Sometimes Your Accompanist Sucks (and what to do if that happens)

Recently, I attended a college audition session where there was constant issues with the accompanist. While they were certainly trying their best, they just weren’t skilled enough to be able to play an audition session at this level. And because of this, it had a negative impact on the students auditioning that day. Each person after the next had some issues; whether it was rhythms, key signature, every student seemed to be off when singing their selections.

Over the course of your performing career, this is going to happen to you. While the majority of accompanists are fantastic, talented and helpful, there will be some who can torpedo your audition with their lack of skill.

How do you prevent this from happening? 1. Don’t be a jerk. 2. Be prepared in case it happens.