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| Jason Robert Brown's cameo as the audition accompanist in the film "The Last Five Years" |
...then keep reading!
Admittedly, there are many different opinions on how to prepare music for your collaborative pianist in the audition room, (the sheet protector vs no sheet protector debate is huge among audition pianists! ((I'm in the sheet protector camp, btw -- but never the non-glare kind because they seem to glare more when upright on a piano! But I digress...))) but there are some essentials that everyone seems to agree on!
1) Use a sturdy, hard-backed notebook.
You should definitely purchase music and have books in your library. However, a vocal selections book often will fold closed on a piano. Single sheets and taped together accorfion folds can blow or fall off the piano or stand, especially if there are more than two pages. Floppy backed notebooks fold and fall. Beware of giant notebooks with too much music, use a medium sized with current audition materials and keep another in your bag with your whole book.
Also check: Can the pages turn easily? If a notebook is squished or used a lot, the rings can separate slightly and create a snag for the pages. Make sure they are perfectly together.
2) Make your beginning, ending, and cuts clear.
Cut and paste to make a perfect flow or use white rectangles over cut sections. Don't ever ask an accompanist to page turn into a cut or to turn more than a page of cut music. Mark beginning, ending, intro or starting pitch. As an accompanist and a singer I prefer a starting pitch and go -- since there is no time to agree upon or rehearse an intro this always has seemed cleaner to me. This works with some songs more than others, so work it out yourself -- as long as it is clearly marked. Pages should be double sided to minimize page turns, sheet protectors or not. Please use tape, and never staples -- I've been cut trying to turn stapled pages and it isn't fun to play the rest of the day with a cut finger! If you really want to be an over-achiever, bring a sheet protected notebook and one that is not and ask for preference!
Use a different copy for each cut. No "this is my 32 bar cut, but for 16, I do this...." Bring your whole song, a 32, and a 16 bar cut, all separated by tabs and carefully marked.
3) Have a skilled pianist play through your song before you bring it to the audition room.
I cannot begin to count the number of auditions that have been compromised by skipping this step. A play-through can discover things like missing left hand (happens if you copy without reducing many vocal scores), key changes that shouldn't be there or should be, (one memorable audition, I turned to the last page of one song and it was in a different key -- singer had cut to the end for lyrical reasons but not realized it was now for a different singer in the show. I stumbled for a beat figuring out what the transposition was so I could stay with her -- and got the stink-eye... *sigh*) clumsy cuts, missing beats, and so on. Do yourself a favor and make sure of this step!
4) The collaborative pianist is your best friend for about 10 minutes.
Treat him or her that way! Go to the piano, thank him for playing for you, tell her what song you're singing (even though it's clearly marked at the top!), point out cuts, clearly marked tempos, fermatas, or colla voce sections, and then give your tempo. BE ASSERTIVE ABOUT YOUR TEMPO! I prefer a clear sing-and-snap of the first phrase. Some accompanists prefer chest taps to snaps. We pretty much ALL hate hearing "well, I don't know, about (hhhmmmmmmm hums unclearly), what do you think?" You're in charge for this performance, and everyone wants to hear your great, confident preparation! If we ask you to sing it again and make changes (in those frequent cases when the accompanist is also the music director) then please take our direction, we're on your side an want to hear more -- but this first time, tell us!
Then, perform. Know your song so well that the accompanist could start playing Jingle Bells underneath it and you could carry on with a stellar performance. Please do not "check in" or turn around and look at the accompanist during your performance. At best, this makes you look unsure -- but in reality, to the sight-reading pianist and to the casting directors, it usually looks like the "you're messing me up" stink-eye. Just. Don't. Do. It.
When it's over, get your music and say "thank you" again. If you really love us include a "thank you" at the end of your sheet and good chocolate. Especially if you're singing at the VTA's, SETC's, UPTA's or Disney auditions in NYC. Just trust me on this. Even if you get the occasional grumpy eye roll, most would admit they secretly love it.
For more in-depth study of this and many other audition questions, read this excellent book by Andrew Gerle!
Click Here for Link to the book on Amazon!
AND another great resource:
Click and scroll down for Five Do's and Don't's from Accompanist Jose Simbulan
