“Music is the fluid architecture of sound.”
–Roy Ellsworth Harris 1982.
Auditioning for Talent Shows - Why Study Singing?
Before I was a recording artist, I was a voice teacher and vocal coach for many years and even wrote a workbook for voice. I have also been a judge for musical theatre, opera, and talent auditions. I am currently working with some young singers who have dreams of winning such a talent competition.
I have been reflecting back on singers who audition for America’s Got Talent and tank their performance by not being completely prepared and/or by singing off-pitch and out of rhythm. Just because you sing in your house and love the song doesn’t mean you are prepared enough to take that onto a large stage for an audition. I don’t know about you, but I think the goal of auditioning is to win. Just like an Olympic Athlete, if you want to win and/or at the very least place, you need to bring your “A” game. With many singers who audition, they don’t know what their “A” game is. They don’t have any idea that just loving a song and singing it decently isn’t enough to win. That is what this article is about…the steps for preparing for a successful audition.
Get a Professional Opinion
Singing is like speaking only vowels are held out with added pitches. Because of this, anyone with normal hearing and speaking can “sing.” The beauty and clarity of the “singing” depends on the artistry and ability of the performer. If you are serious about making an audition count, try seeking out a vocal coach for an honest and professional opinion about your singing. Not only can they provide information about your voice, but can also provide tips and tricks for making the most of your artistry and help you polish your singing voice and performance. Long-term or just a few sessions to get you through an audition– how much time you spend at a vocal coach is up to you. Any amount of time is better than none and can help take your ability up a notch and give you honest perspective of your voice.
Preparing Songs
Shows like America’s Got Talent only give you 90 seconds for the initial audition and some auditions are from MySpace and YouTube. In any case, you have to make those 90 seconds count. I have judged similar competitions before and there are some things you must do to be prepared.
- Judges Want to See and Hear You. It drives judges crazy when singers audition with music that has another artist already singing on the recording. Get a karaoke version or sing acapella (without accompaniment) if you must, but do not sing along with another singer on the recording.
- Edit to the Best 90. If you don’t know how to edit recordings, maybe the vocal coach or a friend can help, but you need to narrow your audition music to the best section of the song that shows off your voice and showmanship. The judges do not want a singer who comes to an audition in which the majority of the 90 seconds is the instrumental introduction to or interlude within the song! (I suppose the exception would be if you were accompanying yourself on guitar or piano and this showed off your ability on your instrument.)
- Choices. You should have at least three songs (edited to the best 90) completely prepared. You never know when a judge might ask you to try something different. You should always be prepared.
- The Right Song. Just because Beyoncé can do it, doesn’t mean you should. Be sure your song selection reflects your ability to perform a song. If you aren’t sure, check with a vocal coach.
- Practice Everywhere. Your audition will likely be on a large stage or large room. If you have not heard what your voice sounds like in such a room with sound equipment, you may need to get out and try similar venues. I highly recommend this as a means to getting used to your voice in these settings. Some community centers have large rooms and some with small stages to practice on. You can ask to practice on-stage at a local college, university, or after school at a public school. Some singers practice in a large sanctuary of a church or in a gymnasium. The idea is to find several large rooms and stages to practice on so you are used to hearing your own voice in such a place.
- Practice Makes Progress. Perfection is not what you are after. What you want is to be able to sing all your “best 90’s” by heart without having to rely on lyric sheets or stumbling over lyrics. You should also have any facial expression and subtle movement down as well.
Don’t Stand Still.
Please use facial expression and move a little. If you are serious about going all the way in a competition of this magnitude, you need to already be practicing moving and dancing when singing. The movement needs to be appropriate and timely to the song. If you do not know what that is, you will need to speak to your vocal or acting coach. As a general rule, ballads are to be sung with the eyes up looking towards the back of the theatre. The eyes need to be expressive, so visualizing what is taking place and meaning of the song is a good place to start.
What’s Your Story?
The judges may ask about you and you should have rehearsed or otherwise prepared information about yourself. Why should it be rehearsed? People get nervous and sometimes answer something they wish they could have answered better. So, I recommend having that “better” already prepared in advance. Be sure your story expresses your authentic self, interests, and passion for performing.
What Does it Mean to You?
