Reflections+From+a+Guild+Adjudicator

Excerpts from: Reflections From a Guild Adjudicator by John H. Van Lierop, Jr.

In 2008, I completed 30 years of being a Guild teacher and 20 years as a Guild adjudicator. In this article, I would like to reflect and share my thoughts on what I've learned and observed as I've been involved in these yearly auditions.

Guild Auditions...There is something for everyone. Whether it is the National/International programs for the ambitious students, the Pledge program for the slower pupils, the Hobbyist program for the students who can't or don't have time to memorize, the Jazz program for the pupils who are into the "pop" stuff, the Diploma program for the long-term, goal oriented student, all pupils can benefit from these auditions.

Over the years, I've had the privilege of having judges from all across the country. Each had their special way of adjudicating, some emphasizing technical matters while others the interpretive side of piano playing. I remind the students that if they don't do well this year, there will always be another year with a different judge.

The following seven suggestions could benefit a number of students and improve the outcome of their auditions. 1. Be sure that the pupils know the scale/cadence for each piece well. 2. The pupil's program should have a variety of pieces, both slow and fast, as well as Major and minor keys. 3. Pupils should know all the requirements for the Musicianship phases for that level. 4. Students should prepare for an unexpected memory lapse. The best thing to do is to skip over to the next section. 5. If a pupil doesn't know his program by the day of audition, it would be most helpful if the teacher would go ahead and reduce it before the student enters the judging room. 6. Include all four areas of music on a 4-piece (or more) program for Intermediate A and above. 7. Be sure the pupils arrive at the audition center well ahead of their appointed time.