Millersville University

Important Dates

ENTRY DEADLINE: Friday, September 7, @ 4:30 p.m.
AUDITIONS: Sunday, September 16, @ 9 am; Student Memorial Center
ROUND 1: Sunday, September 23, @ 2 p.m.; Lyte Auditorium, Alumni Hall
Semi-Finals: Sunday, September 30, @ 2 p.m.; Lyte Auditorium, Alumni Hall
Finals: Friday, October 12, @ 8 p.m.; Lyte Auditorium, Alumni Hall

Tips for Singing Audition

"Protecting your voice with healthy lifestyle choices and properly warming up your voice is crucial to contestants who want to ace the auditions"

The below is a compilation of information gleaned from several documents, including notes from Jan Smith who offers the following tips from her book and CD, So You Wanna Sing Rock ‘n Roll:

Protect your voice by avoiding alcohol and caffeine: Both alcohol and caffeine dehydrate your body, and can make your throat dry, sore and scratchy. Your voice needs to be hydrated to stay functional. Instead, drink tea (Smith recommends Throat) and be sure to drink it at room temperature–NOT hot. Lemon water or plain water are also good choices. Lemon acts as an astringent and can also help clear your throat of mucous.
Watch what you eat: Avoid cheese, dairy, and spicy foods before you sing, and do not eat a large meal before auditioning. Good singers sing from their diaphragm; if your stomach is too full, you will have a hard time breathing well. Eating whole organic foods such as fruits, whole grain vegetables, and nuts will help keep your voice in shape.
Wear comfortable clothes: You'll be waiting in long lines, standing and sitting, and finally auditioning. Wear something that you feel good in and that you can move in---you don't want to be worrying about uncomfortable shoes or clothing.
Know what to do if you get stage fright: Stage fright or performance anxiety is common among the most seasoned performers. Tension can make your throat feel tight and prevent you from singing your best. If you get nervous, try this exercise: Squeeze your hands into very tight fists and hold for 10 seconds. Next, tense up your toes and curl them under for 10 seconds. This can help "move" your tension to your fingers and toes, which is better than having the tension in your throat. You can also use pressure points in your body to alleviate tension–specifically in the center upturned palms, the center of your chin, and the space directly under your nose/above your upper lip. Simply press each point with your fingertip and hold for 10-15 seconds, and then move to the next pressure point. Remember to breathe deeply and slowly throughout these exercises.
Practice breath control: Breathing properly is crucial to maintaining a strong singing voice. Try this exercise: buy a bag of balloons and work to be able to inflate a balloon in one breath. It will take practice but this exercise will help you build breath and lung stamina. Singers should also try a deep-breathing regimen: inhale for one count, hold the breath for four counts, and then exhale for two counts. Repeat this ten times. This exercise helps increase lung capacity, which helps you hold your notes longer. It also increases your control over your breath, which gives your singing voice a more stable sound.
Remember to warm up and cool down: Just as athletes warm up their bodies before a game, singers need to warm up their voices before they perform. Try these two exercises: first, hiss like a snake. Be sure to emphasize the "s" at the end. This helps with breath control. Next, buzz like a bee: make a buzzing sound, emphasizing the "zzzzzzzzz". Do these exercises for one to two minutes. After your audition, remember to cool down. When you sing, you're opening up your voice. Begin cooling down your voice immediately after you perform. Try the "falsetto to chest hum". Using your "Mickey Mouse" voice, close your mouth and hum softly down a scale, starting at the top of your range. Do this several times but don't push – be gentle. Next, try the "backward sigh". With your mouth opened or closed, start in your falsetto voice and slide your voice down slowly, ending in a sigh.
Stay clean and rested: If you think you can party all night long and sing well the next day, think again. Drugs, cigarettes, and alcohol will affect the way you sing at your audition. Taking care of your body is imperative if you want to take care of your voice.

