Is your CV in check?

Aware of the fact that the casting assistant may receive 500 applications for the same job opportunity and only have a few moments to sort out through a few key prerequisites when sorting CV’s into ‘yes’, ‘no’ and ‘maybe’ pile? The way your CV is composed may as well determine which pile you end up on long before the actual audition. It is therefore in your interest to make it easier rather than more difficult to spot the relevant information. Here are a few pointers.

Make your CV only ONE page long

This is essential. Extra pages might get lost or simply discourage the person looking from searching for the relevant info. Most young singers think the extra long CV will mask the fact they have little to no experience. Trust me – it won’t.

Learn how to edit information

Keep in mind a golden rule: less IS more. Listing every recital you have done or every conductor/director you have worked with is not gonna help you. If you haven’t worked/performed with someone really famous or someone who is relevant to the company you are applying for – you can peacefully leave it out.

Do your research!

Knowing what kind of company the job position is for matters. Desired prerequisites vary and you might need to tweak what to highlight depending on that. Most companies have websites: if you don’t know the basic information on the production you’re applying for, that information is only a few clicks away: so don’t be lazy.

Auditioning panels see hundreds, even thousands of resumes. In them, they should find all the relevant information on your performing experience and education but they will inevitably find clues to who you are as a person. Typos can be seen as indicators of how thorough you are (in preparing a role). Resume exaggerations and lies (music world is very small, people do tend to know each other and information on the internet is readily available) will be seen as deliberate untruthfulness which is a very bad for character assessment.

In creating a successful CV I suggest the following outline:

Contact information header

It should include basic information in order of importance:

• Name
• Voice type
• Photo
• Contact information

Voice type:

Sometimes companies want to see your basic voice type – ex. soprano – and make their own decisions. Others (houses working within the “German system” will want to know specific “Fach”. It also depends on what you are auditioning for (a specific role or a place in the ensemble). This falls under the “do your research” bar.

Either way, make sure the credits on your CV match up with your voice type and repertoire. Don’t confuse the panel.

Contact information:

Address, phone number, email, website agent’s info (if you have one and want to share it). Make sure all is correct and up to date!

Competition Prizes / Awards

List relevant competitions, awards (and scholarships if appropriate). The local amateur song competition you won in high school is lovely but has no place on your CV. Participated but haven’t won any prizes? There is no need to put this section on your CV. 

Relevant personal information: 

This is a section that in a short and concise way gives place to all the other potentially useful skills that are relevant to you as a singer and potential employee. They include: 

• Languages
• Sight-reading
• Playing an instrument
• Dance / drama training / acrobatic skills

• List languages that you can speak at least on B2 level. 
• Can you really sight-read? If thrown into a deep end of an poly/partially a -tonal piece, would you make it? If not, play into your strengths and omit sight-reading as a part of your personal skills arsenal. 
• Your dance/drama lessons when you were 5 or a role in a school-play do not count as a personal skill.

Final thoughts

Last but not least, the devil is in the details:

• Be accurate! Check for spelling errors and grammatical mistakes. Know your composers and proper spelling of the titles in the right language. Not sure ? A quick Google check will tell you.
• Have someone (from the business) proof-read it.
• Save it as a PDF.  Don’t assume you are using the same word processor as the viewer; files can become corrupt as they are converted and your beautifully formatted CV scrambled
• Save the CV as your name e.g. ‘Jane Do Soprano CV’. Don’t save it as ‘jane 206del’
• Address the cover letter to the correct person/institution. Perhaps the most important thing which singers in their haste forget is: double check when using the same cover letter.
• Keep your materials up to date: keep a copy of your current resume on your computer, and add and delete any relevant experiences as they occur.
• Make sure it is ONE PAGE long and no phantom blank pages have elongated it.
• If responding to an audition announcement, follow the directions in the listing.
• Lastly, always take a copy of your CV with you to the audition. That means printed on quality paper A4/Letter format. Mistakes do happen and the panel might be missing it.

Got any suggestion? Let me know in the comments below. Toi Toi Toi!!!

Notes:

Photo by Green Chameleon

Introduction

When speaking or singing in a room, the room returns the sound of one’s voice to the ears. This acoustic feedback contributes to the impression of the room environment, affects the difficulty (or ease) of speaking or singing, and affects how the voice is projected. For rooms that are designed for critical speaking and singing tasks (e.g., classrooms, lecture theaters, court rooms, conference rooms, control rooms, music practice rooms, music auditorium, etc.) the psychological and behavioral effects of the room acoustics on a talker or singer can be sufficiently important to warrant consideration of how such rooms are designed and/or used.

