Audition | Leaders Only

Preparing for an Audition Part I To Sing or not to Sing that is the Question

TO SING OR NOT TO SING, THAT IS THE QUESTION

I must admit that I had been swept in by the latest American Idol craze. Like millions of other Americans, I used to tune in every week to watch the singers vocally slug it out. Again, like millions of other Americans, I am turning in for the chance to see singers fail. It’s sad, but the truth is, I’ve enjoyed the musical stylings of the tone deaf, and vocally challenged, much more than the talented singers who were told, “Welcome to Hollywood.” I think that we are intrigued by the fact that most of the singers who didn’t make it through were in great disbelief and often stunned that the judges didn’t appreciate their “unique” voices. If some of these singers had actually been prepared, they might have had a chance. On the other hand, what were some of these people thinking?

I would never condemn anyone for singing. Singing is a beautiful thing that should be shared by everyone. The point I’m trying to make is; there are two reasons for poor singers. The first is simple. Some singers aren’t prepared for an audition. The second is a little less obvious; at least to the individual singer. Some singers haven’t realized that there is a problem vocally. Everyone can learn to sing; some singers just need direction! In this lesson we’ll discuss the first reason, and explain how to prepare for an audition.

Watching and experiencing the pressure that the singers are under on American Idol, caused me to have a flashback to 1990. I was attending the vocal program at The Musician’s Institute in Hollywood, California. We had several voice coaches, but there were three that I learned a lot from. John Zipperer was my favorite coach. He made you feel like anything was possible. Brian Kelly, was my personal instructor. He reminds me of a voice psychologist. Jami Lula was a very stern coach who believed in perfection.

Once a week we would have a class called Vocal Review. Each week we had to pick a song from a different genre of music to sing for review by one of our vocal instructors. Our performance was extremely important because it affected our overall grade. I was very intimidated by Jami Lula, so I always hated when he conducted the vocal review. At times Jami seemed ruthless; he’d rather pull out his teeth than give a compliment. He made Simon Cowell look like a saint. I was always nervous whenever I had to perform before him.

One particular week, John Zipperer was critiquing the class. I didn’t concern myself with actually learning my song because John was usually easy to please. If you did screw up, he usually sugar coated it and made you feel like you’d do better the next time. Imagine my surprise when I walked into class and discovered my worst nightmare. John couldn’t be there, so Jami Lula was handling the class.

I was singing Aerosmith’s “Dream On”. Totally unprepared and now very intimidated, I completely botched the song. It was awful. I forgot words, messed up the phrasing, and sang some pretty sour notes. I knew I hadn’t prepared for the song, and Jami definitely let me know it. Afterward, one of my friends, Jeff Chase, said; “What happened?” Of course my reply was “I don’t know, he just made me so nervous that I lost my train of thought.” I knew all along that I was in the wrong. After class, Jami pulled me aside and scolded me some more. He told me that the reason I sucked was because I was too lazy to prepare. In that moment, I knew that Jami wasn’t the cold insensitive coach that I had once thought he was. I had discovered a person very compassionate about the art of singing; one who only wanted his students to strive for the best in themselves.

No one is safe from botching an audition. If you aren’t prepared for the song, don’t bother. If you are planning on performing or auditioning, then you must do your homework. The best way to prepare for an audition is to dissect the song.

The first thing you should do is to write down the lyrics. Next, write the pitches above the words. Use a keyboard or guitar to pick out the pitches. After you figure out the pitches, practice singing the song several times until you feel that you are familiar with the tune and can sing it without a lyric sheet. You might discover that you were singing some words on the wrong pitch.

When you are comfortable with the song, study the singer’s vocal techniques; such as vibrato and breathing patterns. There are several different methods for breaking down a singer’s vocal technique. My book Raise Your Voice has a technique called “Song Mapping”, which as the name suggests, is a method to “map out” the song in order to make it easier to sing the song.

Once you have studied the technique of the song, sing it once more, only this time record yourself singing. How did you do? Come on; be honest. Most of the comments on American Idol deal with how unprepared the singer was. Another repetitive comment is the singer’s pitch. I have heard Randy comment several times on how flat the person sang. If they would have prepared for the song and recorded themselves singing it, they might have done a better job. They would have noticed if they were off pitch and could have worked to correct the problem.

