Monthly Archives: August 2013

Do I Have What It Takes?

Articles, Career, Classical Singing, Non-Classical Singing, Performing

So you want to be the next big thing, the singer everyone’s talking about. Or maybe you just want to improve your chances of being able to make a living doing what you love – singing. There are three basic areas where you will need to evaluate yourself and set some goals. They are musical ability, personality and opportunities.The first musical element to consider is Voice. Do you really have the range and kind of sound that your style of music calls for? If you have a pleasing folk sound and want to be an opera singer, then you have to ask yourself (and your teacher) if it’s possible for you to get from point A to point B. Quality of voice is very important for the classical singer, as is volume, since they generally sing without amplification. If you have a classical sound and want to sing heavy metal, we may have a problem.Do you have the truly special, one of a kind voice that gets noticed? It’s very possible that you sing jazz quite nicely, but if there isn’t something unique about your voice, you may have a strike against you. That’s okay, though. Forge ahead through the other  considerations. It may be that good-but-not-unique will work for you in the right place and time.

Another musical element is Musicality. It encompasses the shapes of phrases and the putting across of a style correctly, as well as Expressiveness, or the ability to act with your voice. Do people notice what you’re saying and feeling, or do they just notice your voice
(or mannerisms, or something else)? Do you touch them with your singing? There
are different ways to do this, depending on the musical style, but it is most important, of course, to the musical theater actor/singer.

What are the elements of personality that relate to making a career in performing? You must have a Presence which commands the stage, that says, “I’m the soloist and I really know what I’m doing. You don’t want to miss a thing I sing or do.” You also need a Look, especially in popular music. If you sing rock, it’s best to develop a “Notice me” style
that’s sort of outrageous. There’s the wild hair and the funky outfit to consider, and maybe a walk, a dance move or a pose. Which isn’t to say that a producer somewhere along the way won’t want to change it all. But at least you got noticed.

Opportunities may be the area you can influence the least. Boldness helps, as you will need to approach people and create your own opportunities. A Tough Skin and Persistence are essential, or you won’t go through with that 37th audition. Location is important, so you’d better be willing to move. If no one in your town likes the music you
are committed to doing, you may not get those all-important first gigs, which give you experience and connections. And if you’re not Willing to Travel, you limit your possibilities later on, when a tour would be just the thing to get your career charged up. A positive Attitude that’s easy to work with is one way to get someone to recommend you, and believe me, the people with hiring power do talk to each other. And hopefully you’ll have a lot of Luck, but there’s no way to know that at the beginning. Better plan on making your
own.

Auditioning for Musical Theater

Articles, Career, Non-Classical Singing, Performing, Theater, ,
When participating in the fun of a music theater audition, expect to sing your prepared song, then read some sections of the script, and dance. Study the audition announcement closely for any information that may help you. To choose an appropriate song, you should have some idea of the characters that interest you. To read from the script well, you should know the story and understand what this character is like, so when preparing for a
musical audition, research the show.You may be tempted to think you know a show because you have seen the movie, but it could be significantly different from the script. Sometimes a whole character is cut, or reduced to nothing, or the keys have been changed. Occasionally your favorite song from the film is not in the stage show. So it is best to see the show done live, or to read the script. Unfortunately, scripts for musicals, unlike those for most “straight” shows, are
rarely available. You might find a summary in Best Plays, a yearly collection of theatrical works.

Note: I am writing about auditioning for amateur and high school productions. Standards for your dance audition at a professional theater may be much higher.

