines and inside tips from some of the Berklee alumni on our teaching team on being yourself during your performance and interview, keeping things simple, and strategies for the sight-reading. 

Be Yourself at Your Audition

One of the most common things that Berklee students will stress to you about the Berklee audition process or other music auditions is the importance of being yourself. It is essential to keep this in mind when choosing your audition pieces.  

While in previous years Berklee may have placed more emphasis on certain styles of music such as Jazz, today they have evolved into a school that appreciates all classical and contemporary styles of music.  
 
Looking back on her audition, Liz Turner agrees, “auditioning as a vocalist, I thought that Berklee really only wanted to hear Jazz, and that I would not be accepted if I did not sing Jazz. So I had two Jazz songs prepared.  Although I do like singing Jazz, I wish I would have gone with one of my strongest styles, which were Musical Theater or Classical.”  

For this reason, make sure you choose audition pieces that represent you and your favorite style, rather than attempting something out of your element that you hope the judges will find impressive.   

The same idea of being yourself applies to the interview, since as John Longhitano points out, “ its other students who interview you.”  Don’t stress about portraying yourself in a certain way, just act normally and you will come across as much more relatable to the students who were in your position not long ago.

Keep Things Simple When Preparing

In some ways, one of the only people that can stop you from acing your audition is yourself.  Be sure to not put yourself at a disadvantage by overcomplicating your audition.  

According to guitarist John Longhitano, having a simple setup is key, he suggests, “Bring less to set up.  Be simple, less with the guitar pedals.  Bring your guitar and a cable so you can get in and go, they have a lot of people to audition.”  

This less is more approach may also help you avoid any technical problems, which could hinder your ability to shine at your audition.  The same holds true for choosing songs to audition with, complicated is not always better.  In fact, choosing a simpler song that you know well and can play perfectly may be more impressive than trying to learn a difficult piece that you could struggle with during your audition.   

Get Ready for the Sight-Reading

Perhaps the most stressful part of the Berklee audition is the sight-reading section.  As both Berklee graduates John and Liz will attest, this is by far the greatest challenge in the audition process.   

When recounting her sight reading experience Liz said, “Now, I am a great sight-reader, and even before Berklee I had a lot of training in sight-reading. The sight-reading piece they gave me was ridiculous, and more of an instrumental sight-reading piece than voice! Even in my 4 years at Berklee, I didn't have anything that challenging!” 

Luckily, recognizing this challenge ahead of time should in some ways help prepare you.  Expect that the sight-reading piece will be extremely difficult, so that when it is you can remain calm and collected and give it your best attempt.  

As John explains, “There are lines and each line gets harder and harder.  So make it through as many of them as you can.”

Final Advice

In summary, keep these final points in mind:  

• Don’t make your audition more difficult than it needs to be.   Keep things simple, while still showing off your skills, to leave yourself less room for error.  
• Be yourself.  Play your audition piece like you would if you were alone in your bedroom.  You will put forth your best performance when you are working with a piece and style your comfortable with.   
• Last but not least, don’t let nerves get to you especially during the sight reading section of the audition.  Don’t forget your auditioning for the chance to receive an amazing Berklee music education.  The judges aren’t expecting you to know everything already; rather they are looking for you to demonstrate potential and a passion for learning music.  In the end, if you can do that you may just be on your way to Berklee next fall.

Related:

• Five Tips for Acing Your Berklee Audition
• What to expect from a voice audition
• Our complete hand-picked list of audition prep teachers

Photos by MTA/Robert Wilson and Monica Liu