In the next lesson we will discuss techniques to help you discover and correct pitch problems. If you want to learn more about The Musician’s Institute, you can visit their website at www.mi.edu.

Jaime Vendera

Author of “Raise Your Voice”, “Mindset: programming Your Mind for Success” and

“Online Teaching Secrets Revealed”

jaimevendera.com

theultimatevocalworkout.com

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Jaime Vendera is the author of several books in several fields including vocal developments, self-help and self-publishing.

He is also a world renowned vocal coach to pro singers and the first documented singer in world history to shatter a wineglass by voice alone. He has demonstrated his glass shattering vocal power on several nationally televised shows, including Good Morning America and MythBusters as well as performing on shows in Europe and Japan.

How To Pass Your American Idol Audition

First and foremost you need to have an understanding, a positive understanding. A complete understanding of what exactly the American Idol competition represents and how do you fit into their search for the next superstar. Well the truth is that this is more than a talent show. Based on the fact that they plan to release an album on the winner, so they are basically looking for some one to sign more than they are looking for a person that can sing cause right after you passing your audition you are flown to Hollywood where you will have extensive training on your vocal performance and stage presence during a live show, plus different aspects of being interview and a correct way on how to respond. As this competition is a very fast and productive way to develop artist into being able to handle mainstream exposure and the understanding that you need, to know if you fit in to what they are looking for and if you are not what the judges are looking for then you must work on how you can become that and I am going to guide you on your preparation.

MORE THAN A VOICE:

With this section its about singing like a vocalist and not karaoke night. Many singers have mixed signals and run when they should lie. To recondition the mind and the response of the body is not an easy task, but it can be done; however, in a lot of cases with a lot of hardwork. Similarly, I have found that while all people are given a voice, but we all do not know to use it how to use it, at least not the right way. Where you must consider your breathing and position of your head to allow a steady airflow through your vocal cords. As you will be able to find your natural singing voice and a major mistake that a lot of contestants make is to sound like other artist or like certain songs that they have liked. But the judges can tell if you are imitating an artists singing voice or if you are the real deal and to disrespect them by trying fooling them would be an automatic rejection, so try to sing with out your favorite cd playing so you can be able to critique your own voice as you should also try to sing low range, mid range, and high through the song just to strengthen the position and movement of your vocal cords and Adams apple.

In conclusion, singing, like almost any other discipline, is based on conditioning. If your voice is conditioned the right way, you will sound better than you ever imagined. For more insights into how you can correctly condition your voice and mind, look for my future columns, on this site.

THE IMAGE:

The way that you look can make your career or break it, only cause it basically boils down to the fact that if you dont love your self enough to take care of your body and appearance you definitely do not care about your singing career. As your body is the vehicle that takes you through out the whole competition, your career and lifetime. So here are some things that you can do before the competition to get you up to par.

Good skin care is the best start. By using moisturizing soaps and lotion are the main ways you can improve the look of your skin. As the skins natural glow will definitely add to your star power. As with acne there are lots of creams, soaps, cleansers, and medications to treat spots and acne treatments. Try a medicated soap, a cream to apply to the spots. Change products if they are not working. Don’t put up with bad acne. Antibiotics and specialized creams will help to get rid of them to. As your confidence in your self will improve 100%, which in turn will improve your chances for success?

Body odor is an automatic failure. A bit of body smell can be a huge disadvantage as any amounts of a bad stench are a definite no-no. Wash and shower as often as necessary before the competition and always drink lots of water to release any toxins from your sweat as you might sweat during your performance. Anti per aspirants and deodorants help regulate odor and sweat, as its always good to use cologne or perfumes, but not too much.

Try to get your hair together cause a good haircut or hair do just says that you are a star. Remember that the more expensive salons tend to keep up to date with fashion trends and products and can offer hair care that makes the most of what you have. Use a good shampoo that is appropriate for your hair type and makes your hair look good.
If you want to change your hair color the best way is to get it done professionally. Badly done color changes can leave a bad impression, unless of course bizarre is good for your alternative image.

A balanced diet containing fresh vegetables and fruit is good. It keeps you healthy and it also improves skin and hair. Try limiting your fast food intake. Dietary food supplements and vitamins can help when a normal healthy diet is not possible.