In this article I will try to answer the many questions regarding the acoustic of the practice/rehearsal rooms and auditioning spaces. How it influences our performance how we perceive it and what, if anything ,we as singers can do about it. But first a small reminder on the voice itself, its production resonance, registers etc.

The sound

The vocal folds, in combination with the articulators, are capable of producing highly intricate arrays of sound. The tone of voice may be modulated to suggest emotions such as anger, surprise, or happiness. Singers use the human voice as an instrument for creating music.

The sound of each individual’s voice is entirely unique not only because of the actual shape and size of an individual’s vocal cords but also due to the size and shape of the rest of that person’s body, especially the vocal tract, and the manner in which the speech sounds are habitually formed and articulated. (It is this latter aspect of the sound of the voice that can be mimicked by skilled performers.)

Humans have vocal folds that can loosen, tighten, or change their thickness, and over which breath can be transferred at varying pressures. The shape of chest and neck, the position of the tongue, and the tightness of otherwise unrelated muscles can be altered. Any of these actions results in a change in pitch, volume, timbre, or tone of the sound produced.

Sound also resonates within different parts of the body, and an individual’s size and bone structure can affect somewhat the sound produced by an individual. Singers can also learn to project sound in certain ways so that it resonates better within their vocal tract. This is known as vocal resonation. The end result of resonation is, or should be, to make a better sound. Major influence on vocal sound and production is the function of the larynx, which people can manipulate in different ways to produce different sounds. These different kinds of laryngeal function are described as different kinds of vocal registers. There are seven areas that may be listed as possible vocal resonators. In sequence from the lowest within the body to the highest, these areas are:

• the chest
• the tracheal tree
• the larynx itself
• the pharynx
• the oral cavity
• the nasal cavity
• the sinuses

Relevance: Excessive reverberation (in bear spaces big and small like some churches for instance) can interfere with accurately hearing definition and detail as the sound keeps bouncing back and forth from different surfaces creating a cacophony.

Relevance: Cubic volume is the single biggest factor affecting rehearsal room acoustics, for better or for worse. Cubic volume is often insufficient, frequently caused by low ceiling height. Adequate cubic volume helps dissipate loudness while providing an area large enough to slightly delay sound reflections off the walls, floor and ceiling. This delay allows the human ear and mind to process the sound, resulting in an ability to accurately hear the entire spectrum of musical sound and generating the “presence” mentioned below.

Relevance: Rooms with little or no absorption can be overly loud, making hearing difficult. Excessive reverberation also makes clarity difficult because the truly balanced sound required for critical listening is lacking. In many cases poor absorption causes acoustical anomalies such as flutter echo: a prolonged buzz caused by sound energy bouncing between parallel hard surfaces.

Relevance: A good choral rehearsal room should have ample diffusion so that all sound can be clearly heard throughout the space. In performances, diffusion helps audience members hear accurately. Historic theatres, for example, often feature extravagant plasterwork and ornamentation with irregular angles and curves. Along with offering aesthetic benefits, these architectural features enhance diffusion by creating acoustically reflective surfaces.

Relevance: When musicians can hear their sound “out in the room” it allows them to better focus on phrasing, intonation, and communication with other musicians.

Final thoughts

In layman terms: rooms vary greatly in quality of their acoustic and are fairly unpredictable. Also worth knowing is that often in large rehearsal rooms or on stage presence and envelopment we as singers hear might be (and often is) very deceiving. Meaning that while we experience the space as dead and dry with sound falling “dead before our own feet” the experience the audience has is quite the opposite.

Of course a great deal depends on our training. The singers trained in mostly baroque style with emphasis on little to no vibrato might thrive in overly acoustic churches and bare rooms where singers trained to sing bigger repertoire opera will have a great difficulty working/performing in such environments, as the sound will simply bounce off the walls creating an unpleasant experience for singers and audience alike.

As singers we rely on the panel we audition for to provide a space in which our voices and their quality will be adequately represented and the fact that people on the panel should be very skilled in knowing the difference of how a voice in a room might (or might not) sound on stage (and with orchestra), but this is not always the case. Often the rooms are too small or extremely dry in which case the only thing which will save you is your technique and calm nerves. Make peace with the fact this is something that is always “out of our hands”. Be prepared to relay solely on your inner feeling rather than the acoustic of the room. To train for this, try performing in as many different spaces as you possibly can.

Trust me: like most things it gets easier with time. Practice Practice Practice!

Introduction

Before I offer a few advice on do’s and don’ts of a successful audition you need to know one thing: the auditioning panel WANTS you to SUCCEED. I know it most often doesn’t look like it but you need to consider a few things: the panel members are there morning to evening often for days, they get not enough air and too much coffee, they have heard the same piece 20 times just today, they too need (bathroom) breaks and they never have quite enough time for them due to things usually running late and they are constantly watched as much as you are in your 10 minute time slot.

