Duetting with a stranger

Going back to working with the pianist in an audition (or duetting with a stranger as I called it in the Successful Singing Auditions book). Did you know that it takes only 10 seconds to give a professional audition pianist the speed and feel of your piece? If you've got a complicated song with lots of "map-reading" (several verses, repeats from the beginning etc) then it could take 15 seconds, but no more.

As an audition pianist I am very experienced both in playing for other people and (usually) in the type of repertoire of the audition. I usually know the song you want to sing (or something by the same composer, so I have the style in my ear anyway), and just need to know your version - the exact speed and feel that you want, and if you are doing any cuts.

Incidentally, I do differentiate between speed and feel - one is tempo, and the other is the swing or emotion that underlies the piece - does the tempo drive or is it laid back. I cover this in more detail in the book or on the Successful Singing Auditions course.

Audition speak 1

Driving home from Cheshire we are listening to Desert Island Discs. Renee Fleming is talking about her career and the setbacks she has suffered. It is a relief to hear that someone at the very top of her field has been ignored, overlooked, or just got it plain wrong.

There was a lovely description of auditioning; she believed as a young singer that in an audition she had to sing difficult arias to prove that she was worth employing. In particular, in one audition for the Metropolitan Opera, she offered Pamina's aria from Mozart's Magic Flute having only started learning it the week before. As the panel grimaced and her colleagues sat with their head in their hands, she realised that "The real object of an audition is to go in and do what you do best."

Hurrah! So many singers I have worked with carry the same negative view of auditions - that you must sing something difficult to show that you are "worth employing". But if you think about it from an employer's perspective, (s)he will want someone who can do the job right now with ease, someone who is on top of the task. Not someone who might be able to sing the role once a week, or in a year's time - employing someone like this would be putting the show at risk. I cover this whole topic in more detail both in the Successful Singing Auditions book and the Successful Singing Auditions course we are running next weekend (see previous blog).

Successful Singing Auditions

Our Successful Singing Auditions course is running in a few days time (Sunday April 23rd).

I love this course - it's such fun to do We work with participants on what an audition is there to do, what a singer's job in it actually is, what the panel needs from each singer, and how to make an audition work for you. . So much rubbish is talked about auditions. Singers believe that they can choose what the panel might want them to sing (you can't, and the panel wouldn't tell you anyway, it's not their job).

None of this is actually rocket science, but it IS a result of having been involved in more than 8,500 West End auditions. We include simple but essential information like how to give the pianist the speed you really want, or how to choose repertoire for yourself and for the audition.

We designed this course to be practical, fun and to get results, and our previous participants have had some startling results. One got an agent a week after the course, another got a great singing job having not succeeded in getting past the first round for years, others have got places in colleges and on graduate courses, and most of our singers have got further in the recall process, because they (finally) understand what is required of them.