Before the Audition:

• Set up a private room for you and the singer:  piano, stand, paper, etc.

• Set it up so the singer cannot see the piano keys.

• Keep the audition to 5-7 minutes.

• Have an information form ready for them to fill out BEFORE they audition.

The Audition:

1. Vocalize them using a simple pattern. (Do-re-mi-fa-so-fa-me-re-Do).  Find the bottom of the range:  start in the middle of their range and move down.  Find the top of the range:  start in the middle of their range and move up.

2. Have them sing a well-known song, e.g. Silent Night or My Country 'Tis of Thee.  Play only a simple accompaniment, rolled chords work just great, don't distract yourself with more that that.  The less you do the more you find out how proficient they are.

3. Have them sight read 8-12 measures.  Find or write, in appropriate ranges, several examples that are similar in difficulty.  Consider using two of varying difficulty, but keep them short.

A Possible Form:

Criteria	Rating	Comments
Range		Quality in Extremes? mark tessitura
Tone quality (weight, color, clarity)	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10	Heavy, Light, Dark, thin, smooth, airy, clear, etc.
Intonation	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10	overall, across entire range, alone vs. w/piano
Vocal control	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10	Flexibility, vibrato, handling of register shifts
Diction	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10	vowel choice and clarity, consonant clarity
Sight Reading Pitch Rhythm	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Musicality	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10	dynamics, phrasing
	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10