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To: The Vocalist List
From: Yvonne Dechance
Subject: Re: Auditioning new students
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Rocio feels that a student should
audition his/her teacher, not the other way around.

In an academic setting, students are usually required to audition to get
into a program, and even after that may be asked to sing for a teacher
before being accepted by them into their studio. Why? Because each teacher
can only teach so many students, and they want to make sure they get the
most promising singers and students they can. I must add that some of the
best of these teachers make a point to include some students on that roster
who are not performance majors, or who have unusual performance goals.
Auditions range from formal to casual, but at their best they provide a
chance for the teacher and student to meet and get some feel for how they
might work together. In some cases I've taught whoever-walks-into-the-room
in a classroom setting, and it is not always a pleasant prospect for the
teachers Or the students. Personalities and learning styles affect the
teaching/learning process considerably.

When I teach privately, I ask singers to sing for me before I formally
accept them as students. There are many reasons for this: first, I like to
meet someone in person and get a feel for how much I believe I will be able
to help them meet their performance goals; second, I want to make sure they
understand what training will involve and what I'll be expecting of them;
third, I must hear Something I like in the voice enough to spend the time
and effort to work with it. Yes, people are paying me for my services, and
they are welcome to feel they are auditioning me at the same time, but in
my private studio I'm not about to commit myself to a person or their voice
sight-unseen or sound-unheard.

I've worked with a wide range of singers over the years, and accepted far
more students than I've turned down. I don't use the term "audition" when I
ask students to meet me for a first lesson, but I do make it clear that
they will have their range, pitch matching and other singing skills
evaluated, and that if they know a song they should have it ready to sing
for me. I generally have a very good idea after the first meeting where a
person's voice is at developmentally and what it will be like to work with
that voice's owner.:-) The teacher originally under discussion knew from
hearing the singer's speaking voice that they would have a good singing
voice, and I've experienced this over the phone even before meeting some
singers in person. But when I meet with a prospective student and get a bad
feeling about the person, feel uneasy or even unsafe around them, find
their goals are completely at odds with their potential, or can find
nothing pleasing about their tone (or their attitude), I tell that student
that they would be better off working with another teacher. As a caution to
younger teachers in particular, please do not compromise your own sense of
security or ignore your intuition for the sake of Providing Music to All.

For students in the process of seeking a voice teacher, I recommend you
avoid terms like "teacher-shopping" and "auditioning" (as in auditioning
the teacher) in your initial discussions with voice teachers. It is
reasonable and even advisable to tell teachers you are contacting several
people, but those particular terms annoy many voice teachers and may
actually limit your options for instruction.

_Dr. Yvonne Dechance

Email: aleatory-at-sj.znet.com, webmaster-at-nats.org
Homepage: http://www.vocalist.org/dechance
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