Field notes

This set of field notes is a recollection of spring semester auditions for the Higher Keys, a co-ed a cappella group of which I am a part.

AUDITIONS

A cappella hopefuls wait outside in the hall, filling out an information card:
Name
Year
Voice part
experience
Song choice
School residence
Phone number
Favorite candy
Favorite one-hit wonder

Before beginning, the group has a pep talk about what they are looking for and what auditions mean to the group as a whole. The musical director reminds everybody to smile a lot, to be welcoming and friendly, and to stay positive.

One by one, auditionees enter the room, some looking visibly nervous. One person from the group reads the info from the card. The music director then tells the auditionee that he is going to test their range. Scales are played as the auditionee sings along. A random series of pitches is then given to the person auditioning which they are supposed to match. Throughout all of this, the group is writing down comments, good and bad, in notebooks or on computers. After all of the pitch matching is through, the auditionee then sings his song, a verse and chorus, for the group. The group applauds at the end and a picture is taken of the auditionee, who then exits the room.

At one point, the group decides to play a game of who can say the most outrageous comments during the pitch matching. The only rule is that the group must keep it together and not laugh. Some comments:
Sexcellent
Great Odin’s Raven
Heavens to Betsy
Expecto Patronem

The game was quickly called off because the group agreed that it could not keep it together sufficiently.

After all of the auditions were over, the group came together and decided whom they were going to call back. There was some discussion, but not much, as there was much agreement on which singers they liked.

CALLBACKS

The room is filled with people, members of the group and those who were called back. They are all mingling, getting to know each other. Members of the group say that this time is crucial; they want to meet the person, not just the singer.

After a fair amount of time, everyone gathers in a large group. They go around introducing themselves, saying their name, year, concentration, and a “spicy fact”. Then, splitting into voice parts, everyone warms up their voices by doing some vocal exercises. The group then gets together and sings as the auditionees watch. The songs that they sing are the ones that the auditionees are going to learn and sing later on in the day.

Everyone again splits into voice parts to learn their parts for the songs. The parts are learned with an emphasis on performing ideals that the group holds such as blend, a “jazzy” feel, and particular dynamic contours. Many of the auditionees are visibly attentive, seeming to drink in every word so that they could hopefully stand out from the others.

The group again comes together. The auditionees then split into quartets each having a soprano, an alto, a tenor, and a bass. They then sing the song for the group who judges them on their blend, their ability to hold their own, their listening to the others they are singing with, their performance, and their tone.

After all quartets had sung, each auditionee had to sing a solo with the group accompanying them. They had a few choices that they could prepare ahead of time.
With the last solo, the audionees were thanked for their hard work and their time and sent home so that the group could deliberate