Judges often ask what winning such a competition means to the performer. Because the auditioner is not prepared with an answer, we often hear “It means everything.” A blanket statement like “everything” is lame. Answer the question with an intelligent and authentic answer. Example, “It means that what I envisioned for myself and my life is coming true.” “It means that my father can finally see how much those lessons really meant to me.” “It means that I really can sing just like my mom always believed I could. Thanks mom.”
Graciousness.
Regardless of your socio-economic background or upbringing, you must adopt a core understanding and use of “social niceties.” This means that the general public and judges will be watching and voting, and you need to appeal to them through utilizing manners. You do need to say “Thank You” and show respect and gratitude for their time and attention to your performance and listen if they have something to critique about your performance. Usually, if a judge bothers to critique aloud at all, it is because they see something in you. This is a compliment not a personal insult, so please be gracious by acknowledging it. “Thank you for that information. I will definitely try that.”
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There is much more to stay on this subject and definitely more in detail. Maybe I will write a series on this topic. More about that later.
| Suzanna Reeves www.neutrinomusic.com Suzanna has been a voice coach and sound recording on computers since the advent of home digital recording. She has founded her own record label, recorded and published music, and event produced audio dramas and podcasts. Twitter me- @suzannareeves Subscribe to Neutrino Music Articles |
Tags: america's got talent, auditioning, talent shows, voice training
The word “organic” is used quite a bit these days. We hear it in business as “organic growth” and now we hear it with regard to music recording and podcasting. The term “organic” has come to refer to something that is natural, authentic, and has core value. For example, the “organic growth” in business refers to true expansion in the central core of the company not inflated increases from outside venues or other sources.
According to the online urban dictionary , “organic music” is music that has a core sound and tone that is natural by use of acoustic instruments and vocals. This definition went on to elaborate about “organic music resonating positive vibes” or something to that effect. As musicians, the music industry cautions us to be “more organic.” However, in this digital age, recording music in a home studio on a PC via Audacity or Adobe Audition by its very definition is digital. The sound is stored in a system of ones and zeros. Musicians can record short segments and easily repeat these sections by copying and pasting multiple times. Drums can be manufactured on keyboards or can be made completely inside a computer by using software. Most indie musicians use electronic keyboards, drum machines, and software for instrumentation when recording. These “resonating vibrations” though, are merely recreations from a computer.
Indie musicians are branching out into selling their music to film and television (i.e. sync licensing). This leads to wondering how modern indie recording musicians can obtain an organic music texture?
TROUBLE WITH QUANTIZATION
Quantizing is a digital software adjustment that can move beats to equal other beats. So if a beat is slightly off, it can be snapped perfectly into place. The same can be used for vocals that are slightly flat or sharp by adjusting the pitch. Anyone doing their own recording and mixing has their own techniques for editing and layering tracks. However, something that I noticed early on with quantizing beats in my instruments was when listening back, some instrumental sounds were canceled out. The aural threshold of human hearing is limited, so by aligning every single instrument to an exact beat meant that the listener wasn’t hearing everything that was intended. This aural phenomenon means that only a few sounds can exist in the same space at the same time. I also noticed that if two instruments had similar timbres or tones, one of them might be canceled out aurally.
Maybe this “organic music” direction has a slightly different meaning? Maybe it means “less perfect?”
ORGANIC SYMPHONIC
Let’s compare this to a symphony orchestra or choir where you have multiple musicians playing together at the same time. The orchestra has a thick acoustic sound which fulfills the definition “organic music.” If all the musicians are playing at the same time how can we hear the various instruments? There are a few factors that make this possible. The musicians are playing at the same time, but no two people can place precisely note for note at the exact time like a computer can. This fraction of a millisecond difference when each musician puts their bow to the string can be multiplied by all the musicians playing. This produces a thickness to the sound texture of orchestras and choirs.
Another reason for being able to hear the various instruments is due to the timbre of the individual instruments or choir voices. No two violins or voices have the exact same tone or vibrato. This variance allows human hearing to differentiate between sounds.
An additional reason for variance is the use of multiple ranges of notes. Orchestras have first and second violins, violas, cellos, and multitude of other instruments playing different notes in different octaves.
The last reason is where the musicians reside in the linear plane of hearing. For example, violins are heard more to the left, cellos basses are heard more to the right, and woodwinds are more central. This is a result of where they are seated in the orchestra during a performance and where a listener would commonly hear them from the audience.
APPLYING THIS
Knowing this information can be vital in providing a more organic sound to recordings.
