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It is that time of year again: High School auditions for the Region and State choirs!
The first round for most of my schools is the District audition. It essentially serves as a way to reduce numbers for the Region auditions because there are SO many talented young singers in this area. Just as an example, I believe there were 120 Soprano IIs in the DISTRICT auditions alone last year. However, I have to say that the guys this year really have it rough. For District, the men have two learn two FAST pieces in GERMAN. Normally, there is only one foreign language at District auditions, and it tends to be slow. All my guys find their tongues tied trying to learn these pieces, so here are my handy tips to learn the German selections. 1) Listen to the CD pronunciation. Trying saying each phrase, listen to the CD, and correct any mistakes. Repeat until absolutely confident in your pronunciation. 2) Speak the German in rhythm at gradually faster tempos. This MUST be done at a slow tempo first to ensure no bad habits are created. Gradually increase the tempo until you can speak the piece in the correct tempo without any troubles. 3) THEN, put in the melody. Pitches are ALWAYS the easiest part of the process, so this should go much quicker. There you are! DWS This is going to be long, but I think it is important.
If you have done well in life, I think almost everyone can point to a great teacher, coach, or school administrator who helped them along the way. I had NUMEROUS men and women who helped me along the way, and I am so grateful for their help. Mrs. White - my 2nd grade teacher. I thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world (can a second grader have a crush? ;). She fostered in me a love of reading that has consumed years of my life. Ms. Janey Hall, junior high choir director - the stereotype of an artist - crazy, disorganized, off-the-walls funny. Naturally, as a Type A personality, I loved her immediately. Even though we were opposites, she made choir the greatest class ever, and made junior high bearable. Mrs. Glenda Casey, high school choir director. Even though I only had her for a year (she retired to follow her husband's career), she taught me that you didn't need to be big and powerful to be a strong person. This little lady (and I do mean little) could COMMAND the attention of 50 high schoolers without even trying. Also, a brilliant teacher of music. Counselor in high school: Unfortunately, I only worked with this man once, and cannot remember his name. Most people are surprised that I was bullied quite badly my junior year of high school. Running in crying, he took me into his office, calmed me down, and then proceeded to teach me how to stand up for myself. While I was still the same skinny kid, he taught me that most bullies back down once they see resistance, since they pick on those who aren't willing to defend themselves. And finally, three voice teachers: Dr. Oliver Worthington, Dr. Bruce Cain, and Dr. Timothy Jones - while all valuable in teaching singing, what they taught me outside the classroom was far more valuable. Worthington helped me in the scariest part of my singing career, in which everything seems out of reach. Cain was the model of a kind gentleman that I can only hope to emulate. And to Dr. Jones - perhaps the finest example of what it means to be a professional. To end, I would love to create or find a website where former students could post these tributes. I think teachers (especially in the elementary and junior high schools) often feel undervalued and need to hear that once you get past all the ugly nonsense said in the media, there are a lot of people who love them for their help in forging their characters. DWS The terms vocal coach and voice teacher, theoretically, mean two completely different things. A vocal coach is often a pianist or conductor, with expertise in a specific genre of music, whose sole purpose is to help a singer understand the stylistic requirements of a genre. A vocal coach may or may not give advice on the vocal instrument.
A voice teacher, on the other hand, is interested in improving the voice. A voice teacher does have expertise in a certain area of music, but focuses primarily on the mechanical delivery of the music, not the style. Obviously, the lines are very blurred. Excellent voice teachers will know the style for certain genres of music, as well as dispense acting advice, career advice etc...Visa verse, top-notch vocal coaches will often have a strong understanding of how the voice works and can give strong technical advice. Ultimately, what matters is that the student is getting the advice that he or she needs. DWS One of the primary goals for all my students is to develop a better ear - helping them differentiate between a bright vs. dark sound, a clear vs. breathy sound etc...
