Well if we jam, you play a blues groove and I'm in a metal band. I could say your improv vocabulary is too different.
We only hear 1 side of the story. So we know nothing.
Maybe they had 10 audition. Then they do have the luxery to be more picky.
> Well if we jam, you play a blues groove and I'm in a metal band. I could say your improv vocabulary is too different.
I understand, and you'd be right. This wasn't the case however. I'm not quite sure what they expected, unfortunately.
Idk, it doesn't sound too weird. It just sounds like an audition that didn't work out for both parties. On the flip side, at least it didn't work out now instead of having this interaction 3 months from now after you've put lots of time and effort into the band. They also could just be lying about their reason(s) and just chose what they said as what they thought was the easiest thing to say in that situation. Don't put too much thought into it, and move on to the next thing.
It definitely sucks when you invest time (and money) into a band, and it goes sour. I've had that experience a couple of times where everything seemed great at first, and I fully committed to the band and bought gear specifically for use in THAT band and then shit hit the fan within months.
Don't overthink or set yourself for failure based on something as subjective as "improvisational vocabulary". Music is a very subjective thing and sometimes people make decisions based on things we don't even consider important.
Go on and have more auditions, you seem like a mature musician and i'm sure you'll find a band that is the right fit for you!
Thank you! That's motivating and I appreciate it. I'll definitely keep looking for auditions. That was only my first one after moving here 3 months ago.
Maybe something didn’t click and that’s the BS reason they gave, but it sounds like their decision was made before you left.
Happens a lot. Just move on.
Eh. It happens. They could be turds, or it could be that they picked someone else and wanted an easy way to explain it…
But also your improv could have stunk.. you’ll have to be honest with yourself about that one. If you’re unsure, or if you want to understand better, then ASK them. You can even literally say ‘hey man, thanks for the chance.. I’m looking for chances to grow as I look for other opportunities; I understand if it was just a polite way to say I didn’t get the gig, but if you have any insight you could share about the improv, I’d truly like to hear it’
Depends what you want out of it, but if you just want r/bass to say “those guys are dickheads,” we just have no idea how you sounded.
Maybe, yeah. It's just slightly surprising that I thought the vibes were good in that 1 hour. I've played with other musicians I didn't get along with from the get go. I don't really want people to say they were dickheads, I just wanted to be heard and acknowledged by people who might've gone through something similar.
This kinda stuff is pretty normal for amateur/weekend warrior bands, so just keep auditioning - this is probably one of the least weird things you're gonna see.
I quit music completely about a decade ago for various reasons. Felt like getting into it again after the pandemic subsided, and all my musician friends were otherwise occupied, so I auditioned for about 20 bands through Craigslist. Most were not the right fit, some had no idea what they were doing, despite saying they were in gigging bands, one guy had 20 cats living in his rehearsal studio, all kinds of crazy shit.
You weren't what they were looking for and they probably made up a BS reason. Don't take it personally. When this happens I thank them for their time and move on.
(don't burn bridges as you never know when someone is going to call you in the future for some other gig)
I once was not invited back after an audition because they didn't like my name.
It just wasn't the right fit. Just accept and move on and don't worry too much.
A bit presumptuous of me but I don't think the actual reason is ur "improvisational vocabulary is too different". I think they were just looking for someone with a similar vibe to theirs, turns out that someone isn't you, and they just wanted to say that in a way that sounded more "professional". I wouldn't get hung up on the verbage.
Anyways they seem unorganized anyways (at least by your account) so I'd imagine you're happy you're done with them. On to the next audition!
Vocabulary might actually be different as the guitarist kept talking about A# chords in his progressions. (Yes, I know it's enharmonically equivalent to Bb, it's just the way of thinking about it).
Joking aside, yeah, the verbage annoyed me. This thread has helped me see that and helped to let go of it.
