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Tricky question – I have two thoughts.
One, it’s helpful to look back at past auditions and see what seems to have worked best for you if there’s a pattern. Over time, ideally you will be able to put together your own individualized gameplay for what seems to be best for you.
That being said, there are a few principles that seem to be pretty universal. For instance, you want to get plenty of sleep in the last few weeks approaching your audition. Staying hydrated is also important, as well as taking a walk or staying active if you already run/exercise. Super basic, I know, but it’s easy to neglect the basics.
In the last week before the audition in particular, it’s important to
a) Practice getting into performance mode on command. As in, centering, and starting each excerpt off exactly with the kind of musical intention and intensity you will want to in the audition itself. Practice thinking exactly what you want to be thinking in that moment, and playing while singing/pulsing/etc. exactly as you want to in the moment, rather than keeping score and analyzing what’s happening. The goal is really to get to that place. If you can get to that place, you’re likely to do as well as you can do. And we can’t ask for much more than that, right?
b) Practice transitions between excerpts. What are you going to do? What are you going to think about?
c) Visualization. Practice seeing and hearing exactly what you want. Also practice hearing and seeing and planning what you want your optimal response to be when things aren’t going perfectly. No round is ever 100% perfect, so rather than having to scramble to plan a response under pressure, having already pre-experienced how you want to respond, in a more graceful and optimal manner is really helpful.
d) This is probably just a different way of saying everything in (a), but practice volume will probably be decreasing in the last week as you don’t want to wear yourself out, but the intensity of your practice should be increasing. As in, your time should be spent more in performance mode, rather than in practice mode (i.e. where you do tons of repetition and work on major details). Making sure you can really “bring it” and play your absolute best the first time, not the 2nd, 3rd, 5th time. Sort of like taking practice tests rather than studying.
Hope this helps – and all the best with your auditions!
Noa
