How do you pick yourself up and get your motivation going again after you've failed something very important and meaningful to you, regarding your instrument?



Thank you.

Remind yourself that getting over failure is a professional skill. It really is. And if it was an exam, look carefully at those comments - you'd be surprised how carefully those negative comments tend to be worded, because the examiner usually really WANTS to see you overcome those pebbles in the road and stride on ahead.

If it was a public performance, well, everybody has those moments...when I worked as an interpreter, it was a huge stress reliever to get together with others and laugh ourselves silly over all the blunders, mix-ups, and mishaps we experienced.

You know what they say - falling flat on your face is no shame at all, and picking yourself up is cause for celebration, even if it takes you a while and you feel a bit shakey about it.

Here's to your future!

Thank you all ears.
I guess it's just something that comes with practice, and the first time it happens is a lesson.
No, it wasn't an exam - an audition. I didn't get any constructive advice back at all (I knew I had done very badly at the time though) and the auditioners were talking during it.
Every time I pratice I can just hear them talking now. Music is really important to me but somehow I can't spur myself to it.

Has anything like this happened to anyone else here?

As a man who has auditioned for some major west end shows and now auditions people (got auditions tomorrow in fact) I would say that you need to approach auditions without any agnst or worry and just enjoy the experience. The more you enjoy it the more we (the auditioners) enjoy it.

I've done so many auditons where I've thought I've been great and not got the job. Equally I've done so many bad ones where I have got it. Really, you don't know what the audition panel are thinking or how much is down to your own paranoia so don't worry about it.

Also, in the harsh world of auditions you don't always get feedback as they have other people to see and need to discuss each person. For all you know they could have been talking to each other about how good you were doing - or maybe even how good you are playing but maybe they are concerned by something else (like your experience or your hair colour or whatever).

Next time try and be more relaxed and enjoy it - if anything comes from it then great. You shouldn't dwell on an audition or let it put you off applying for more though.

Well, speaking from my own experience, you sob a bit, despair, get resigned, feel useless, start feeling cross, start playing again, remember how much you enjoy it again, and eventually get over it.

Give yourself time, and it'll pass. Just make sure you continue enjoying your music and work to create plenty of positive playing experiences to counteract the one bad one. Everytime you start thinking about the audition, make sure you counterbalance those negative thoughts with some positive ones: nice things people have said about your playing, positive performing experiences etc.

Good luck, and sympathy! It's always hard to get over the feeling of failure, but its a useful life skill to have.

I've also done a lot of auditions and failed a fair few. Rejection is horrible. No getting away from it.
First thing is: it *always* feels personal when you fail. In the beginning I used to audition for things for which I knew I wasn't suited, thinking it would at least be a good opportunity to sing the song, given that I'd never be doing it for real. But I stopped doing that after I found the inevitable rejection so disappointing. Even knowing all along that I was not the best person didn't make it any easier. So you will be feeling quite low for a while, but these feelings do fade.

Now let's look at it from another angle. I have also been on the other side and sat on a few audition panels. And there the situation is totally different. For a start, you realise that there may be several equally valid interpretations of the same piece of music. But the part goes to whoever fits the audition panel's preconceived ideas of what they want, and who will best fit in with the other parts that have been chosen.

This may or may not be the "best" individual performance.

And in the case of two or more equally good auditions, still the hard fact is: there is only one place, and everybody except one will be rejected. From this side it's not personal at all. The aim is to get the best possible show out of the combinations of characters. In the case of an orchestra or band, it will be finding the best combination of styles and sounds that go together.

And speaking over the audition is sometimes unfortunately necessary, especially if there are several to get through and you need to discuss something that might be forgotten by the end.

The thing that makes it hard in the end is that, sometimes, there is no constructive feedback to give. I'll give you an example. Once I did a really good audition for Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady. But I was beaten to the spot by a girl who bore a significant resemblance to Audrey Hepburn. Now I can do something about the blonde hair, but no amount of constructive advice is going to shrink me by 5 inches and change my build and features! Another time I was given a part because the man chosen for the male lead was rather tall and well built, and We made the best looking couple (other more petite women were somewhat swamped by his presence).

So give yourself a little time to lick your wounds. Anybody who hasn't failed an audition can't really understand how it feels!

Then allow yourself to realise that sometimes what you have to offer is not what "they" are looking for, but that this does not necessarily reflect badly on you. It may be just a creative difference.

Then get yourself back on track. Next time you do an audition you will be more prepared in terms of how you approach it and what you want from it.

PS Break a leg for your audition tomorrow, fatar760!

I auditioned for a bass place at Durham Cathedral - one vacancy. OK, I didn't get it, but I was fairly philosophical about it, personally I thought there was very little between me and the winning candidate - maybe he performed the 20th century sight reading better than I did (maybe he had a different piece I don't know). There was another candidate, who also didn't get it, who I believe now teaches at the Junior RNCM, I thought he sounded a lot better than me, it _might_ be that his voice was too good! That might sound odd, but perhaps less so when you consider there were two on each part on either side, so the overall blend/combination might have taken preference.