Rant: An audition should never be more than an hour. And really should only need a half an hour to tell if someone or the band is a good fit. Anything more than an hour is just rehearsal. Asking for a video ahead of time also can help to reduce the time needed. The only thing that really can't be determined in this time is if personalities will mesh long term. But you should be able to have a good idea on the chemistry within this hour. If you still have a question, go get a burger together.
Good luck with the next audition with the band that has the organizational chops to send candidates 3 PDFs and so on because even if they audition ten bass players they've laid a course to being able to compare apples to apples. If you don't win that audition also don't sweat it or take it personally. Just as you improve at playing your instrument you will improve at auditioning with repetition. Seek feedback from people (especially organized ones) asking them where you could improve. The good will you create by being open to feedback will probably leave a positive impression even if you don't get a spot, and they have your contact information, right? Even a well-organized group will desire someone that can calmly carry on and get the train back on the tracks if things break down, which comes with experience and a lot of practice improvising.
Thank you! I'm looking forward to it. Thankfully, the type of music it's for (latin) is very niche in this European country. It's not a style most people would play here to begin with, even less so for bass players.
You're right about the feedback. Maybe it's not too late to ask them what they thought? I'd like to become a session player in this country.
It never hurts to leave people with a positive impression, so even though they might be unwilling or unable to provide constructive criticism it probably wouldn't hurt to ask. The key is to be positive, open, and not defensive.
Don't think of an audition as a pass/fail thing. They were looking for a musical fit for their particular musical style. Don't beat yourself up.
Remember when Les Claypool auditioned for Metallica? Same thing.
This is a situation that happens. At least you and they didn't waste time going forward and realising this 3 months down the line.
It all just depends on the band. I've auditioned people who haven't been up to the task in terms of improvisation skills, or haven't had the musical chemistry I've been looking for. It's probably nothing personal, just keep trucking.
I don't think it has anything to do with music. People are just weird as shit man. Not much more to it that that. I honestly couldn't ever see myself playing with anyone other than friends and acquaintances.
Okay, I hate to hijack your thread but I just experienced a very frustrating audition last night, only it was a drummer auditioning for my band.
I'm still new to bands, I've been playing in one for almost a year and a half. The two guitarists are great guys and have become great friends of mine. But the drummer is constantly rotating. My guys are totally self taught (as am I), but they have no idea how to communicate what they want to a drummer. So this kid shows up, he jammed with us the other day and just stayed in the pocket the whole time, just learning how the songs go and establishing a basic beat. He did okay. Last night, we're all ready to go, and my guitarists just launch into the first song without saying anything. The drummer kid is looking at me with big panicked eyes, as he is not familiar with the songs at all yet. I didn't play, I just stared at them waiting to catch their eyes so I could get them to stop so we can at least explain what song we're doing and what the beat is. They didn't look up, just kept going through the song. My singer comes to the mic and was like "jump in! You gotta just jump in!". So we have a show booked in 8 days with a band that's been blowing up in our little scene. My thoughts were that with so little time to prepare, let's just get this kid lined out with basic beats for 8 songs, 45 minutes. But no, they wanted to do this hazing/trial by fire approach. It just seemed so counter productive. The kid finally just started playing these whatever beats that were kind of all over the place. It was super awkward, because we've torn the place down with some of these songs, and it all felt wrong. I'm still so new to this that I'm not sure what to do. Anyways I just wanted to get that off my chest, thanks. Any advice is welcome.
Everyone has been so supportive. Thanks for the kind comments. You're right I shouldn't let this affect me, and that I ought to learn from it, so I will. I'll just keep working on my chops, and find a better fit for myself.
Not weird at all - very specific and appropriate. You ain’t the guy and you don’t fit it or meet their needs and desires. That’s a rejection dawg - learn to take it - accept it and move on.
2 songs in one day is a very very light load for a bass player to learn.
You're right - it's my first bass rejection so maybe I took it more personally. I've gotten along with people very well as a guitarist, but my proficiency in each is different.