Other Tips:

Be In Good Voice. If you haven't sung in a while, you can't expect to go into an audition and perform well. Singing every day (or very close to it) is essential for keeping your voice healthy and strong. It's a great idea to look over the score (if you can find it), or listen to the CD, and start singing songs several weeks ahead of the performances. If you're so sick you have a fever, or can hardly sing, don't put yourself (and everyone else!) through an audition. If you just have a cold or allergies, you may decide to audition anyway, especially if it's for a show you're dying to be in.
Prepare your audition material. Find a few songs, memorize them—but pick AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. Do not wait until a week or two before the audition. Learn that song. Choose a song that's similar in style and range to what you can perform. Always give yourself plenty of time to learn your audition material; a week or a few days just won't cut it. You may wish to rehearse with a pianist. If you make a mistake while singing, do not stop! An audition is like a performance; just keep plowing ahead, and do not let your face or body language reveal the fact that you've made a mistake. Know your lyrics and your music; do not hold a cheat sheet or the sheet music. If the audition notice requests a song of a particular length, don't sing anything longer than that. Have the section of song you want to sing picked out in advance. Even if there are no restrictions on length, don't sing a long song. Something 2 to 3 minutes is just fine; any longer, and you may get fidgety judges.

Although this may seem obvious, choose a song that suits you. Many singers do not. Record yourself singing the song long before the audition, so that you can say to yourself: "Gee, this up tempo song just doesn't show my ability to dramatize," or "Hmm, this ballad doesn't show off my range." In general, weak singers tend to do better with an up tempo song—as long as they have decent rhythm. Strong singers will usually do best with a ballad, because it will show off their musical and acting ability. (But just because it's a ballad, it doesn't have to be all "soft." In fact, at an audition, you want to energize the directors and get them enthused about your singing. It's difficult to do this with a song that is sung softly the entire way through.)
Enter with confidence. Believe it or not, the way you walk into the audition can either make a great impression on the judges, or a very bad one. Keep good posture (shoulders back!), your chin at a natural level, don't stare at the floor. Walk with confidence, even when you're terrified.
Don't apologize. This goes along with having confidence. Never tell them you don't know the song well, or the show well, or that you're not in good voice today, etc. Because what that really tells them is that you don't care enough about your craft—or about their show—to prepare properly.
Dress Well. Dress for an audition the way you'd dress for a nice date. In general, avoid jeans and sweatshirts, and don't dress in an evening gown, either. Don't wear clothes that are so big and floppy nobody can tell whether or not you have a beer gut. Don't wear uncomfortable shoes, or something that's too tight; that's the last thing you need when you're already nervous. Don't go overboard with cleavage or legs—you should still be in good taste.)
Be friendly. You don't want to be overly talkative (auditions take a long time, and everyone wants to be done as soon as possible), but you shouldn't be antisocial, either. Smile and be personable. The judges want to know they'll be spending the next few weeks with people that are easy to get along with. Although you want to be friendly with the other auditionees, avoid conversation in the auditioning room, and don't get so engrossed in chit–chat that you end up having no time to center yourself and concentrate before you audition.
Sing out Louise. When you sing, just stand there and sing. Never do choreography or blocking to accompany your song. (An exception to this might be the pop singer who has dancing as an integral part of their act.) Don't wander around the stage. Use hand and arm movements only if they are natural. This is no time to be shy, so sing out, as if you were giving a performance. And, just like a performance, don't forget to feel your song. Good acting is vital to good singing.
Keep your hands out of your pockets.
Turn off your cell phone, pager, watch alarm, etc.
Be flexible. Don't complain or make apologies; just try to do your best when the judges ask something of you. If you're asked to sing a different song, or the same song with a different attitude, take just a moment to consider how you'll do this, and then go for it.
Be patient. Auditions are, unfortunately, a long grueling process.
Don't be afraid to ask questions. Don't make yourself a pain in the behind, however.

Jan Smith is one of the nation's preeminent vocal coaches, working with more charting artists than any other coach. She is one of the few vocal producers/coaches ever credited on multi-platinum selling recordings, and since 2000 has been a trustee for the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS). Smith has been featured with Usher on MTV's hit reality show, Duets as well as Ciara on BET. She has six critically-acclaimed albums to her credit and has been recognized with numerous local, regional and national awards for her songwriting and performance. To help beginning singers succeed, Smith recently released her new book and audio CD package "So You Wanna Sing Rock ‘n Roll, the definitive guide to performing success. It offers tips for vocalists and hip vocal warm-up and cool-down routine on CD. For more information, please visit www.jansmith.com