| To: The Vocalist List From: Yvonne Dechance Subject: Re: Auditioning new students Send reply to: VOCALIST <vocalist>
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 The Diction Domain: Free voice diction resources for singers http://www.diction.vocalist.org
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