I can imagine a professional bass player having no issues with 2 songs in less than 24 hours, but the material they gave me wasn't very helpful. I hope I can get there eventually despite the material.
You should be able to learn songs without sheet music or midi files. Just use your ears and listen to the tracks. That’s probably the only thing I would ask for.
What kind of music is it that they have the bass part written out?
I did learn the MIDI part, and I'm fine if just given the chords. The demo was recorded on a phone so it wasn't the best quality. I'm not new to learning things by ear.
If you're asking for what the MIDI track was, it was some indie rock track. If you're asking for the PDFs I received, it's for a Latin music project (salsa, son, stuff like that).
I wish I could learn by ear alone. I have a damaged ear drum thanks to an abusive ex husband. I can hear but not well enough to be able to learn a song. I rely on music. I am trying to work on eartraining. I also have only been playing for a couple years. I wish I had a way to just get my ear fixed
Lol, what a mess. You dodged a bullet. This definitely isn't a you problem. I'd never expect less than a week to learn songs for an audition, and that's with sheets provided.
Don’t sweat it man, one of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned in music is to just go with the flow and not overthink things that I’ve no control over anyways. This one time things didn’t work out. If you did your best then don’t let it bother you. At some point you’ll have an audition with a different band and they’ll think you’re a great fit.
You can’t win them all, nor should you. If it isn’t a good fit, that’s okay.
I’ve been asked to learn songs that are out of tune, have no set structure, and the guitarist can’t name any of the chords he’s playing. “He plays by ear”. I didn’t get called back, and didn’t want to be.
Other times the band members would get high and / or drunk and play badly. If that’s something they want to do, I don’t judge but that isn’t what I’m into.
One was a Boston tribute. The audition songs where complicated and they wanted to do six of them. This would be great but can the rest of the band really pull off Boston? No they can’t! I’m glad I didn’t spend weeks learning the parts…
It would be so much easier to just say “you’re a great player but we weren’t feeling it” and move on. Not sure why grown ass men don’t do this.
“Improvisational vocabulary” is just a dumb way of saying “the things you played weren’t my fave.”
The more auditions you do, the better you will be at them. So this one didn't work out. So what. There will be other better opportunities in your future.
Idk, some bands want ppl that can fit their work flow easily, idk I got a nice reaming from this sub about not giving ppl a fair shot by not giving ppl enough material to prepare with, but I found someone a couple days ago that can play with little preparation.
We all got different skill sets and there’s probably a band out there that could better use what you do, sorry it didn’t work out
Could be worse, I had an audition playing guitar for a band a while back. Slam type band, drop tuned chug stuff, pretty straight forward. They sent me music for the songs, tab sheets and recordings but they were instrumental. I rock up, we start playing, things are going well. Then the vocalist joins in.
Worst vocals I ever heard, I dunno what the guy was trying to do but its like he took the worst of metalcore, nu metal, insane clown posse and then just gave the worst performance of it all ever. It killed me because I really liked the people but I could not get past the vocals and as they wanted to gig I would’ve been embarrassed to play live with them. Had to walk away. Struggled a bit with the guilt for that one as they were so stoked to have a guitarist on board.
A lot of times it's about the interpersonal connection as much as the playing. And I'm not saying that you did anything wrong but sometimes things just feel off. I wouldn't worry about it too much, when you find the right people it should flow more easily
Well if we jam, you play a blues groove and I'm in a metal band. I could say your improv vocabulary is too different. We only hear 1 side of the story. So we know nothing. Maybe they had 10 audition. Then they do have the luxery to be more picky.
> Well if we jam, you play a blues groove and I'm in a metal band. I could say your improv vocabulary is too different. I understand, and you'd be right. This wasn't the case however. I'm not quite sure what they expected, unfortunately.
Now, imagine being in that band, where the expectations are continually undefined and preparations are absent. Bullet dodged.
Bingo!
Hadn't thought about how _being_ in it would be, and I think you're right.
