Open Mic UK 2012 Bristol Auditions

I heard a great selection of talented singers from Bristol (and surrounds) this morning when I became a judge for the Open Mic UK 2012 singing competition.

Its strange calling it judging. I spend most of my time coaching singers, not judging them, So I may have had my coaching hat on at the auditions today, jotting down as much constructive feedback as I could!

I tried to write down as many comments as I could today, which was quite hard at the speed we were seeing everyone at! The feedback was hopefully as constructive as it could be too. If someone was really good, I tried to say what I could to take them to the next level regardless of whether they got through or not. 

On the other hand, if I thought the singer needed some help in places then I tried to put down a comment to quickly help them with that. Some were good singers but for a competition like this they probably needed more variety in their performance.

Its hard to say what you're looking for as a judge and of course its different for every singer. I think, for this type of competition I wanted to see pop/rock/folk/jazz singers who could bring me into their world and express their song with passion and meaning, who could sing us the lyrics in their own way with their own story. All that taking into account their experience, whether their voice has matured enough (sometimes they are very young) and the fact that they will be going on to the next stage where they may be better and feel more at ease to perform… no problem!

There were quite a few singers I already know either from my studio, from previous recordings or lessons or who are on my mailing list. I had to do what I thought was honest and abstain from voting in these circumstances.

Some singers that I know are already great artists in their own right, so putting feedback down for them felt somewhat futile. I still did though, for everyone I knew, so I hope it will be helpful for them.

Some were great performers and could captivate our imagination whereas others couldn't look the judges in the face. I don't blame them, you walk in to a room and see 5 scary judges sat there, I wouldn't want to look at them either! But I think its important to do so, or at least look around the judges, as it then feels like we are being involved in the singer's performance. If a singer looks at the wall or the ceiling it can feel like they don't want anything to do with us!

The judges are actually really nice people and have lots of experience in the music industry. Its a shame in a way that the contestants don't really know who we are, couldn't meet us and don't actually know anything about the people they're singing to! 

At the end of the day the judges votes are just down to personal taste. If there was someone that I really liked then sometimes another judge thought they were was just Ok. Or if there was someone I thought needed some technical help, another judge thought they were good. The generally agreeing votes were the ones that we put through. 

Every now and again there was a singer I thought could really do with going through if they need to develop on what they are doing. Some learn very fast and if they get the right constructive feedback then you can see them at the next round having really fought for their right to stay in the contest! So I hope we will see some of them next time!

I'm only judging for this one and the Bristol regional finals next month. After that, its on to the nationals and a whole new set of judges!

See you there!

The producers from the voice popped in today and met some of my singers I work with and coach at the studio. They're currently on tour looking for talented singers for the next show to meet up and pre-audition before the official audition stage. 

Auditions can be quite nerve-wracking for most singers, amateur or professional.  You perform in a closed, intimate environment where you're expected to demonstrate your potential as a performer.  

Our producers were really great, it was informal and their interviewing put our singers at ease.  Some were a cappella, some with backing tracks and some with me on accompaniment. 

Many students ask for audition preparation as it can be a confusing area! Some people won't need any at all.  Some just need confidence that they can do it.  

When you've got an audition, your warming up should be specific and practise should be minimal if anything at all. Some singers will panic-rehearse, but thats often down to nerves.  If you're nervous at an audition, try and remember to not sing too much on the day! Enjoy yourself, have fun but don't over use your voice. 

From experience, prepared singers are at their best on the first, second or third run through of a song in any one session. This occurs in recording sessions, rehearsals and lessons. The only reason you may not be ready is if you haven't rehearsed! 

If possible, pick a song you love and that you've known for years. That way its easy to remember, you'll come across more confident because you've done it so many times over the years.   If thats the case, then don't rehearse at all on the day.  Give it a run through the night before but not in the morning, as excited as you may be!

Sometimes its hard to know where to look or what to do. 

If you're confident with it then you'll be fine. Just do what you do!  But if you're nervous its good to get into the zone by picking an object to sing your song to. Sometimes that eye contact with anything can present a sense of confidence about you, even if you may not feel totally confident inside!

Delivering your song to something helps you mean the words! Some singers pick an invisible someone to sing to instead, which can work really well.  When you mean the words like this then you will create a performance that appeals to people and it attracts people because they can relate to it. 

Above all, auditions should be fun and you should do as many as you can! You won't know what the result will be, but you will certainly gain experience from doing it!

Great new songwriting course coming up with Tara Newley! More info here: Artist Studios Courses




www.artiststudiosbristol.com

Fitness, stamina and attitude for singing!

Fitness, stamina and attitude are all essential for good singing training!

Singing training isn't often thought of as being as intensive as physical exercise. Perhaps thats because we are focusing on the musical side of it, rather than the process involved in sound production. 

But with singing we are using many of the same muscles in the body as with physical exercise and if they are not strong enough then the voice just won't work so well!

It really helps to keep up your stamina by keeping active. We can easily lose strength by taking time off, illness, or just laziness! But also by being too tense from stress at work, too many coffees and not drinking enough water!

All that energy has to come from somewhere. A balanced diet is the obvious source! But also your attitude has a huge part to play. It gives you the will-power to use your energy in the right way to build your strength and boost your stamina. If you are feeling low, or getting frustrated with your singing, that could be a reason why things stop working! 

Once you get going again, you get improving! And if you want to improve it, you will! Your confidence will boost and your singing will get stronger.

First Singing Lessons

Working with a relatively new singer this week reminds me how easy it is for us to let our self-criticism get the better of our training.


We hear our voice so differently to how others hear it around us. We hear it louder and harsher than we feel it should be, so if we sing louder than usual, we think its ugly, harsh, or like shouting. Just that thought makes us suppress the voice and turn off our initial intention to make the noise. Thats where we tend to go wrong! If we start to question what we were singing, it won't sound right!


A lot has to be said for confidence of using the voice. That comes from doing it, training it, repeating it, having fun with it, experimenting with it and finding out what noises you can make! We do loads of noises when we're kids, but when we grow up we formulate and idea of what our voices should do to fit into certain boxes. i.e. our singing voice must sound nice!


The first time you noise through a song, you'll think it sounded like shouting, but did it hurt? Was it easy to do? Most likely it didn't hurt at all and was very easy, it just didn't sound as nice as you thought it should. But to me, the listener, it had attitude, it was exciting! It communicated something that the default 'nice' singing can not!




Experimentation is so important. As long as your technique is good and you are getting stronger, its important to experiment with the voice so that you can find out what range of sounds you can get. Any sound goes and every sound can be made safe!


A lot of new female singers will come to me with a well-developed head register, or they will sing in falsetto. They may do it very well as they've practised it all their lives.
Using this mode, we release more air, we can't go too loud and our tuning can be difficult without adequate support. Since they've been singing with it for years, they don't know how else it can be done! 


Once we've played around with a few noises its clear that their voice is capable of many other ways to sing. We can quickly find a sound that may not sound right at first but it uses less air, it can go louder and tuning is spot on! Its then just a case of relating it to singing and getting used to the new way of using the voice.

Recording a choir from scratch!