Tips for Audition Success for Students
Teachers – Have you ever dreamed of having a winner in a major competition?
- Ever had a student who constantly failed at auditioning?
- They can sing beautifully, but put them in front of the judges and they crumble to dust.
In this article I outline the pitfalls that can give vocal teachers headaches when things go wrong with their students on the path to success. And how to remedy it.
You translate everything whether mental, physical or emotional into muscular tension. FM Alexander
Note some of the underlying difficulties that flummox teachers….
- When students lack their own unique innate information it leaves the responsibility for success wholly with the teacher.
- Student hears instruction from the teacher and unwittingly misuses it due to their (unconscious) mis-reading of their own body/voice connection.
- Student hears ‘breathe with your diaphragm’ for example or similar direction and turns it in on their own (hard to see) muscle strain and tightness.
- Without understanding their own natural strength, boundaries or body, the student is harder to teach. This can leave the teacher frustrated or worse.
How can you get around these dilemmas?
Here is a story of success.
………..a singer (who is also a singing teacher) came to me for a session, a very successful teacher with many young students.
When I asked her to sing, the first thing I noticed before she even started was her nervousness.
I asked her what was she thinking about as she prepared herself. Her answer was surprising.
She was thinking of all the preparation she had been given to do before she could sing.
And in this process her voice came out without conviction.
She was very amazed when I worked with her gently with a delicate touch here and there; a subtle reminder that re-focussed her purpose; a verbal run-down of the delicate ‘primary control’ – that is the crucial way the head, neck, torso affect her singing.
Her whole voice changed. And so did her demeanour.
We were both very excited!
As teachers, knowing the value of the ‘whole voice’ takes the guess work out of what is going wrong in the student.
Key: It takes the stress out of being a teacher knowing the student grasps their own ‘anatomically’ sturdy voice/body.
Result: More tension free time for the teacher and a more relaxed atmosphere. Once the student has a clear idea of the form and the function of each part of their body it equips them with much needed physical information and gives them the power to direct their own focus in subtle ways and inner areas.
Key: With heightened confidence students audition with ease.
Result: This creates a better climate for the teacher’s practice (and nerves). The studio gets more recognition.
Key: Students learn the skill of learning.
Result: As the teacher sees the student’s confidence climbing, it becomes obvious there is a knock on positive effect to the point that the student is hungry for learning. And the teacher’s efforts are more and more fruitful.
Teacher and student become co-partners in the goal.
Key: The student can articulate better to the teacher.
Result: Both are more empowered. Win – win for all.
3 Things to look for when preparing your student for an audition.
Breathing: When you instruct your student to ‘breathe from your diaphragm’ is it possible the student is tensing while breathing in order to follow your direction?
Ask yourself: Does it cooperate or interfere with my student’s natural design? Or are there hidden clues the student is struggling more than is necessary?
Balance: We are well informed of the need to balance the whole body. Actually the truth is that we balance ourselves instinctively.
However, to check whether this is a ‘good or bad’ balance – observe if the student can be inadvertently gripping the floor with their toes (and unbalancing themselves) in order to make their sound louder, higher or better?
Ask yourself: Do the means justify the ends of your student’s poise/balance?
Posture: What is anxiety doing to your student physically? ‘Posture’ is applied to notice what the student is doing with their outward appearance. We are told “head up, chin back, shoulders back’.
Ask yourself: Is my student able to consciously control this process on an ongoing basis or is it a source of their anxiety?
Gains are of greater innate confidence, auditioning triumphs, higher awards and a better chance at competitions and the best colleges.
My work is helping singers and teachers achieve their goals of success for their themselves and their studios.
More kudos for the teacher.
I love what I do and have been doing it for twenty years. I have designed a free online course to build your knowledge of how best to help your students – beyond what you already know.
Leave your name below if you wish to get the FREE Breathing Made Easy online course plus my regular ideas for improvement.