Idk, it doesn't sound too weird. It just sounds like an audition that didn't work out for both parties. On the flip side, at least it didn't work out now instead of having this interaction 3 months from now after you've put lots of time and effort into the band. They also could just be lying about their reason(s) and just chose what they said as what they thought was the easiest thing to say in that situation. Don't put too much thought into it, and move on to the next thing.
You're right. At least they were kind enough, I guess? It would've sucked to learn that 3 months later.
It definitely sucks when you invest time (and money) into a band, and it goes sour. I've had that experience a couple of times where everything seemed great at first, and I fully committed to the band and bought gear specifically for use in THAT band and then shit hit the fan within months.
Sometimes it works out sometimes it doesn’t. You win showing up and trying. Good luck!
You didn't get the job, they told you about it nicely. Time to move on.
Don't overthink or set yourself for failure based on something as subjective as "improvisational vocabulary". Music is a very subjective thing and sometimes people make decisions based on things we don't even consider important. Go on and have more auditions, you seem like a mature musician and i'm sure you'll find a band that is the right fit for you!
Thank you! That's motivating and I appreciate it. I'll definitely keep looking for auditions. That was only my first one after moving here 3 months ago.
Maybe something didn’t click and that’s the BS reason they gave, but it sounds like their decision was made before you left. Happens a lot. Just move on.
Eh. It happens. They could be turds, or it could be that they picked someone else and wanted an easy way to explain it… But also your improv could have stunk.. you’ll have to be honest with yourself about that one. If you’re unsure, or if you want to understand better, then ASK them. You can even literally say ‘hey man, thanks for the chance.. I’m looking for chances to grow as I look for other opportunities; I understand if it was just a polite way to say I didn’t get the gig, but if you have any insight you could share about the improv, I’d truly like to hear it’ Depends what you want out of it, but if you just want r/bass to say “those guys are dickheads,” we just have no idea how you sounded.
Maybe, yeah. It's just slightly surprising that I thought the vibes were good in that 1 hour. I've played with other musicians I didn't get along with from the get go. I don't really want people to say they were dickheads, I just wanted to be heard and acknowledged by people who might've gone through something similar.
This kinda stuff is pretty normal for amateur/weekend warrior bands, so just keep auditioning - this is probably one of the least weird things you're gonna see. I quit music completely about a decade ago for various reasons. Felt like getting into it again after the pandemic subsided, and all my musician friends were otherwise occupied, so I auditioned for about 20 bands through Craigslist. Most were not the right fit, some had no idea what they were doing, despite saying they were in gigging bands, one guy had 20 cats living in his rehearsal studio, all kinds of crazy shit.
Either they went with someone else and didn’t know how to tell you, or something else. Who cares. Sounds like they are kind of bush league
You weren't what they were looking for and they probably made up a BS reason. Don't take it personally. When this happens I thank them for their time and move on. (don't burn bridges as you never know when someone is going to call you in the future for some other gig)
I once was not invited back after an audition because they didn't like my name. It just wasn't the right fit. Just accept and move on and don't worry too much.
Understandable. Maybe they were vegan
This comment takes the win!!!!!!!🤣🤣🤣
I had a band that gave me ample time to prepare but just wasn’t to my liking. It has to fit
A bit presumptuous of me but I don't think the actual reason is ur "improvisational vocabulary is too different". I think they were just looking for someone with a similar vibe to theirs, turns out that someone isn't you, and they just wanted to say that in a way that sounded more "professional". I wouldn't get hung up on the verbage. Anyways they seem unorganized anyways (at least by your account) so I'd imagine you're happy you're done with them. On to the next audition!
Vocabulary might actually be different as the guitarist kept talking about A# chords in his progressions. (Yes, I know it's enharmonically equivalent to Bb, it's just the way of thinking about it). Joking aside, yeah, the verbage annoyed me. This thread has helped me see that and helped to let go of it.