Instrumentation- If you are using more than one type of the same instruments like guitars from a keyboard or digital strings, try using completely two different textures. You can even adjust one to be more treble sounding than the other. If you are adding a digital woodwind or flute of some type, add in the vibrato. If you are using multiple instruments, use different octave ranges and divergent notes within the chord structure of the song.
Panning - Use the pan feature and place instruments left center, another center, another right center, etc. This allows the listener to hear the individual instruments. If you are a band but want to achieve a chamber orchestra sound, place the orchestra how you would hear them live – violins on the left, viola left center, cello/bass more to the right. Place these instruments more to the “back” by using reverb while placing your guitar, bass, and vocals more up front.
Quantizing – By all means, quantize your rhythm and drums and a few of the instruments. In other cases, play the instruments all the way through the song and allow for that millisecond variance, as if multiple musicians were playing at the same time.
Timbres – Add a real voice, real percussion, or real other instrument along with your recording. If you are using the digital “ah’s” in a song from a keyboard, get a real person to sing along with them. Adding in live actual sounds goes along way to making the recording more organic.
All the Way Through - I will use quantization to make drum tracks or basic percussion tracks and bass tracks. The rest I play live, all the way through. It is a challenge to do this and requires practice. The end result is that you can achieve a sound of multiple musicians even if you are recording by yourself.
“Music is a form of emotional communication, and when an instrument is played by a skilled performer, it can conduct that emotion from composer, through performer to listener.
But when machines are allowed to have too much influence, then that emotional connection is broken. Yes, the notes, rhythms and timbres remain, but the subtleties that make music truly involving are lost. Non-organic music does often start with good DNA (to continue the analogy), but then it goes through the machine process and is liberally treated with pesticides (quantization) before being packaged and sold to the public.” – Audio Masterclass
| Suzanna Reeves www.neutrinomusic.com Suzanna has been sound recording on computers since the advent of home digital recording. She has founded her own record label, recordedand published music and produced audio dramas and podcast. Anyone with the right knowledge and tools can do it. Subscribe today! Twitter me- @suzannareeves Subscribe to Neutrino Music Articles |
Tags: instrumentation, music industry, organic music, panning, quantizing
PODCASTING – Interviews
It all depends on the scope and range of your projects. If you are just starting out with the idea of hosting your own Podcast and have a limited or no budget, then you only need a few items to start out. This set up would be for a Podcaster who is interested in interviewing or talking to other people via telephone conferencing.
- USB microphone/headset
- Skype (if you are doing interviews)
- Free version of recording software like Pretty May (Basic).
PODCASTING –Sit Alones
If you are interested in stepping up your recording quality for a Podcast where you are speaking alone or with someone in the same room, the Snowball Microphone has been a favorite USB microphone for this purpose. The Snowball can be purchased as a set complete with a stand and shock mount.
You may want to step up the recording capabilities of your computer or introduce multitracking to add music or sound effects. The following are sound recording software ideas:
- Audacity (free/donation) Recording Software
- Garageband (for Mac Users)
- Adobe Audition (The software I use)
DRAMAS and SINGING
If you plan on doing more voice acting and/or are entertaining the idea of having people read for you or do any singing, this requires a different set-up. Singers and voice actors generally like to stand (for breath support) at a music stand to read or sing their lines with the microphone hanging over their heads ala studio style. My studio is set up for standing at a music stand to read or sing. I use a Studio Condenser Microphone in a shock mount with pop/hiss screen and use a vocal/microphone preamp to maximize volume when recording via my secondary USB recording sound card.
MUSICIANS STORE vs. COMPUTER STORE
I would offer that the musician world has a great deal more options with regard to recording than a traditional PC/MAC/Podcast store where the mark-up may be significantly more. You may want to check out a place like Musicians Friend to compare pricing.
| Suzanna Reeves www.neutrinomusic.com Suzanna has been sound recording on computers since the advent of home digital recording. She has founded her own record label, recordedand published music and produced audio dramas and podcast. Anyone with the right knowledge and tools can do it. Subscribe today! Follow me- @suzannareeves |
Tags: Adobe Audition, audacity, Musicians Friend, podcasting, Skype, snowball
SELLING YOUR INDIE MUSIC FOR FILM AND TV
How to sell/license your indie music for film, television, and more. This DIY Musician Article comes from information provided by CD Baby DIY Musician Podcast (Episode 23 & 24).