The Song

  • Your song should be a musical theater piece, and fairly energetic. Slow ballads don’t make as good an impression as something you can act. But an old song that’s comfortable and strong for you is a better choice than a new one, even if it is slow and romantic.
  • If you are auditioning for the part of the Reverend Mother in The Sound of Music, you shouldn’t be singing “I’m just a girl who cain’t say no”! Remember you have to show the directors that you look and sound like that character you want to play.
  • The song may be from the show being done, unless the directors have specified otherwise.
  • There is usually an accompanist at the audition, ready to sight read your music. Have everything clearly marked. (Ritards, cuts, etc.) Real music is much preferred over copies. It’s permissible to take a moment before you start to give the accompanist a tempo. And do thank him/her when you’re done.
  • You may be cut short. If there are many people auditioning, the directors may only want to hear 16 measures from each person. (Very likely when auditioning for a professional production.)
  • Have the piece memorized. Lee piece memorized. Learn it well in advance and
    do some staging.
  • In community theater you can sometimes see the other auditioners perform, a very educational experience. You should be considerate of others. Be quiet when they sing, applaud if it is allowed. (Sometimes applause is frowned on, because an audition is not a concert.)
  • Don’t be one of the people who walks in and says, “I didn’t prepare a song. Umm, can I just sing Happy Birthday?” This makes a terrible impression, and usually these people sing poorly. The bosses listening to you will not want to work with someone who doesn’t work, doesn’t prepare, doesn’t seem to care.

 

Reading

After singing your song you will be asked to read from the script. Read through the script before the audition, if at all possible, but if you haven’t been able to read it, you may ask who this character is that you’ve been assigned to read. You may also ask about the context of the excerpt – what came before it. Read LOUDLY and slowly enough to be understood. Think about how that character would say it. Read with conviction and
panache. Your audition will come across as flat and uninteresting if you don’t take a chance and really go for the extreme side of the person you’re portraying, especially if it’s a
wonderful wacky crazy, like Miss Hannigan in Annie, or Ado Annie in Oklahoma. Really go off the deep end on these, because you look silly if you don’t.

Dancing

Some musical auditions include dancing. The audition announcement should say whether or not you will have to dance. A few steps will be taught to the auditioning actors in groups, and the directors will watch to see who learns it quickly, and who looks graceful. Be aware that singing and reading are often much more important, and having trouble on the dance will not necessarily put you out of consideration for a part, unless it is a heavily
dance role. Obviously, you should be a confident dancer before setting your sights on such a part.

For more information on the audition process and preparation for it, look for the book Auditioning for the Musical Theatre, by Fred Silver. It has a lot of good suggestions, and a wonderful list of unusual audition pieces.

 

Alexander Technique

The Vocal Instrument,
Alexander Technique is about posture, but the word posture tends to imply something static. Alexander is more like how to use your body more efficiently. The practitioners don’t generally use the word “relax”, but everything they want you to achieve feels easy and fluid.
The teachers make subtle suggestions of changes you could make or a different
way to understand some joint or relationship in your body. Then they gently put
their hands on you and talk you through some more ideas, and suddenly you feel
completely different – like you’re in someone else’s skin! I think of it as what the chiropractor would want you to do every day in order to avoid the things you need a chiropractor for. (Pain, limited range of movement, fatigue, etc..)F. M. Alexander, the originator, was an actor who was frustrated by losing his voice. He searched for answers and found nothing that helped, so by observing himself in a mirror and studying anatomy, he came up with some revolutionary ideas about the use of the body.Alexander’s most central concept is the lengthening of the spine, particularly in the neck region. You know about that already: Don’t crunch the back of your neck so your chin goes out or up. The Alexander concept of lengthening may not always agree with the singer’s previous concept of posture, so it took me several days of a workshop just to get the basic feel of it.In short, Alexander practitioners suggest that the way most singers lift the sternum is actually a shortening or crunching together of the spine, which they would call “pulled down.” You may feel the tension between your should blades (and a little lower) when you’re “standing up straight.” That’s what they are referring to. Letting the sternum
ride lower and letting the entire torso breathe was a strange new experience for
me.So when I’m throwing out strange ideas in a lesson that sound the opposite of what you thought was “correct,” I’m trying to give you the experience of some new feelings. We might find something that results in an exciting new freedom and tone quality for you.If you want to learn more about The Alexander Technique, visit these sites:

www.life.uiuc.edu/jeff/alextech.html
www.pedrodealcantara.com (A site that specifically addresses Alexander principles for the musician)

www.openspacesatwest.com  (Dr. Larry Hensel, who is also a voice teacher!)

 

List of Articles

Articles

Auditioning and Performing

Communicating With Your Audience

Mental Aspects of Performing

The Healthy Singer

Miscellaneous

Practice

 Vocal Anatomy

Vocal Exercises

Singing Technique

Exploring Music History