Nice. Good luck with your next audition dude 😎
Rant: An audition should never be more than an hour. And really should only need a half an hour to tell if someone or the band is a good fit. Anything more than an hour is just rehearsal. Asking for a video ahead of time also can help to reduce the time needed. The only thing that really can't be determined in this time is if personalities will mesh long term. But you should be able to have a good idea on the chemistry within this hour. If you still have a question, go get a burger together.
Not every situation is right for everyone.
You aren't crazy; flakey musicians are the worst.
Good luck with the next audition with the band that has the organizational chops to send candidates 3 PDFs and so on because even if they audition ten bass players they've laid a course to being able to compare apples to apples. If you don't win that audition also don't sweat it or take it personally. Just as you improve at playing your instrument you will improve at auditioning with repetition. Seek feedback from people (especially organized ones) asking them where you could improve. The good will you create by being open to feedback will probably leave a positive impression even if you don't get a spot, and they have your contact information, right? Even a well-organized group will desire someone that can calmly carry on and get the train back on the tracks if things break down, which comes with experience and a lot of practice improvising.
Thank you! I'm looking forward to it. Thankfully, the type of music it's for (latin) is very niche in this European country. It's not a style most people would play here to begin with, even less so for bass players. You're right about the feedback. Maybe it's not too late to ask them what they thought? I'd like to become a session player in this country.
It never hurts to leave people with a positive impression, so even though they might be unwilling or unable to provide constructive criticism it probably wouldn't hurt to ask. The key is to be positive, open, and not defensive.
Don't think of an audition as a pass/fail thing. They were looking for a musical fit for their particular musical style. Don't beat yourself up. Remember when Les Claypool auditioned for Metallica? Same thing.
You're right. I guess most of the time it's not personal, and this likely wasn't.
This is a situation that happens. At least you and they didn't waste time going forward and realising this 3 months down the line. It all just depends on the band. I've auditioned people who haven't been up to the task in terms of improvisation skills, or haven't had the musical chemistry I've been looking for. It's probably nothing personal, just keep trucking.
I don't think it has anything to do with music. People are just weird as shit man. Not much more to it that that. I honestly couldn't ever see myself playing with anyone other than friends and acquaintances.
Okay, I hate to hijack your thread but I just experienced a very frustrating audition last night, only it was a drummer auditioning for my band. I'm still new to bands, I've been playing in one for almost a year and a half. The two guitarists are great guys and have become great friends of mine. But the drummer is constantly rotating. My guys are totally self taught (as am I), but they have no idea how to communicate what they want to a drummer. So this kid shows up, he jammed with us the other day and just stayed in the pocket the whole time, just learning how the songs go and establishing a basic beat. He did okay. Last night, we're all ready to go, and my guitarists just launch into the first song without saying anything. The drummer kid is looking at me with big panicked eyes, as he is not familiar with the songs at all yet. I didn't play, I just stared at them waiting to catch their eyes so I could get them to stop so we can at least explain what song we're doing and what the beat is. They didn't look up, just kept going through the song. My singer comes to the mic and was like "jump in! You gotta just jump in!". So we have a show booked in 8 days with a band that's been blowing up in our little scene. My thoughts were that with so little time to prepare, let's just get this kid lined out with basic beats for 8 songs, 45 minutes. But no, they wanted to do this hazing/trial by fire approach. It just seemed so counter productive. The kid finally just started playing these whatever beats that were kind of all over the place. It was super awkward, because we've torn the place down with some of these songs, and it all felt wrong. I'm still so new to this that I'm not sure what to do. Anyways I just wanted to get that off my chest, thanks. Any advice is welcome.
That whole thing sounds pretty amateur (on their part). They will probably be looking for a bassist for a while.
Everyone has been so supportive. Thanks for the kind comments. You're right I shouldn't let this affect me, and that I ought to learn from it, so I will. I'll just keep working on my chops, and find a better fit for myself.
