The Happy Musician

We are veering from our normal schedule today because this afternoon is the Polk All-County Chorus Audition for 6-12 graders, and Vocal Quality for Florida All-State Chorus is fast approaching. We have touched on some of these before but it is always good to go back and review. Here are some dos and don’ts for any audition:

1. DO walk into the audition room confidently and with purpose. The judges don’t want to see self-doubt; they want to see professionalism. What may help is to pray, do some deep breathing exercises, etc. before you go into the audition room.
2. DON’T fantasize about worst-case scenarios. Focus on doing your best. If you don’t hit that one high note that has been messing you up every time you practice, that’s okay – as long as you tried your best. That brings us to #3.
3. DON’T show emotion when you mess up. Part of being a professional is looking the part, so if you mess up, keep going and don’t make a face.
4. DO stand up straight. Standing up straight looks good, but it feels good, too. In order to breathe the correct way, your shoulders must be back and your sternum lifted. You cannot slouch over, as that prevents your ribcage from expanding as you breathe.
5. DO dress appropriately. Dress in whatever your school dress code requires. Jewelry may be allowed in an audition, but is almost never permitted in performances.
6. DON’T be stressed out. Stressing can lead to worst-case scenarios, so if you want to succeed, picture yourself succeeding. I guarantee your audition will go ten times better if you visualize yourself doing your best and then try to copy the image in your mind in front of the actual judges.
7. DO warm up. If you don’t, your voice will be “cold”, and you won’t perform as well as you would have if you’d warmed up. That doesn’t mean to over-sing, which can cause damage to your voice.
8. DO be prepared. It sounds cliche, but it is so important to come to the audition with your scale and audition piece ready.
9. DO get a good sleep the night before the audition. If you are well-rested, you will certainly perform better.
10. DO drink plenty of water. Your voice needs to stay healthy, and to do that it needs water. Hydrate regularly throughout the day. Don’t drink milk or eat anything with dairy prior to the audition, as it thickens mucous in your throat and can cause your singing to come out unclear as a result.

Take these dos and don’ts and make sure to do your best in your audition. Hope to see you at Polk All-County Chorus Auditions this afternoon!

Please let me know if I missed anything above, or if there is some other content (not studies) that you would like to see. If the video posts aren’t working, please comment and I will do my best to troubleshoot. Thanks so much!

Cover photo by Erkan Utu