One of the hardest things about hearing choir auditions - and I heard 35 of them this Fall - is to see the hope in the eyes of some of these young people. The vast majority were incoming freshmen. Some of the gals are still very innocent and sweet (a few of the guys, too, for that matter) with a touch of naivete. They clearly have this hope in their eyes . . . but what comes out of their mouths! I had to turn away 20 of them. Not all of them were terrible, but I couldn't take more than 15 new choristers and so had to rank them. Ironically - and I have noticed this over the years - at least half of the ones who say they are taking 'voice lessons' are much worse than the ones who have never had a voice lesson. A few are good, and one or two who take voice lessons are extremely good, but about 50% who have taken a year or more of voice lessons are pretty bad. Are they taking voice lessons because they are bad and trying to get better (but not succeeding), or is it that (I fear) the voice lessons are making them worse?
I know I have to do my job, but being the one who has to kill the hope in such innocent faces just breaks my heart sometimes. However, they survive and so do I.
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3 comments:
Oh, that must be hard. I don't think I'd do very well at being in a position where you have to disappoint people. At least there's an enthusiasm for the choir program, though. Too bad there isn't a way to "steer" some of these kids toward someone you might know who is a better vocal coach, without looking like you're trying to round up business for that person. Because I suspect you're right - that somehow these kids have fallen in with a teacher who may be a good singer themselves, but not know how to teach others, etc. It's too bad, because most people like to sing, as a rule, and I don't think there can really be that many truly awful voices out there. But sometimes people (esp. the young girls) think (or are taught) that they have to sing in a "style" or in a range that may not fit their voice and end up sounding kind of bad when they aren't really.
Well, I always give people credit for putting themselves out there and trying - it's not an easy thing, usually.
Anne,
A few of them have very bad voices. Tone deaf or very bad vocal timbre that wouldn't blend. The vast majority, however, I have to turn away because they can't read music or can't learn quickly. I always test for this as we have to learn a lot of music very quickly. If someone cannot sing a simple, short step-wise phrase at sight or sing it back to me after 3 attempts doesn't belong in my choir. We just don't have the time to be held back by someone on such an elementary level.
I guess I'd probably get turned away then, too, lol. I can read music in a rhythmic sense, because I played a few instuments, as you know. But, since I learned to produce the notes by applying fingerings on an instrument, I never developed a sense of relative pitch, and so I cannot sing an unfamiliar piece of music without having it played for me. I suppose I'd be further along if I'd played say, trumpet instead of flute, saxophone, etc. I asked Sam recently how he "knows" if what he is playing (especially in a new piece of music) is the right note, since the trumpet can produce up to like 5 notes per fingering, with adjustment of airflow and embouchure. His reply was, "I just know", which tells me he must be developing some sense of pitch without knowing it. (BTW, he had his band chair audition yesterday for a new director, and thinks he did ok, which is great since he's really had to work to get things sounding good again after getting braces a few weeks ago). Glad I don't have to audition for things anymore.
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