10 Tips for College Music Auditions!

[@Marimbalogy]

Here's the advice I wish I had when I was younger. Do you have any tips? Post them below!

[@ArnorMusic]

I have a tip: Get in the habit of turning your SNARES OFF every time after you play. The worst thing is starting your marimba/timpani and having to do the walk of shame back over to turn them off during an audition. If you're bringing your own drum, be sure to check the school's drum AS WELL before you begin. I didn't, and so I did the walk of shame not once, but TWICE in an audition at a super prestigious conservatory that will remain unnamed...

[@Marimbalogy]

So true!!!!!

[@SnapAudition]

Oh man, as a parent I'm tired of people asking me what schools my son is going to audition at! Great tips. I recently talked with Nikki Abissi, a Julliard trombone grad, and Henrique De Almeida, Berklee prof, on our podcast.

[@talyahthomas5056]

I’m preparing for vocal college auditions and this has been such a big help!!

[@christopherconnolly8911]

Just had middle school all-city tryouts today... this video would have been great a day earlier 😂 EDIT: Made it in!

[@Marimbalogy]

Sweet! Congrats!!!

[@AdrianSena-z7d]

Sonic was a nice touch

[@AverageCIown]

What do you think of hummingbird by Michael Charles smith as a marimba audition solo for college

[@hunterrussell9263]

Hey Charlie! I posted a comment a while back about learning marimba for college auditions since I really only played unpitched percussion in hs, since then I've hired a private instructor that I see once a week and I've been practicing my butt off! Anyway, I'm a little over a month in and things are really starting to pick up but I've hit a wall with my 2 mallet, 2 octave triads and was wondering if you had any tips. (I'd be happy to send in a video of me playing if you need one) I can burn through all of my 16th note-based, 2 octave scales at around ~140ish bpm (and they get faster every week!) but I've hit a wall with my triads at around 80-90 bpm. My accuracy and timing fly out the window because I start to have a really hard time finding reference notes on the keyboard as things speed up. This is really obvious on certain triads like CM GM FM Am Dm, etc. where there's no accidentals, especially as I come back down. My instructor said to just keep powering through them and they'll work themselves out but I was wondering if you had any tips for picking out notes on the keyboard quickly or is it just something that comes with time around the instrument? Would love some extra feedback! Thanks!

[@Marimbalogy]

Hi there! Just curious, what rhythm are you playing at that speed? In any case, I would make good use of your leaning technique. When I’m playing really fast C scales, I’m doing most of the work with my legs (leaning) than I am with arms.

[@hunterrussell9263]

@@Marimbalogy Uhh heres a screenshot of how I play them. (My tempos are based on quarter note values not dotted quarter notes) gyazo.com/374b65e31a59f8c0603f5538cc35eab2

[@Marimbalogy]

Arpeggios are tough. The only thing I can say is use that footwork!

[@markwyatt8132]

We need the merch.

[@Marimbalogy]

Winter break project;)

[@isaacburdiss]

Audition at Clemson on Saturday! 😬

[@Marimbalogy]

How did it go?

[@captaincosback323]

Hey, will my college take me seriously if I post memes on my socials?