Sync Licensing
This term is also called synchronization and refers to when original music is used in other media such as film, television, commercials, games, etc. This use of music requires a license called a “sync” license and there is a variety of types depending on the media production using the music.
Independent musicians are able to sell these sync licenses through companies that specialize in providing music to media. Many people have mentioned that my music would be perfect for films, shows, and games, so I have thought about doing this. Interestingly, CD Baby , as with other online music distributors, offers this as a part of their distribution service.
Latch Key Kid mentioned another company on the Podcast, Experience Records . Latch Key Kid had some other interesting thoughts, he said it was important to hold onto your publishing rights so you profit the most from your royalties. He also stated that in this rich Sync Licensing market we are in, this offers more money making ways for DIY musicians than ever before. He would know as his music was featured in the Coke commercial during the Super Bowl. Way to go!
Both the kid and the hosts agreed that you need to brand yourself with a great name, mystery, and character to help to set your music apart.
| Suzanna Reeves www.neutrinomusic.com Suzanna has been sound recording on computers since the advent of home digital recording. She has founded her own record label, recordedand published music and produced audio dramas and podcast. Anyone with the right knowledge and tools can do it. Subscribe today! Follow me- @suzannareeves |
Tags: Cd Baby Diy Musician Podcast, commercial music, experience records, Film Music, latch key kid, Sync Licensing
Some people are using the free audio recording software such as Audacity or Garageband to do their sound recordings. How do I add background sounds or music under the voice?
To add sound effects or back ground sounds, you would need to start another track running at the same time (multitracking). I use Adobe Audition so you will need to find the similar menu in your software, but would be something like Insert/AudioTrack or Generate/AudioTrack. You can also generically add another track by Insert/Audio then cull through a list of sound/music files on your computer for the back ground.
Once that file is inserted, I found that I make a copy of it (save as) so I can keep the original file intact. In order for the sound to be “behind” the other voices, the volume needs to be lowered and “reverb” added. I have a reverb setting that is called “Backstage” that has some faders and other adjusters on it that allow me to make it waaaay in the back or “outdoors.”
| Suzanna Reeves www.neutrinomusic.com Suzanna has been sound recording on computers since the advent of home digital recording. She has founded her own record label, recordedand published music and produced audio dramas and podcast. Anyone with the right knowledge and tools can do it. Subscribe today! Follow me- @suzannareeves |
Doing What You Love – Voice Acting/Recording
- Start building “content” to your portfolio by doing what you love. Aurally Dramatizing small segments for a podcast or get started on audio content of your own.
- Audio dramas and commercials – think like an animated feature. If you close your eyes, you can see all the action and energy independent of the animation. You can fully understand what is happening in the show without seeing it. The animation just adds a picture to the sound, not the other way around.
- Pick a Podcast and Volunteer. Even though they get great stuff for free, you get to add all the work you do for them to a portfolio and other people contact you for jobs from there.
Word to the Wise
Any of the art forms, music, film, art, acting, even voice acting literally have tons of people vying for the same jobs. You have to have a portfolio in order to get interviewed or hired. Despite the economic down-turn, this should not dissuade you from pursuing something you are passionate about or from building a portfolio. Just do it better than the next person. Use your great marketing mind to take it a step beyond what other people have settled on.
What I am Doing
I started out recording my own compositions, but I digressed into podcasting (perhaps I will disclose what those are later). I have taken the idea of building a portfolio and adding lots of content, then adding that content to the appropriate music networks so people can find me, down load, or sync license any of my work.
Every intuitive internet marketing of one’s own product has stated that social networking is the way to go. People have to be able to find you and find out what you are doing. A really great podcast for ideas is called “Intuitive Internet Marketing.”
How to get traffic to your work? I am still working to figure all this out, but I am happy to share what I learn and what I am doing. For the time being some links to information about voice acting.
Articles on Voice Acting
Information on recording is also included here:
- Information on Recording
- How to get Employed doing Voice Acting
- Voice Chasers -Viewing this made me realize that upscale projects such those in the film industry work a lot like S.A.G. Unfortunately, that is a union. However, lots and lots of independent films and other projects need voices.
- Making Connections – Basically the network of independent film and voice
| Suzanna Reeves www.neutrinomusic.com Suzanna has been sound recording on computers since the advent of home digital recording. She has founded her own record label, recordedand published music and produced audio dramas and podcast. Anyone with the right knowledge and tools can do it. Subscribe today! Follow me- @suzannareeves |
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