Running a Great Band Audition

Running a great audition sets the tone for possible years of partnership with a band member.

Taking the time to think it through and execute it well, laying a solid foundation of trust to build upon. Below are some pointers that I have learned over the years that help run a great audition.

Whether you are a seasoned singer or green player, showing up for an audition can be a nightmare. As the person conducting the audition, you want to minimize nerves as much as possible. A calm person auditioning will sing or play better than a nervous one. Their calmness will also bring clarity to your evaluation. It will help you identity if a poor performance was caused by excessive nerves or lack of talent. You would hate to lose a potential team member because he or she was overly nervous. The best way to eliminate question marks is by providing answers before the questions are asked. Long before the audition, hand out a FAQ page. And make yourself available to answer any additional questions not listed on the page.

We want them to succeed, so we offer a number of resources to assist them. Resources like mp3’s, chord charts, or tutorial websites (worshipartistry.com) can be very helpful.

Auditioning with 2-3 songs confirms if they are more than a one­-hit wonder. Auditioning with songs from your playlist helps you identify if they can replicate your style. You don’t want great opera singers if your style is contemporary rock. People can perform an original piece, as long as it is in addition to the songs from your playlist. If someone is unwilling or unable to learn two songs for an audition then they will probably be unwilling or unable to learn five songs for a service. When they are done with the tunes they came prepared with, throw them some curve balls to see what they can hit. Some of those curve balls are singing/playing songs they haven’t prepared, adjusting the key, testing out their abilities to harmonize, etc.

We hold closed auditions to create a safe atmosphere. Only the Worship Leader, the Pastor of Creative Arts, and the person auditioning are present. We also let the person auditioning know that this isn’t American Idol and we aren’t Simon Cowell. We want to build up their gift, not tear it down.

Recording the audition does a number of things. It helps people to hear how the audition went. It reminds them of coaching or training that was given during the night. It establishes the value of evaluation and growth. It also gives a baseline reference for future growth. Team members can listen to their audition years afterwards and hear how they’ve grown.

Potential team members audition, join, and then connect with the whole team. If we reverse this process we run into the problem of someone feeling a part of the team before demonstrating the required skills and heart attitude to be a part of the team. That is a difficult knot to untie. For this reason we only let people sit in on a practice after they have auditioned.

Stating the timeline up front lets people know that the process for review is not based upon their personal performance. It is a thought ­through process put in place before they came along. This way they know that a delay in response is not because of a poor audition. We don’t want to feel pressured into giving a quick response, so we don’t give feedback the night of. Instead we give ourselves a week to follow up. This allows time to internally discuss the audition and to check their references.

Let them know before the audition that if it doesn’t showcase their talents because of nerves, a cold, or just an off night, that you will give them a second chance. This takes a degree of their performance anxiety away. If the audition does go poorly, make sure to give them constructive feedback, time to practice based on that feedback, and then reschedule a second audition.

Celebrate with the Team:

If you don’t take the needed time to thoroughly think through your audition process, it could hurt the person auditioning, hinder the band, or even harm the church. It could hurt the person auditioning because they didn’t know what the expectations were, and unexpressed expectations always become unmet expectations. It could hinder the band if someone without the proper amount of musical abilities wasn’t vetted well. It could harm the church if someone without spiritual heart starts leading them from the stage. Prevent possible hurt, hindrance or harm by running a great audition.