Page 12 - Classical Singer magazine Spring Issue 2020

Crossover Corner: How to Cut a Song for an Audition
enough, but you must make sure that your cuts also follow good musicianship and composition elements. You may need to have a pianist help you with this part of the cutting process. You need to make sure that, like the lyrics, each section harmonically leads into the next.
Watch out for key changes. The bridge often becomes more harmonically complex exploring different harmonies and, therefore, adding accidentals or changing the key without a noted key change in the music. This helps to build the tension and create the rising action of the story. Often the bridge leads to a key change, so it is important to make sure you know where the key changes happen and that you are not jumping to a key change without using the measures right before that harmonically prepare for the key change.
If the storytelling arc you have chosen is a little awkward harmonically, do not despair—it is possible to have a pianist or arranger help you rearrange some of the chords so that the music better supports your storytelling. But this should be used sparingly and only on a measure or two. You don’t want it to sound like a new song or an arrangement of the song. Also,
you should mark these changes very clearly so that they can be easily understood by any accompanist— both by those who may not know the song and by those who do and may be surprised by the change.
It is always a good idea to have an accompanist play through your cuts before you get to an audition to make sure that the way you have marked your cuts in the music is clear.
The time you have in the audition room is brief, but you can still show that you are a skilled storyteller and singer. Take some time to thoughtfully create audition cuts that will have a storytelling arc and show the different facets of your personality and skill set.
Christy Turnbow is currently teaching at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee and has taught at Montclair State University, Penn State University, and Brigham Young University. She earned an MFA in musical theater voice teaching from Penn State University and a BM from Brigham Young University in vocal performance and pedagogy. She has been seen in leading roles in regional music theatre productions and national tours.
INSPIRED BY THE PAST FOCUSED ON THE
FUTURE
Ad Campaign by PBA Graphic Arts Student, Laurel Boulton
12 Classical Singer | Mar/Apr 2020
Focus on your future in music, art, or dance! Come join us at PBA.
Audition or apply at: pba.edu/somfa or scan
the QR code with the camera on your mobile device.
Audition or Apply Today
SCHOOL OF MUSIC AND FINE ARTS