What is the likelihood of getting an audition if you send a tape when it is not required by all applicants?
One estimate I heard was 5% but I have no idea how accurate this is.

Of the letters sent out requesting tapes, what percentage just give up and move on? That is what percentage of people actually send in the tape? I imagine it is low but how low?

Depends on 3 things:

>what's on the tape,

>how much time I have (both in the sense of "how many weeks away is it" and "how busy am I"), and

>whether I'll even be able to go to the live audition if I get accepted.

(Oh -- and how much do I want the job )

I'd say I do not make the tape probably 75% of the time.

In my opinion, make the tape - you have nothing to loose! In addition, the preparation and then having the opportunity to hear your final product is extremely valuable. If you have a minidisc recorder or some other device that doesn't require studio time (and lots of money) there is no reason not to try!
Good luck

I think its probably always worth a try. I think the tape process is also helpful in getting you to really listen to yourself so you can fix mistakes.

The question is really how often to you actually get an audition if you send in a tape knowing that many people won't bother.

If 75% don't bother, and you have a 50% chance of getting invited then its pretty good. On the other hand if your chances are only 5% of the 25% left, your chances overall are only 1.25%!!

I'm not really sure you can find a metric to determine in advance what percentage of tapes get in. That would only seem to matter if you made a so-so tape, right?

Make a really good tape, and you'll probably get invited. If you give yourself enough time, it's not hard to do.

It's funny this thread is here because I just saw this article online about taping yourself and how easy it is...it actually helped convince me to record myself before this audition that I have next week. i'd never recorded myself before- but I just realized its pretty easy if you have a mic on your computer or even a little tape recorder. in the article...and it makes perfect sense they say by listening to yourself rehearse you can hear the mistakes better and learn how to correct them. It may also help ease any nerves you have about performing if you can hear what the audience will hear."

check it out here: http://makingmusicmag.com/forte_dev/show-forte.php?pageid=75

Forget the "tapes".

Prepare a DVD. (or even a YouTube)

I would be in the percentage to just forget it and not send one in. If they didn't want me based on my resume, they still won't want me, based on my resume, in the final round. So why waste my time and money?

If they want to narrow down the applicant field, they should start out by telling you what they are looking for, or not have an open audition and just invite those that they want to hear.

I've now seen it both ways with 2 top 5 orchestras. One regularly accepts applicants via tape and recently has allowed this in lieu of a first round. The other accepted no one who sent a tape. Seems like you need to see the track record before you decide. I also know someone who challenged the tape requirement and based upon a recommendation letter or call had the tape requirement waived. I know another who had a lesson with someone in the orchestra and played well enough to have the tape round waived.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Phoenix,

I second what Phoenix says. I've gone to several auditions that asked me to send a tape, by nicely declining the tape offer and asking them to send me an audition time. And I made finals. You should always try if you want the job.

Ha, ha! Tape request? Got a computer? Then you have the software to make a flawless recording. Oh, o.k. Leave in a couple of out-of-tune notes just for realism. Tapes. What a joke.

"Tape" means a recording. They specify CD, MP3 etc in the request

Precisely, Phoenix. Any digital recording can be edited using beginner software available for free all over the 'net. By "edited", I mean down to the note. I refer to the resulting recording as a "tape" just as the orchestras are still doing.

And to continue that thought, edited "perfect" tapes raise the standard to the point where good candidates who do their tapes more honestly are eliminated. This only encourages more people to find ways to manipulate their own recordings the next time.

What is this editing software and where can I buy it, tyvm

So people edit their tapes until they're perfect in order to get invited. Then they play the live audition where they don't sound half as good as their tape and get eliminated. Tell me why people think editing is a good idea in the first place.

Which is pretty much why any solo recording you buy isn't the real thing, it's all edited to sound almost perfect.

Which brings up an interesting point - do you feel that the "perfection" that we hear when we listen to CDs somehow makes it unrealistic for the public to appreciate a live performance with the possibility of some small flaws? Or that musicians are so worried about being "perfect" that they lose the personal and musical aspect of performance?

Gloria - I'd say it's more the 2nd. Audiences often enjoy hearing a particular piece no matter how well or how badly it's played, or a particular soloist no matter how well or badly s/he plays. We-the-musicians, on the other hand, often get caught up in trying to present an exact copy of the piece (and/or to avoid getting eliminated in the audition), so we tend to try extra hard to stay in control in order to avoid mistakes -- and we all know where that leads.

quote:

Originally posted by gloriarex:
So people edit their tapes until they're perfect in order to get invited. Then they play the live audition where they don't sound half as good as their tape and get eliminated. Tell me why people think editing is a good idea in the first place.

This is exactly my point. The people who can play a good live audition send a tape that would be considered very solid in a live audition. People who can't play a good live audition edit their tapes, knock out legit candidates, and then lose at the live event. I don't see how this benefits ANYONE.

The other reason frequently given for tape requests is saving time and money, but I'm not sure that's valid. Consider that one either has to invest in either good audio recording gear or hire someone to record them just to make a tape of high enough quality to be considered. Then, if successful, they have to incur the costs of attending the audition anyway. As for saving the orchestra committee time, most tapes I'm aware of have been much longer than a normal preliminary round.

My vote is for inviting more people and letting each candidate decide if it's worth spending their money to attend an audition where they may be cut after 2 or 3 excerpts.