Cruise Ship Audition

[@KeithCopeland778]

You did a great job and thank you for posting this! It's obvious you were up to the task for this gig!!! You'll be a very busy musician if you want to be!!!

[@joeloss1]

My father gigged the QE2 in the 60s....how things have changed ! Nice blues....good luck.

[@SaraDeSantismusic]

you’re so talented! Congrats on getting the cruise job and thanks for sharing this video.

[@marct47]

Great job on your audition! You should post more videos of your experience as a keyboardist/piano player on the cruise ship. There’s not much material covering that.

[@WhosonKeyz]

Thank you so much! that's actually a great idea that ill put to use! I was definitely one of I'm sure many people who were online looking for some guidance on what to prepare

[@ynglid]

I'm so happy that you got the job! ❤❤ Congrats 🎉

[@blahdiblah2169]

Wow, you aren't playing around. I would completely fail on my ass such an audition.

[@WhosonKeyz]

haha! really appreciate it! It's honestly not too hard once you know the job details, you can easily prepare yourself. As for sight reading...thats a forever battle

[@Nayte08]

I would’ve been so nervous. Congrats on the job I hope they aren’t overworking you!!

[@WhosonKeyz]

I've done auditions and competitions all my life, im used to the critical watching and listening.my biggest tip is eating some comfort food and breathing before the audition:) LOL 4 sets a night! I'm being under worked. material is way too easy and im bored half the time.But the destinations are cool

[@philgray1023]

Martin Taylor played guitar on a cruise ship and the manager wanted to cut his wages because he was playing with his eyes closed. The manager said he was asleep when he was playing.

[@larryjohnny]

has his manager ever picked up an instrument. To play accurately with your eyes closed isn’t necessary but definitely impressive if you can pull it off. Playing with the score is better and more respectful to the composers. Playing with eyes closed and screwing up isn’t acceptable. This piano player sounds good!

[@jamesewanchook2276]

you did a great job under pressure... with your Mom watching!

[@WhosonKeyz]

hahaha thanks James really appreciate it!

[@alexdallaricca3486]

Talented 👌

[@annv6781]

Nice!

[@davidbruce7244]

Cool under pressure. That's probably what counts. Well done!

[@stevenponte6655]

nice work man. I was very surprised he asked you to sing, I would have thought that would be for a completely different sort of player. But well done. Maybe might see on a cruise one day

[@FlatDerrick]

The one thing every ship over about 600 passengers needs is a bloke who can do an hour or two in the loungs with piano and vocals. Instant hire kinda stuff, they even have them on a lot of overnight ferries.

[@operationtruth288]

Nice Work

[@shallwetanz]

Hey! What company was this for?

[@studiosys]

Bravo dude ! That was serious pressure ,,, course you could fly thru all that with more prep , i think you will probably be bored out your brains ( on cruise ) after a few weeks ,,, if you end up " working for the mouse " be wary , they really push you hard with lots of restrictions , very " hard nosed " good luck youve obviously given YEARS of your life to that damn piano 🎵🎶🎵🎶🎵🎶🎵🎶😉😉😉😉😉

[@AndreasDelleske]

Not bored at all because the audience also does not like to get bored. You just go through your entire repertoire and practise a lot in between. A sax player I know does this, they have a bigband and a smaller band on ship. He liked the smaller band more because they had good vibes so they tried more stuff and the aufience liked it and came back.

[@WhosonKeyz]

Honestly, just finished my second contract and about three months of doing rockband material life can get pretty repetitive when setlist are generally the same and music not very challenging. Ive heard many pros and cons about Dis Knee biggest pro being working with hardcore professionals who do land and sea gigs and are willing to keep contact if you got the right chops.

[@groove40]

Way would you need a cruise ship gig when you own an acoustic piano?😂

[@fredericlinden]

Very interesting... No school prepares you for all the possible aspects of that (often demanding) job as a pianist, depending of course on the company one works for, on the ship and the itinerary. Therefore, schools and even more teachers are failing their responsibility. Some coaching would have been imperative...

