Vocal Coach/Musical Director: Michael Lavine
1. Make sure the song you sing is an active song
My students often bring in what I call "fortune cookie" songs. Songs of advice... i.e., he says this, she says that, my philosophy of life is... If you don't see "I" or "me" in the first lyric of your song, pick something else that's really about YOU2. Don't choose Loser songs
The other common trap singers fall into is to choose a song that presents them in a negative light. Like "You Can' Always Count on Me," "Nobody Does it Like Me," etc. I LOVE these songs, but why tell the auditioner you're a screw-up in your song, when you can present yourself as a Winner instead?3. Make sure you have songs of every possible style
You never know when you're going to be asked to sing a style you never thought you'd be asked to before. Like Country/Western, Motown, pop of ANY decade, etc. Think outside the box and familiarize yourself with as many different genres of music as you can!4. Think of the song you're choosing for any specific audition as the "cut" song from that specific show
This may mean changing the tempo, the key of the song, your lyrics, what you wear... any or all of these elements, so the people behind the table think "wow! I could have heard our CHARACTER sing this song!" Make your song so right for this audition and this character that you just inhabit the character in your song.5. Never know how long your song is - constantly surprise yourself and us
When you choose to sing soft or loud in sections of your song, make sure that seems natural... not like your coach told you to do that. Let the emotions of the song take you different places each time you sing it.6. Have different cuts of your song and always know the whole song!
Sometimes, the auditioner is going to have too many people to see and you only have eight bars to show them your best. Have 8-bar and 16-bar cuts of your song, but ALWAYS know the entire song. You never know when they'll be ahead of schedule and say - oh, we love that song - sing the entire song! 7. Do your own research
I always tell my students to go to www.ibdb.com and also youtube and learn new shows every few days. I tell them to brainstorm new titles with me.8. Always REVEAL your Sense of Humor and never CONCEAL your Sense of Humor
The worst thing we can think is boy, he or she is beautiful, they sing great, they're good in the Acting Department, but they're such a Downer from what they sing. That's why I'd ALWAYS lead with my uptempo, unless they specifically ask for a ballad first (which is VERY rare!)9. Show them who you are in your audition
This may be in the confident way you enter the room, how you deal (quickly and quietly) with the pianist, seeing YOU in your songs and what you do after you finish the song. Be yourself. 10. Don't worry about your voice in the audition - in fact, don't even think about it
You should think more about your actions in your song. I'd always rather see someone I'm riveted to with their performance who has a perfectly fine voice, than someone with the most amazing voice in the world... who is also the most boring performer in the world!!
