Visitors
The Art of the Audition
or
Is it Really Worth it to
Join this Organization?
If you ask any Adeline what was the single most difficult thing they accomplished in this organization, 98.9% of them would invariably admit it was the audition. To endure this process is nothing less than daunting to some, downright impossible for others.
Or so they think.
We all endured and survived, despite our fears, and some of us whose shaking knees and heart palpitations almost did us in even ended up in quartets…
singing…
on stage….
before hundreds of people…
again and again and again.
So why do we put our perspective members through this ordeal? There are many reasons, but when it comes right down to it, the answer is very simple: we consider ourselves professional singers. That doesn’t mean our perspective members have to be trained singers who sing solos in the local opera company. In fact, sometimes trained soloists make really lousy Adelines because they’ve never been taught how to blend. But we want to make sure we have people who have a fairly good ear and are willing to learn.
The audition process itself has evolved over the years, as has everything in Sweet Adelines. It also varies between choruses. Some choruses require the candidate to perform in a quartet. Others are more liberal and allow candidates to record themselves on the risers as part of the chorus. Some ask you to sing two songs of your choice and others require specific songs. The riser method is by far the easiest to endure. People are much more confident in their singing if they don’t have to sing alone in a quartet.
There is something to be said for the quartet method, although it’s definitely hardest on prospective Adelines. Men barbershoppers can get away with singing in sections on the risers because it’s so much easier to create overtones in the lower registers. They simply don’t have to have the musicianship that women require in order to create the same barbershop sound.
Adelines, on the other hand, must make use of a lot of physical laws of sound simply because we sing in a higher register. We must be better musicians than men in order to create what they do with little or no skill. One of the ways we use physics is by placing singers on the risers according to how individual voices interact with other voices around them. That means you may be the only one singing your part in your area of the risers, so you need to be confident and have the ability to carry your part alone. Quartet auditions ensure the chorus that the prospective singer is able to do just that. This is especially important in small choruses in which each voice carries a lot more weight.
When I auditioned for my chorus in 1988 I had to sing in a quartet. I was supposed to sing a song of my choosing as well as our theme song, "Harmonize the World". Only I didn’t know that. I mean about the theme song. I don’t know how I missed that information, but there I was, finished with my song, and the music committee waited…
And waited. Well, to be honest, I just wasn’t ready for that song, so another bari (I was a bari back then) stood behind me and sang it in my ear. It was a disaster, but they accepted me anyway, for which I continue to be grateful.
Now I find myself on the music committee and have been involved with many changes in the way we run auditions. We have found the comfort level of prospective singers has a big effect on how well they do their auditions, so we’ve gone with the riser method of auditioning.
I asked the members of my chorus to comment on their own audition experience and here are their comments:
As an
"old timer" who auditioned with a quartet----It was easy. Just sing the song in
your part and if you are someone able to hold your part----it's a done deal. Ask
your riser buddy to listen to you and tell you if you are ready or not. We need
to be "kindly candid" and helpful to one another.
Karen T.
In 1980, I was 33 years old and new in Augusta. Our church was having a talent show, so a church member who was a Sweet Adeline (I'd never heard of 'em) pulled in two chorus members, and the four of us formed a barbershop quartet for the show. (I sang lead.) I went to SA the Thursday after our show. Since I had already performed with a quartet, I was ready to audition--but they made me wait another week! (BTW, it didn't take me long to figure out that another part looked like more fun, so I made the switch and have been bari happy ever after!) Marilyn
As
for auditioning.....Nervous! Oh yes! especially when everyone asks: Are you
ready, yet?Oh, and from a not so recent, but still 'old fart' I auditioned in a
quartet, and it especially helped to have Marie singing lead in my ear, while
practicing in her quartet. For the new folks, singing in a quartet, and
submitting a tape for audition is a whole different ball game!
Karen D.
My
opinion in the audition process is... Don't feel pressured. Practice until you
are ready and above all HAVE FUN. The music committee doesn't bite!
Susan
When I first did
my tape from the risers, I was very nervous and after listening to it - did it
over as I felt it sounded horrible. The second one was not so bad. I submitted
it and was happy to hear that I had done well and was voted in.
Lyn