i've worked with hundreds of musicians on audition preparation. and nothing - NOTHING - has been as effective and life-changing as when they start self-recording the right way.

4 reasons why they definitely, absolutely, unquestionably will.

things i do on audition day:

warm up by playing on the hotel pillow,
watch vast amounts of tv shows on my phone, and
never drink coffee.

when i was in detroit in february i got to interview three great DSO musicians on how they approach audition day. pretty fascinating to see how their approaches are so different from each other.

i’m endlessly fascinated with how musicians practice (as you know). so i was fortunate to talk to augustin hadelich, international violin soloist, about how he gets ready to play a different concerto with a different orchestra every week.

one way that i keep myself sane is to make a practice schedule and keep it up to date. you can use paper and pencil, a word document, evernote, or a wall. in today’s video i explain how to get it set up.

i’ve been getting lots of messages from people having trouble finding motivation or direction now that they’re at home all day. i’ve been dealing with the same issues, but i’m finally out of the funk.

so i made a video about how to get motivated and set practice goals (during coronapause). check it out.

this is an interview with nathan hughes, principal oboist of the metropolitan opera and faculty at juilliard. he has to practice and make reeds… every day. anyone who wonders how to balance the artistry and the project management of being a musician should watch this.

some days i’ll feel good about my playing. but some days i'll walk into the opera pit and question whether i really deserve to be there. 

i’ll think <with an extremely fred savage from the wonder years voice>, “i wonder how i ended up here. oh well, i guess i’ll pretend to be a professional musician and play the triangle again today.”

it’s called imposter syndrome. 

but just because you experience imposter syndrome doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you. problems are figureoutable. anything you’re lacking as a musician is something that can be analyzed, addressed, and eventually solved.

in today’s video i’d like to tell you about my experience with imposter syndrome, and how i’ve worked to overcome it.

i’m showing you how you can sneak a recording device into your next audition. i’m not totally clear *why* orchestras sometimes don’t let you record… but it’s the most important piece of data you can take from the experience. it’s one of the rare times that i recommend breaking the audition rules.

i’m very excited to be releasing today’s interview with sheryl staples of the new york philharmonic. she has one of the most thoughtful and well-rounded practice routines and all instrumentalists (not just violinists) should watch this.

if you want to compete in an olympic level sport like professional orchestra auditions, you need to find a way to be maximally productive… even when you’re exhausted.

and why in 2020 i’m going to focus on helping you develop better practice habits.

two strategies to make sure you’re as competitive as possible.

you can’t just "practice harder” and expect a better result. here’s a 5-step method you can use to build a better audition preparation process.

5 steps to craft musicality into your excerpts during audition prep

mock auditions are an essential part of the audition preparation process. but just doing mocks isn’t going to solve all your problems.

it’s all in the details. exactly how you carry out a mock audition will affect what kind of performance benefit you see from it. today’s video is about 3 of the most common mistakes that i see musicians make in mocks.

and why taking fewer auditions, not more, can work.