There are numerous reasons to develop a singer's ear. First, it makes singers more critical in their listening. Singers can explain why other singers sound different and why they like one singer over another in an objective way. Second, if you can hear different styles of singing, you can start to reproduce and incorporate their stylistic ideas into your own musicianship. And most importantly, a strong ear allows you to hear your voice critically, and allows you to make informed decisions on how to work on a certain technique, high note, etc.... To start developing your ear, pick a genre of music you like. Then pick several singers from that genre and start listing the qualities of their sound. Is it clear, raspy, breathy, strident, nasal, bright, dark? The list goes on and on. Then see how each singer's list differs from the others. By doing this, you start to build a critical ear that will help your own vocal studies. DWS While not as applicable to my female students, I often sing a phrase to my male students in order for them to understand a concept and reproduce it on their own. Oftentimes, students will understand a vocal concept far quicker if they hear the sound, rather then a vocal exercise.
This is one of the primary reasons why you want a voice teacher who performs professionally on a regular basis. If a voice teacher can produce the sounds you want, they PROBABLY can teach them. In music, good teachers don't just teach, they do! DWS Just an update: I will be singing with Masquerade Theater, one of the premier Houston musical theater companies, this coming Fall. The two productions I will be in are Galveston, the musical and My Fair Lady. I do not know the parts yet as the company is on break right now, but I will let you know as soon as I know. I'm excited!
DWS According to many voice pedagogy books, you should not sing when you are sick. While understandable, this advice is simply not practical. There are many times when a singer HAS to sing "under the weather," whether that be an important audition, concert with no backup singer, or demonstrating for your voice students.
That being said, there are some precautions one should take when you are sick and need to sing. 1) Do not practice during the day. Warmup right before the audition, but keep speaking and singing to the absolute minimum. 2) Keep your throat healthy. LOTS of fluids. 3) Try to avoid warming up the highest and lowest part of your range. 4) Focus on breath support while singing. When you are sick, your technique must be superb. Unless you are absolutely hoarse, a bad cold should not prevent you from providing a great sound when you need to sing. DWS Singers have an extraordinary amount of things to think about: pitch, rhythm, acting, movement, and unlike any other musician, WORDS. Singers are the only musician class that are expected to MEMORIZE their music. It is no wonder that singers often forget words during the stress of performance. Here are some quick ways to memorize your music:
1) Write the song lyrics on flashcards(a musical phrase per flashcard seems to work best) 2) Associate lyrics with different colors, emotions, acting goals etc...Our mind works best when given numerous ways to remember. 3) Try speaking your song as a monologue: No music, just the words as if they were part of a play. 4) Focus on the areas where you forget your lyrics. Do not practice the first two minutes over and over, if it is just a line or two in the middle that you forget. 5) When you feel like you are completely memorized, be sure to test yourself by singing in front of a good friend. Performance stress will bring up any weak links in your memory. DWS Most of the time, I pick a student's music by judging their experience, technical needs, and career goals (auditions, college etc...). However, I want to STRONGLY encourage my own students to feel free to bring their own music, or even say to me - "Mr. Smith, I just don't LIKE this piece..."
First, I always try to pick songs that the student likes, simply because it is very difficult to get excited about practicing if you dislike your song! I have hundreds of songs for each voice type, and as I tell my students, I guarantee I will find something for you. It may take me some research, but that's why I went to school for my music degrees! I am never offended or hurt if I student would like a different piece. Second, a voice lesson is not a traditional class setting. In a typical class, the teacher sets the curriculum. In a voice lesson, teachers LOVE for their students to get excited about a certain piece of music and want to work on it during lessons. Voice lessons can and must be tailored to each student's technical needs, musical preferences, and goals. Nothing makes me happier than to see my students take ownership of their lessons and musical education. DWS As a member of the NFHS Music Association, I get a publication every now and then that has ideas for teaching music and inspirational pieces. The latest issue had a reprint of a speech given by Dr. Karl Paulnack to the freshmen class of Boston Conservatory. I am not the crying type, but after reading his speech, I could barely keep my emotions in check - this welcome address is THAT powerful. Rather than try to sum up his words, I'm including the link below to the full speech...it is so worth a few minutes.
Dr. Karl Paulnack's "Music and How it Works" |
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