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How to Be the Student They Want to Teach
You've spent hours practicing your solo, running through excerpts, polishing your scales. You've studied music theory, passed your entrance exam, and maybe even nailed your sightreading. Your dream school is known for launching professionals—and you’ve worked hard enough to be one of them. You're ready for your audition. Or are you?
Music professors and ensemble directors aren’t just listening to how well you play. They’re asking themselves:
It’s not just about your talent. It’s about whether they can imagine working with you, traveling with you, and collaborating with you.
1. Actively Listen: fully engage in conversations with others
2. Smile: to appear friendly and approachable
3. Maintain Eye Contact: to demonstrate genuine interest in others
4. Utilize Names: to foster a personal connection
5. Remember Body Language: Be aware of yours and maintain an open posture
6. Stay Positive: avoid dwelling on negativity
In high school, your teacher didn’t choose you—you were assigned to them. In college, it’s different. Professors have a say. The admissions office may approve your application, but the music department decides if they want you in their studio or ensemble.
They’re building a community, not just filling seats. And likeability is part of that decision.
Before your audition, take time to learn about the people you might be studying with:
Look for connections. Shared experiences. Backgrounds. Find ways to relate to them.
Here are some simple ways to be more likeable:
These small things go a long way. They help professors see you as someone who would be enjoyable to teach and be around.
This isn’t about being fake. It’s about being your best, most professional self. Think of it like preparing for a performance: you don’t just show up and hope it goes well. You rehearse. You get ready.
It’s the same here. Prepare to be confident, respectful, and genuinely interested in your future mentors.
Professors are imagining:
They’re picturing you not just as a student—but as a future colleague and ambassador of their school.
Your audition is more than a performance. It’s your introduction. It shows who you are—musically and personally. So yes, bring the talent. But also bring the warmth, the curiosity, and the attitude that makes people say: "I want that student in my studio."
Because in the end, great musicians impress. Great people get invited back.
And when professors choose who to teach, they don’t just choose ability—they choose energy, kindness, and potential. Make them believe that adding you to their program is the beginning of something exceptional. Let your character echo as clearly as your notes. Because how you make them feel may just be what makes them say yes.
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ARTICLE GLOSSARY
Ambassador: A graduate who represents the school in a positive light after graduation—through their career, behavior, and accomplishments.
Audition: A performance that serves as a student’s application to a music program. Professors evaluate both musical ability and personality.
Colleague: A peer or future coworker. Music professors often picture students not just as learners but as future professional partners in the field.
Community: In a music school setting, this refers to the group of students, faculty, and ensembles a student will join. Professors want students who strengthen the community, not just stand out solo.
Ensemble: A group of musicians who perform together—like a choir, orchestra, or jazz band. College ensembles are led by faculty and often travel and perform widely.
Likeability: The quality of being pleasant, respectful, and easy to work with. In auditions, this refers to how much a professor wants to teach and work with a student—not just how well they play.
Mentor: A teacher who goes beyond instruction and helps guide a student’s personal, academic, and professional growth.
Preparedness: Showing up on time, organized, having learned your music, and understanding who you’ll be working with. This reflects maturity and respect.
Rehearse: To practice intentionally, with the goal of improving. The article reminds students to rehearse not just their music—but also their communication and presentation.
Respectful: Treating professors, peers, and the audition process with professionalism and courtesy. It builds trust and increases a student's chances of being invited into a program.
Studio: In college music, a studio is a group of students who study privately with the same professor on a specific instrument or voice type.
Teammate: A fellow musician who plays well with others in a group setting. Professors want students who contribute positively to group dynamics.
Warmth: The sense of being approachable, friendly, and genuine. It helps professors imagine a student fitting in well with others and being a joy to teach.
Objective: To help students understand how their attitude, behavior, and social skills affect how others experience them as musicians and teammates—on stage, in class, and in future auditions.
🎯 Rationale for Director:
Middle school students are still learning how to balance skill-building with teamwork, personal confidence, and social awareness. As they grow as musicians, it's important that they also grow as kind, respectful, and engaging individuals. This lesson helps them see that being a great performer isn't just about how well they play—it's also about how well they connect with others.