Get enough exercise. As a matter of fact try to get into shape. Use all opportunities to avoid a couch potato life. Walk rather than take the elevator. Avoid using your car for very short journeys. Joining a gym or sports club will encourage you to exercise. Or how about if you exercise then you will better your chances at American idol success, as that should be enough encouragement.

Keishon Martin is the founder of KeyWorldWide Inc. which owns and operates www.ShonnyBoy.com visit their website

The Cattle Call Musicals Audition and How to Deal With it

Each year long-running musicals are recast and new musicals are written. You want to audition for a role in these shows but you don’t have an agent, and there are thousands of singer dancer actors looking for work. How do you start?

Every year, production companies run open calls. They are particularly useful if the show is new or in an unusual genre (grunge/folk/rock or Tuvan throat singing), if there is a serious lack of actors with the relevant casting requirements (ethnic casting or tightrope juggling), or if the casting directors simply want to know what‘s out there at the moment. Open calls are usually advertised in the theatre press (The Stage newspaper in the UK is an example). The open call can be quite a demoralising process (not for nothing are they called “cattle calls”), so this article will help you prepare for them.

The first thing you’ll see when you arrive is a long queue. Depending on how popular the show is, the queue could be three times round the block, or just a small crowd. Be prepared to stand in the queue for several hours. Even 15 years ago, professional singer friends of mine were kept waiting for 7 hours on the auditions for nuns in The Sound of Music.

What should you carry with you? Your resume or CV and a photograph are essential. If the photograph is not attached, make sure that both the resume and photograph have your name and contact details on. Photographs and CV details often get separated, and it would be horrible if the panel remembered your face but then couldn’t find your contact details on the photo. A bottle of water is vital, and either a book or an mp3 player is useful to while away the hours.

You will give your name to the auditions usher or stage door manager, and the audition begins. You might have only two minutes to walk onto the stage, give your name and sing your song. If you’re unlucky, you’ll have 16 bars. If you’re really unlucky, they will ask you for your best single phrase. How do you deal with this?

Remember that the purpose of this audition is NOT to get the job! If you’re up against 1,000 people or more, nothing you can do will make you stand out enough to be offered the job on the spot. Your task is to be asked back for the invited calls, the ones that follow the public cattle call. Therefore your task is to appear professional, calm and focused. That’s it.

If you look professional (dress appropriately, perform to a good standard, interact well with the panel) you will be noticed. If you seem calm you will score points too – cattle calls are difficult situations with a lot of “unknowns” – like not know what time you’re actually going to perform, and a vast number of people breathing down your neck! If you are focused, you’ll be able to sing your piece to the best of your ability, and lock into the character immediately. Being focused really “reads” well on a theater stage, so the panel will notice very quickly how well you do.

When I’m coaching for the 16bar audition, the key is practise EVERYTHING. The walk in, the hello, the piece announcement, giving the pianist the music (or the backing track), the getting into focus, the 16 bars (decided beforehand, please!), and the exit. Everything is important, even the way you interact with the auditions secretary. I work to help you choose song extracts that show your best (and it’s not necessarily your loudest or highest), and to sing those extracts to the best of your ability.

Notice I haven’t said what you should sing! Ultimately, in a cattle call your choice of song is less important than how you sing it. I have been on cattle calls where actors singing the weirdest songs have been called back for the next audition, simply because they sang it really well. In a situation like this you want to stack the dice in your favour as much as possible. Take a piece you know really well – that way if nerves strike, and you will still feel secure in your song.

Panels find cattle calls just as horrible as you do, and believe me, they breathe a sigh of relief when someone professional, calm and focused turns up. Normally there are 3 heaps on the casting panel’s desk. Yes, No, Maybe. The only pile you want to be in is the Yes pile.

And if you give a clear, focused, professional performance and follow the rules in this article, you’re much more likely to get to sing in the next round and stay in the Yes pile.

Jeremy Fisher is the author of Successful Singing Auditions, and trains singers and performers to find and maintain their best. For articles, free downloads and information on effective vocal training, check out Vocal Process, the voice training company that’s “revolutionising the way singing is taught” (LINK magazine)
http://www.vocalprocess.co.uk

Preparing for an Audition Part I To Sing or not to Sing that is the Question

How To Pass Your American Idol Audition

The Cattle Call Musicals Audition and How to Deal With it

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