Still good experience, performing to cathedral organist and sub, plus two canons.

haha thanks but I'm the auditioner tomorrow....its much nicer being on the other side of the table

There have been such good posts here - I personally have never had an audition but in my professional life (health services and academia) had many public failures and criticisms - the sort where you want a hole to appear so you can crawl in and pull in the edges after you. It is HORRIBLE - but you do recover. So hang in there and distract yourself with something else until the pain dulls.

So it is like soccer, where the best team is not necessarily the one that is packed with stars, but has one or two superstars and a bunch of competent very hard workers?

I'd say no. It more like just finding 11 players that compliment each other and offer a well-balanced side.

It's a little like that...
I've thought about it and here is a hypothetical but plausible example using the area I'm most familiar with (am-op) and fictional plot/characters.

Story line includes a romantic tenor lead and his sidekick (baritone). Also a small part for a butler (bass baritone) who has one devastating comedy song/dance routine with the maid.
Female characters are the romantic lead(sop), her best friend (mezzo, ends up with sidekick), the maid and the nasty girl who tries to ruin the romance.

3 men audition for the male leads. Cut and dried - one is a good tenor, one baritone and one bass.

6 women audition for the 4 female parts.
Woman #1 (high sop) is gorgeous, tall, willowy, beautiful singing voice, excellent actress. Doesn't dance.
#2, (sop) tall, dippy, good comedy actress. Brilliant dancer though singing voice not so good.
#3 (sop) small, dark, petite, reasonable voice and acting skills.
#4 (mezzo) small dark, very distinctive (though slightly harsh) voice. Good character actress.
#5 (mezzo) stocky brunette, good singer. reasonable actress.
#6 (mezzo) tall blonde, first ever audition. May be good one day but made a hash of the audition.

All the women audition for all the parts.

But the tenor is somewhat short and slight, and needs a small woman to play opposite him otherwise his best romantic number ("I will protect you, my delicate little flower") will have unintended comedic undertones.

So that puts women #1, #2, #5, #6 at a disadvantage on sheer appearance - they just don't look good together with the tenor on the stage. Unfair and doesn't matter in real life, but there you go.

#3 or #4 could both do it, but #4's distinctive voice and character skills mean that the "bad girl" part is best played by her, although it's a smaller part than the lead.
That leaves #3 as a competent and believable lead to play opposite the tenor.
#2's dancing and comic acting skills get her the maid part.
That leaves #1, #5 or #6 for the remaining part (the "best friend").
#6 is a little too inexperienced (but a good am-op society will give her a few lines and encourage her for the future),
This leaves #1 or #5. If we choose #1 she will be singing below her ideal range. Also she is so beautiful one might wonder why the tenor doesn't fall for her instead of the friend. And she is so similar in build to the maid (#2) that the audience might get confused in the key "mask" scene. So the part goes to #5.

This leaves 2 women without parts - the inexperienced one and the - apparently - best one.
Life's like that sometimes.

Rejection is always a rotten feeling. Admittedly, as many people have pointed out, audition panels take much more into account than your talent and ability and some of it you can't do much about. However, you should still take a moment to think about your audition. You said you did very badly at the time - why? What happened that made you do badly. Were you intimidated, bored, distracted, knew it was a waste of time, not in the mood, tired .... If you think about what went wrong, then maybe the next time you can make it go right. Although you may still not get the part even if you are the best!!!!

I did a concert...well I thought it was a concert...but it was a sort of pre meal thing.. they listened for a while but then just started talking...it took me some time to get over it...and it still makes me go all hot when I think about it. These things happen...you just have to be positive and move on. It sounds very unprofessional to me for people to talk during an audition..believe in yourself...be strong and move on. (couldn't find a hug)

Thank you everyone.
You've really helped.

It's just hard and it stills hurts because I never really had much confidence in myself before I went for it, but I guess it's just one of those things and we all have to carry on.

Happy Thursday to you all.

Or you could tell woman #1 "come back with a handsome tenor that is taller than you, and the lead role is yours".

Oh, yes! Arriving at an am-dram group with a tall, handsome tenor is a great way to gain a lot of popularity.
Come to think of it, arriving with *any* man gains significant brownie points.
Why is it that men are always in such short supply for these things?
*sigh*

Back on-topic, hold on in there, saggingaltogether, you'll soon be into the "what ######s they were, to turn me down" phase and you'll know you're on the mend then

The only leading lady audition I ever passed was for mabel in pirates.

very petite soprano, excellent singing voice, reasonable acting, dancing more miss than hit much shorter than leading man.

The reason it worked was due to good blocking and the use of a parasol in one or two of the numbers, plus I was very liftable, so a number of staged lifts were used.


I always used to get the Character parts the required a strong singer.