📚 Assignment:
Title: Being the Kind of Musician People Want to Work With
Instructions:
🎁 Bonus Challenge:
At the end of the week, write a short journal entry: Did anything change when you tried this? How did others respond?
Objective: To help students understand how personal appearance, attitude, and interpersonal communication contribute to successful music school auditions and future college success.
🎯 Rationale for Director:
As students prepare for auditions, their focus is often solely on technical skill. This lesson is designed to help students understand the equally important value of professionalism, presence, and likeability. In the collegiate music world, professors are not only evaluating skill—they're deciding whether this is someone they want to mentor, travel with, and represent their program for years to come.
📚 Assignment:
Title: Likeability: Your Secret Audition Strength
Instructions:
🎁 Bonus Challenge (Optional):
Ask a peer, teacher, or family member to observe your progress and provide written feedback on day 10. Submit this with your final reflection.
Dear _________________ Parents
Let’s be honest—middle school is a magical time when students are discovering who they are, what they love, and how loudly they can sigh when asked to put away their phone. (It’s a talent. I respect it. I also fear it.)
As their music director, I spend a lot of time helping them grow as musicians. We talk tone, tempo, and tuning. But lately, I’ve been thinking about something even more important: who they are becoming as people. Because the truth is, no matter how well they play their instrument, no one wants to sit next to someone in rehearsal who acts like they’re doing us a favor by showing up.
That’s why I’m inviting you to read a quick and meaningful article called “More Than Talent: How to Be the Student They Want to Teach,” now available at Accoladi.com. While it’s written for high schoolers preparing for college auditions, its message starts hitting home much earlier: talent gets you noticed—character gets you invited back.
The article reminds us that being kind, curious, and coachable is just as important as playing the right notes. It’s a message I’d love your child to hear from more than just me. And honestly, it’s a great read for parents too—because you’re the real MVPs helping them develop into young adults we all want in our band, choir, or orchestra and at the dinner table.
Encourage them to read it. Better yet—read it with them. Then maybe (just maybe) the next time they meet a guest conductor, an adjudicator, or the cafeteria manager, they’ll flash a smile and say thank you instead of mumbling into their hoodie.
Musical excellence is a journey. But so is learning how to be the kind of person others want to make music with.
And that starts now.
Musically Yours,
_________________________________________________
Director’s Name and Position
_____________________________________________
Name of School
Dear ______________________ Parents
I know what you're thinking. “My child is ready for college auditions—they’ve practiced their solo, they know all twelve major scales, and they’ve even figured out what to wear that’s both artsy and audition-appropriate.” Fantastic! But now comes the tricky part:
Are they also… pleasant?
Now, before you clutch your pearls or write me an email, hear me out. I’m not asking if your child is likable to you (of course they are—you’ve raised them!). I’m asking if they’re likable to the people who hold the key to their college admission and scholarship future: the music professors.
See, college music auditions aren’t just about musical skill. As the article “More Than Talent: How to Be the Student They Want to Teach” on Accoladi.com explains, professors are evaluating whether they actually want to spend four years with this student. Will they show up prepared? Will they work well in a studio? Will they smile once in a while and not act like a walking eye roll in rehearsal?
These things matter.
That’s why I’m asking you—gently—to encourage your child to read the article on Accoladi.com. It’s not preachy. It’s smart, well-written, and frankly, it might save them from a very awkward audition moment that starts with “So tell us why you’d like to study here…” and ends with silence and a half-shrug.
In fact, this is one article that deserves fridge-door real estate. Because here’s the truth: Professors don’t just want musical talent. They want teammates. Colleagues. People who listen, smile, ask thoughtful questions, and don’t make everything about themselves.
Translation: Tell your teen that kindness, eye contact, and not interrupting go a long way.
Let’s send them off not just as talented musicians—but as students the faculty actually wants to teach.
(And if they come home from college four years from now and are still using these people skills? That’s the real standing ovation.)
Warmly,
_________________________________________________
Director’s Name and Position
_____________________________________________
Name of School
