This is the second of a 3 part series that will take you through all 3 phases of the audition process: The Ask, The Audition, The Acclimation.  Be sure to check out the first part here

Part 2: The Audition

So we’ve advertised, made announcements from stage and had our bands put the ask out to their musician/vocalist friends. Now we have a packed night of promising auditions scheduled.

Now what?

How do you make the best of each 15-20 minute slot? Here are 10 things I’ve found effective in creating a great audition night.

1. The Pre-audition Youtube Audition.

For everyone that has signed up for your audition process, allow them to show their talents from the comfort of home. Ask for a 1-2min video sample of a song they know best.

This does 2 things: One, it allows the nerves to not be a factor on their part. They can record and rerecord until they are happy with the result. Two, it gives you an immediate filter for those people that are at the beginner level or maybe not your style. From here, you can invite those that had great youtube auditions to a live audition.

2. No curve balls. None

When laying out the expectations of your live audition, don’t leave out any details. Give them 100% accurate MP3’s and charts and what you expect them to sing or play. They are worried about 1,000 different things during the audition; don’t add the extra burden of  “just follow us for the changes.” That could destroy their confidence.

3. Have them play/sing with a live band (no tracks)

You’re not only looking to see if your potential singer/musician is apt at their craft, but also at the ability to gel well with others. We’ve made the mistake in many years past of having singers sing along with a track only to find out after we’ve added them to the team that they were completely unsure of their own musical timing, pitch and phrasing as well as reliant on the track to get them through the song.

4. Challenging Material

If you need a singer with the range of Kelly Clarkson and you give them a three note worship tune for an audition, chances are you are going to be disappointed with what they can bring to the table after the fact.

Avoid that awkward conversation by putting one song in the audition process that would stretch even the best musician or vocalist. It shouldn’t be the deciding factor on whether or not the audition makes it if they can’t nail the song, but you’ll thank yourself later knowing you have a really good sense of their skill level.

5. Joke with them. Make fun of yourself.

Take the ministry seriously, don’t take yourself seriously. When an audition enters the room, chances are they are SCARED OUT OF THEIR MIND.

They look up to you.

You intimidate them.

Your goal should be to immediately extinguish their fears. Make them realize you are a normal person. Make fun of yourself or joke with them. They need your approval that it’s ok if they mess up a little. They need to know you can look past the errors caused by nerves to see their true potential.

6. Second chance restarts

Speaking of errors. If you see their nerves getting the best of them and the audition is absolutely bombing, have them restart the song. Don’t let them lose sleep over the “one chance” they had to make an impression. The potential embarrassment and blow to their confidence is worth your extra 2-3 minutes to have them gather their nerves and restart.

7. They deserve all of your attention during the audition

An audition can sense when the room isn’t giving their full attention. I’m 100% guilty of this. My attention span would wane as the night went on, I would carry on conversations not related to the audition. I would even joke with other people in the room with stuff unrelated to the audition taking place.

So what do you think it does to an audition’s self confidence when people aren’t watching or maybe even laughing?

It’s not good.

They spent hours preparing for this audition. The least you can do is give them your full attention.

8. Immediate Feedback

“You made it! Yay!”

We would all love if every audition could get that response and we didn’t have to be the bearer of any bad news, but it just doesn’t work that way. You are going to have bad auditions.

I mean…really bad.

However, there is a way to approach feedback that can leave the audition with a feeling that it’s just a “no for now,” not a “no forever.” Give them encouragement in the things they did really well, but also leave them with: information on how to improve, emails of instructors who give lessons,  and other notable observations.

9. Help them improve!

Saying ‘no’ to an audition, but offering your expertise to help them improve is an investment in your ministry’s future. Set up some free lessons with those that didn’t make it through the audition process. You have years of advice to offer these amazing people to help them shine in future auditions, don’t hoard it! It’s worth the investment.

10. Thank them for auditioning

As I stated in part one of this article, you are the one who is blessed by their willingness to volunteer and to take the time out of their schedule to serve. Show that you are appreciative of these facts and thank them for being willing to get up there and lay it all out. It takes guts and we often forget that.