[@WhosonKeyz]

very much so! but much like the experience on the ship everything was very on the spot and extremely demanding of sight reading and being "in the moment" I honestly can't think of much coaching from a proffesional that would help except your own time spent on your instrument reading new material and lifting songs by ear. Being well rounded is key

[@fredericlinden]

​@@WhosonKeyz I respectfully and strongly disagree when you say "I honestly can't think of much coaching from a professional that would help". I strongly disagree. This idea of learning ‘on the job’ is a very very unfortunate cliché and has no place when time is tight, whether you are paid by the hours or for the month. After more than 70 Contracts on almost 50 ships for 15 companies, I can assure you that I could prepare for success any rhythm section player and for any situation and for most demands. "Learning on the spot" is exactly what makes the band suffer, psychologically and musically, and what makes entertainers dissatisfied. Musical guidance before audition and/or before boarding a vessel is imperative, in my view, and it should be compulsory to get the gig. But most agencies do not care ; they want their slice of the pie, get their percentage (…), and as long as there is someone on the chair, that is all they care for. Especially as a pianist, one becomes often the leader in some types of arrangements ; one must step in to fix charts, etc., ; and MUST be the most versatile of them all. As an accompanist (and I have witnessed ‘disasters’), one has a few measures, sometimes only one (!), to make a reassuring impression. An audition can be the first step for a player to realize what the demands are, what the prerequisites are, and above all, what MUST be worked on. I hope you were able to evolve and gain the trust of your colleagues and entertainers.

[@brucetowell3432]

Congratulations!!!Have no idea what the pay rate would be, could you share with us?

[@WhosonKeyz]

it really depends on the cruise line, agency and the gig; but the rate can be from 2500 - 4000.

[@brucetowell3432]

@@WhosonKeyz Wonderful, thanks!

[@MzkAutumn]

'' mom,get out from the camera''

[@d5kenn]

Hmm, I thought you weren't supposed to even ask how old someone is in an interview.

[@Carmina.Aranda]

Hi Nathanael ! Did you get the job ?

[@LiberaceProtege]

He did

[@emilemerten6535]

Im also doing an audition any advice you can give me?

[@WhosonKeyz]

I hate saying this to everyone(it sounds corny) but breathing before and during the audition. Take your time with the sight reading there is no one rushing you, look over it extensively and visualize where your fingers need to go. Warm up before hand for like 30 mins maybe eat some comfort food. Also remind yourself you won't know how to play every song & mistakes are human. Good luck dude!

[@tiagopalas6941]

So did you got the job or not? 🤗🤗🤗

[@WhosonKeyz]

I did haha they called a week later with a cruise ship ready for me! It was totally unexpected and I had 2 weeks to fly out.

[@markmcgruder1271]

I'd like to help you out over Zoom. Even though it's been two or three years.

[@WhosonKeyz]

Thank you so much for the offer, I'll take all the help I can get. Send me an email with the times and date your available - [e-mail]

[@Aviyoyopdx]

Did you get the job

[@Danilo8208SS]

I’d guess, no.

[@WhosonKeyz]

@@Danilo8208SS I did I did! A week later they called with an offer!

[@emiliomadrona1484]

@@WhosonKeyz hello..who is that guy who did an audition for you? Is he still accepting applicants?😊

[@jackscruffy]

Remind me to not waste ? years of my life learing Jazz in school.

[@kturn5953]

Yes, don’t learn, then you’ll sound nice and mediocre 👌

[@jackscruffy]

The young man spent, I recall, 3 years studying "Jazz" at a school and he cannot play "Billie's Bounce" or "There Will Never Be another You", two standards any Jazzer should know. Of course learn, study, get better but any so called Jazz school that doe not teach Charlie Parker"s most played Blues is rippng students off.@@kturn5953

[@SantyCollantes]

Good job! Mate, I'd like to know how can I send my apllication to have an audition on cruise ships, let me now if you can send me a contact and if you're working right now congratulations!