The Art of Auditioning

I was reading an article on job interviewing skills. The author said a lot about first impressions, and that in just 4 seconds, a job applicant is sized up with regard to appearance, intelligence, poise, and ability to exude both confidence and willingness to contribute to a team effort. So I started wondering about how those qualities might "fit" into an audition scenario.

In a job interview, the applicant may be given ample opportunity to demonstrate his talent and his potential asset to the company he/she attempting to join. The interview itself may be quite lengthy, cordial, even friendly, even if the interviewer is not impressed and tosses the resume into the trash, once the applicant has left the office. All very civilized!

An audition, while containing some of the elements of a job interview, is very different! You get out there, you begin to sing, and in seconds, not minutes, the loud, bombastic sounds of THANK YOU! (pause) "NEXT?" come barreling up to the stage, stinging your ears and your pride. So what are the elements of a good audition? Upon listening to literally thousands of auditions, I have come up with what I believe to be the 4 basic essential elements:

• Talent
• Confidence
• Musicianship
• Authenticity

Let's take them one at a time.

TALENT
Naturally, if talent is not present and immediately recognized, the audition is a total bust and is terminated instantly! Let's assume that you do have talent and that it's sufficient to warrant this audition. How do you SHOW your talent in the first 4 seconds?

Choose a song that you know blind.

Choose a song that you LOVE!

Choose a song that instantaneously demonstrates your range and vocal quality.

Let the song express YOU and nobody else, (in other words, do NOT imitate anyone).

CONFIDENCE
If you have prepared sufficiently, you should be able to exude confidence in spite of being nervous. Take a deep belly breath before stepping onto the stage and tell yourself that you are wonderful and will do great! Lack of confidence is easy to recognize almost immediately, so the preparation, that is, learning your words and making them your own is vital! Those who hold auditions are fully aware of the "butterflies" syndrome and will make allowances for a performer IF the singer has obviously taken the time to prepare his/her performance. Don't posture! Be yourself!

MUSICIANSHIP
As on "American Idol", many auditions are held "a cappella", which is without a musical accompaniment. If you cannot hold the tune without hearing it played for you, DON'T AUDITION! Get some ear training before you embarrass yourself by not being able to stay on pitch.

AUTHENTICITY
A genuine inner quality that shines through a performance gets immediate attention. I don't know how many auditions I have listened to where the singer was obviously simply trying to impress me rather than being REAL. An artificial performance can really turn me off! One of the things I go into heavily in my E-Book on PROMOTION is the need for a singer to truly KNOW who he/she is in order to demonstrate it to an audience. It takes courage to be YOU, but that is why we perform: to be who we are, warts and all, through our music. And it is this quality that most will instantly CONNECT with the one listening, whether it be a director, producer, or someone in the audience.

Notice I did not mention having an excellent voice as one of the key elements. That is because if your voice is not up to par, you should hold off participating in auditions until your voice is further developed. I wonder about those singers who tried our for "American Idol" last fall, who were totally humiliated and made fun of, first by the judges, and then by the network producers, who continued to air the most awful auditions weeks into the season. Why on earth would a person put him/herself through that? Get your voice into shape before you audition - for anything! We can help!