Ever been upset with your results in an audition?

[Asianeuph]

Today I auditioned for a spot in the Texas All-Region Zone 1 bands. I made a band, but it wasn't what I was expecting. All throughout this school year I practiced and practiced. I took private lessons for the first time in my life. I practiced more than I ever have in my entire band life. Today I auditioned and i did better than i thought i would. Kids from my school said " As much as I hate you, You did a lot better than I thought you would", and so on and so forth. I got sixth chair over all , and second chair symphonic band. The problem is I missed the chance to go to area by one chair, i would probably be less upset if it was some odd person from another school, but no. It was a girl that I've been battling with since the sixth grade. I don't know how she did better than me! I have a better tone quality, I didn't mess up as much as she did. She barely took her horn out of the case to practice. Geez she's the luckiest daughter of grrrrrrrrr. She barely works for anything in her life. She doesn't do her homework, she has friends to copy from. Her grandpa buys her a lacquer Yamaha 321? The place he bought it from is out of lacquer, so they send her a silver one for the price of a lacquer. Has anybody ever had an upset like this?

[jcorll2]

Sure! We've all had our moments that we get jealous of those more fortunate than us. Remember though that enviousness gets you no where. Instead of using all that energy in proclaiming how good her playing level is, use that energy to get your own playing level equal to hers. Being able to play more difficult pieces doesn't depend on how long you practice, but rather how focused you are while practicing. Quality over Quantity.

I'm a junior in college. I JUST got a college level euph. Believe me, I'm as envious about her new euph as what you are, however I wouldn't stress out over it.
Just work on getting better and someday, you'll beat her. I bet ya.

Hang in there kid, Life gets better.

[Asianeuph]

"playing level equal to hers", I'm past her. I have better tone quality, fundamentals, etc.

"envious about her new euph as what you are", she's been playing on a NICE Yamaha 321 all her school years, I got to high school and the directors give me the crummiest horn they had (Yamaha 641, leaking, lacquer all worn off), I got into honor band my freshman year of high school (before her, she was in symphonic), and my parents got me a silver Yamaha Neo 642, so I think i got her beat there.

in her audition she barely put any air in her horn, like literally piano the whole time.


I did dynamics and everything! Even my friends said i got cheated, it was a bunch of bull.

[davewerden]

Don't waste a lot of energy worrying about it. Also, you should allow for the fact that the judges may be listening for something different than you focused on. Or they might have been wrong - doesn't matter. Always try to learn from the best of what other players do, even if overall you are a better player.

Even on a bad horn there are ways to make progress in your playing. Before parades in the Coast Guard Band I would practice what I could. We marched with student-level 3-valve King euphoniums (many would call them baritones).

I went o all the way through high school (and one year of college) playing on American-style bell-front euphonium. There is still plenty to practice, even on those!

Here is a photo of me, my senior year in high school. I was first chair in All State and NO ONE in the 8-member euphonium section had a European-style horn like the Bessons. Overall, it is a better world for euphonium players, as far as today's equipment goes.

[Pat]

Work to control the things that you CAN control. You can control your energy, focus, and effort in practice and in performance. If you truly did your best then it's out of your hands. Judging is subjective... perhaps they were looking for something you didn't bring to your performance. At any rate, congrats on getting into the Regional Band... that's really a terrific accomplishment.

[Asianeuph]

Thank you for everybody's inspirational tips and messages. I will continue to work harder, so I can beat her. My new goal is to learn and memorize Sonata in F by Marcello, so i can hopefully get a 1 and move onto the Texas State Solo and Ensemble Contest!

[ghmerrill]

I will continue to work harder, so I can beat her.

I think you would do yourself a great service by rereading this entire thread. None of this is about her or "beating her". It never has been. It's actually not about music or musicality, or practicing, or what people say about you or to you, or what kind of an instrument you or anyone else may have. It's about something else that's much more important.

[Davidus1]

When we are auditioning the measurement used is the one used by the evaluator. Sometimes that is tough to take. You can only focus on what you can do. There is some great advice listed here. I hope it helps you and I wish you well. There is a YouTube video about Carol Jantsch. She was at the Interlochen Academy I believe and after auditions she ended up third or fourth chair. She shared that she didn't like that and her response was to practice harder and in a more focused manner. She is now principal tuba in the Philadelphia Symphony and was invited back to Interlochen as a guest clinician. You have your whole life ahead of you. We aren't defined by our failures in life but how we respond to them.

[EuphoniumMenace]

When I was in high school I qualified for All State band. The week before All State I lost my first chair to a girl (who was admittedly also very good). Then at All State I won first chair. So I was first in the state but second at my high school. EVERYONE has peaks and valleys.

[TEuph]

At least you guys have horns! Mine is still on the way if it makes you feel any better I missed all state by 1 chair 3 years in a row. My senior year I missed out on all-state by ONE.. yes one point. But its mainly the process that counts. You're a wickedly better player now from playing 3 college level etudes for 6 months. I auditioned at WTAMU( 4 all state euphonium players in that band, 3 of them were 1st chair when they made it) and the euphonium professor said if I were to be in the band now I would be sitting second chair overall. So yeah don't feel too bad about it!

[adrian_quince]

I will continue to work harder, so I can beat her.

The one question I would be asking myself in your place is did I do everything I intended to? Were the tempo, rhythm, pitch, articulation, dynamics, phrasing all what I wanted? If I did what I wanted and the adjudicator went for something different, then that's what happens. As musicians, we all have different interpretive ideas and are all looking for different sounds.

In the long term for you as a musician, the skills that are really going to matter are your ability to control all the expressive dimensions of your instrument consistently and your ability to fit your interpretive ideas into an ensemble. Strive do what is right for the music and your fellow musicians. Auditions are to see how well you can do that, not pick a winner or a loser.

[tampaworth]

Auditions are to see how well you can do that, not pick a winner or a loser.

I agree that Asianeuph's original quoted statement is worded to one extreme of the competition continuum because "beating her" should certainly not be the focus, but I do remain a firm believer that a healthy competitive attitude with a focus on winning helps lead to success. Gets on soapbox.... so often in our Elementary and Middle Schools these days kids exist within a culture of coddling where "we're all winners" is the theme. Everyone gets a medal, etc. etc. In my daughter's Middle School band they've removed the ability to challenge for chair assignment as there ARE no chair assignments. This ensures no one feels bad. Are we really helping kids this way? Then bam, one hits high school, and college and then the real world and workplace. Although today's job market is one factor, could this partially explain the "failure to launch" phenomenon which is more prevalent these days. The ability to turn on the competitive spirit and drive to win may just make the difference. I say, why not "Live to Win"?

[adrian_quince]

@tampaworth: I agree that healthy competition can be a good thing, especially when it helps someone to work harder and smarter to get better. In my view, though, the big thing with music is to aim for excellence because the music deserves nothing less.

Focusing on excellence because it's the right thing is impossible when trying to ensure that "we're all winners" and no feelings get hurt. Excellence means some people will fail to meet the standard and need to improve. Those situations need to be handled with honesty, not by pretending that all efforts are good enough.

With regards to the job market, there are times when competition is necessary to a job and times when it can be detrimental. But aiming for excellence is always a plus.

[davewerden]

It IS good to focus on the music. If you have not already done so, read this guest article. I think you'll find it interesting.

http://www.dwerden.com/forum/content...-of-the-Screen

[tampaworth]

Thanks for allowing an amateur to vent and for the excellent points made as well as the read. Although it's easy to get caught up in the conundrum of the real world, ideally the drive should be toward excellence as the music deserves nothing less