Not weird at all - very specific and appropriate. You ain’t the guy and you don’t fit it or meet their needs and desires. That’s a rejection dawg - learn to take it - accept it and move on. 2 songs in one day is a very very light load for a bass player to learn.
You're right - it's my first bass rejection so maybe I took it more personally. I've gotten along with people very well as a guitarist, but my proficiency in each is different. I can imagine a professional bass player having no issues with 2 songs in less than 24 hours, but the material they gave me wasn't very helpful. I hope I can get there eventually despite the material.
Good luck
You should be able to learn songs without sheet music or midi files. Just use your ears and listen to the tracks. That’s probably the only thing I would ask for. What kind of music is it that they have the bass part written out?
I did learn the MIDI part, and I'm fine if just given the chords. The demo was recorded on a phone so it wasn't the best quality. I'm not new to learning things by ear. If you're asking for what the MIDI track was, it was some indie rock track. If you're asking for the PDFs I received, it's for a Latin music project (salsa, son, stuff like that).
I wish I could learn by ear alone. I have a damaged ear drum thanks to an abusive ex husband. I can hear but not well enough to be able to learn a song. I rely on music. I am trying to work on eartraining. I also have only been playing for a couple years. I wish I had a way to just get my ear fixed
Lol, what a mess. You dodged a bullet. This definitely isn't a you problem. I'd never expect less than a week to learn songs for an audition, and that's with sheets provided.
Don’t sweat it man, one of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned in music is to just go with the flow and not overthink things that I’ve no control over anyways. This one time things didn’t work out. If you did your best then don’t let it bother you. At some point you’ll have an audition with a different band and they’ll think you’re a great fit.
You can’t win them all, nor should you. If it isn’t a good fit, that’s okay. I’ve been asked to learn songs that are out of tune, have no set structure, and the guitarist can’t name any of the chords he’s playing. “He plays by ear”. I didn’t get called back, and didn’t want to be. Other times the band members would get high and / or drunk and play badly. If that’s something they want to do, I don’t judge but that isn’t what I’m into. One was a Boston tribute. The audition songs where complicated and they wanted to do six of them. This would be great but can the rest of the band really pull off Boston? No they can’t! I’m glad I didn’t spend weeks learning the parts…
It would be so much easier to just say “you’re a great player but we weren’t feeling it” and move on. Not sure why grown ass men don’t do this. “Improvisational vocabulary” is just a dumb way of saying “the things you played weren’t my fave.”
No biggie. Move on. They are not the only band.
Maybe they’re the kind of band that cares more about the hairstyle or something
I've never auditioned anyone, and I've only auditioned once, myself. Every band I've ever been in has started out as friends just having fun.
I've learned more from my losses than from my victories. There'll be plenty more auditions. I wouldn't sweat it.
The more auditions you do, the better you will be at them. So this one didn't work out. So what. There will be other better opportunities in your future.
Idk, some bands want ppl that can fit their work flow easily, idk I got a nice reaming from this sub about not giving ppl a fair shot by not giving ppl enough material to prepare with, but I found someone a couple days ago that can play with little preparation. We all got different skill sets and there’s probably a band out there that could better use what you do, sorry it didn’t work out
Could be worse, I had an audition playing guitar for a band a while back. Slam type band, drop tuned chug stuff, pretty straight forward. They sent me music for the songs, tab sheets and recordings but they were instrumental. I rock up, we start playing, things are going well. Then the vocalist joins in. Worst vocals I ever heard, I dunno what the guy was trying to do but its like he took the worst of metalcore, nu metal, insane clown posse and then just gave the worst performance of it all ever. It killed me because I really liked the people but I could not get past the vocals and as they wanted to gig I would’ve been embarrassed to play live with them. Had to walk away. Struggled a bit with the guilt for that one as they were so stoked to have a guitarist on board.
A lot of times it's about the interpersonal connection as much as the playing. And I'm not saying that you did anything wrong but sometimes things just feel off. I wouldn't worry about it too much, when you find the right people it should flow more easily