They are human and as all of us prone to headaches, personal issues etc. But they want you to succeed. Because if you prove to be the person they are looking for it means their search and pressure to find that person is over and they too have done their job and done it well.

So, take a deep breath, try to calm those nerves, keep your focus and do your best by:

If the panel request a piece that is possibly not on your list but it is on your repertoire you will have to think quick on your feet and decide if you are willing to sing it. It probably means they are interested in you doing that piece but if you are not comfortable doing it decline as politely as you possibly can. Do NOT lie and say you don’t have the music with you as it might happen that they have the music on hand or the pianist knows the piece by heart which will put you in more trouble.

9. Do not under any circumstances badmouth your colleagues and people you have worked with in an audition room. This world of music is very small and you never know if you will offend someone’s feelings. Besides it is highly unprofessional!

What about you? Do you have any particular tips?

Performance anxiety, commonly known as “stage fright”, may be observed in people of all experiences and backgrounds, from those who are completely new to being in front of an audience to those who have done so for years.

START SLOW.

Ask a supportive friend or a family member you are otherwise very comfortable around to come and listen to a rehearsal/class. Organize a mini performance for your friends and family, volunteer to sing a nice song at your cousin’s small wedding, try finding a venue that hosts try-out concerts where, for a small fee, you can try out a piece or two in front of a friendly audience. Work slowly on increasing your audience so that your confidence can grow accordingly.

BEFORE THE PERFORMANCE.

On the day of the performance avoid excess caffeine, Eat a sensible meal with complex carbohydrates a few hours before you are to perform so that you have energy and don’t get hungry. Take a (short) walk, jump up and down a couple times or shake out your muscles to ease your anxious feelings before the performance.
Shift the focus off of yourself and your fear to the enjoyment you are providing to the spectators. Don’t focus on what could go wrong. Instead focus on the positive. Learn how to visualize your success.
Makes yourself look good – you will feel better. (This doesn’t mean you need to spend a lot of money on your wardrobe. It means to dress according to the occasion in an outfit that you feel good in).

Should I use medications for stage anxiety?

There are many young singers asking questions about medication to “control anxiety” in particular Beta blockers.
First thing you need to know about beta blockers is: they are prescription cardiac medication! Their main purpose is to lower blood pressure and heart rate. Beta blockers work by blocking the effects of the hormone epinephrine, also known as adrenaline, therefore the physical symptoms of stress response are reduced.

However the side effects of this medication commonly include dizziness, headache, fatigue, diminished concentration, nausea and in more extreme cases and cases of unmonitored or prolonged (ab)use: cold extremities, fainting, depression, sleep disturbances, nightmares, hallucinations, short term memory loss, high or low blood sugar, stomachaches, flatulence, constipation, diarrhea, dry mouth, vomiting, heartburn, bloating, impotence or decreased libido, difficulty urinating, bronchospasm, cough, joint pain, and muscle cramps, rashes and anaphylactic shock (sudden unconsciousness or death) .

The reports on using the beta blockers as a performer are mixed. While it’s a (fairly common) practice for performers, sportspersons and politicians at a very top level you should keep in mind that those people are under a strict medical supervision. Taking prescribed medication without actual prescription is not only illegal in most countries and potentially very dangerous for your health but, when unsupervised, it could also negatively affect your important performance or audition if you decide to just try it out there and then.
If you have explored every other option (and I doubt you truly have) I recommend talking to your doctor and see what are his thoughts on the subject. Be very careful!

Final thoughts

On a final note, a documentary on the subject by American filmmaker John Beder came out in fall 2016: through the lens of professional classical musicians, “Composed” explores the many ways we experience and can address performance anxiety. Christoph Eschenbach, interviewed in the movie along with many others, put it this way: “The film explores what without exception all of us, performers, have experienced and known well – first, love for our craft and stage, and then performance anxiety at the other end of this beautiful and exciting spectrum. Congratulations to the director John Beder and his team for completing this project and for inviting all of us to a meaningful and necessary conversation.” Andrew Hitz, host of the popular “The entrepreneurial musician“, interviewed John in the 83rd episode of his podcast. Definitely worth listening to!

These tips should help reduce performance anxiety. But if they don’t, talk to a counselor or therapist trained in treating anxiety issues. Confronting your fears and learning ways to reduce and manage anxiety can be empowering. It will it make you feel good about yourself and become a more confident performer, too.

Do you use any particular method to get rid of stage fright? Do you have any questions? Do let me know in the comments below and if you found this post useful don’t forget to share it!