Auditioning for 2017

A place to talk about full time schools and post 16 training.

Moderator: busybusybusy

tequila189
Nominee
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue Mar 01, 2016 11:38 am

Re: Auditioning for 2017

Post by tequila189 »

Good luck to all those auditioning for 2017. My DD has finished her 1st year BTEC extended diploma in dance, looking forward to the second year although it's going to be busy as she's also been accepted into the National Dance CAT scheme and a local youth dance company too! Hopefully they'll help with with auditions, so far applying to LSCD, NSCD, Trinity Laban and also CODARTS in Rotterdam, if anyone knows anything about applying to for dance theatre or contemporary dance abroad I'd love to hear from you. She also wants to apply to a couple of places in the US but that's only if she could get funding! Anyway good luck To all xx
martint
BRIT Award
Posts: 59
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2016 6:04 pm

Re: Auditioning for 2017

Post by martint »

lawn wrote:
martint wrote:Our DD will be auditioning too.

She's just completed her first year at Capa College Wakefield and it's ben a joy to see her develop. She's most interested in MT so last week spent the week at Urdang taking part in their Audition Course. She loved it!

We're hoping she manages to get on a degree course. I've joined this site to hopefully pick up any tips from people with similar experiences.
Good luck to her. Capa college is somewhere my DD has thought about for sixth form. Is your DD more of a dancer? I have heard that it is strong on dancing, whereas DD is stronger on acting. I'm also aware they have funding to build a new college in Leeds, so thinking they will be running more courses, by the time it's DD's turn. It's stil some time away as DD is 13 and she would have to commute, so we'll look into feasibility both in logistics and finances nearer the time, but interested in knowing your DD's experiences.
Sorry, didn't see your response. DD has been more of a dancer, but her acting has come on in leaps and bounds while at Capa. She's always wanted to do MT. She has done a couple of Summer schools this year and they've been very complimentary about Capa. She has absolutely loved her time there and almost all of the year above her seem to have got good places for this September. Capa will move to Leeds next year and will be offering more courses.

I'd highly recommend Capa, don't hesitate to email me if you have anymore questions.
reachforthestars
GRAMMY Award
Posts: 179
Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2009 9:05 pm

Re: Auditioning for 2017

Post by reachforthestars »

Well, DD received her AS results whilst on holiday and she did well AAAB. We're all super happy. And...Mountview applications for MT 2017 open on Aug 30th, audition dates are listed on their website :D
User avatar
2girlsmum
GRAMMY Award
Posts: 250
Joined: Fri Apr 06, 2012 10:26 am

Re: Auditioning for 2017

Post by 2girlsmum »

reachforthestars wrote:Well, DD received her AS results whilst on holiday and she did well AAAB. We're all super happy. And...Mountview applications for MT 2017 open on Aug 30th, audition dates are listed on their website :D
Well done to your DD, that should give her some good confidence to start this year of adventure :D
reachforthestars
GRAMMY Award
Posts: 179
Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2009 9:05 pm

Re: Auditioning for 2017

Post by reachforthestars »

2girlsmum wrote:
reachforthestars wrote:Well, DD received her AS results whilst on holiday and she did well AAAB. We're all super happy. And...Mountview applications for MT 2017 open on Aug 30th, audition dates are listed on their website :D
Well done to your DD, that should give her some good confidence to start this year of adventure :D
Thank you 2girlsmum, she was very happy! Now the fun is about to begin with auditions, think the A Levels might've been easier haha!
jennifer1972
GRAMMY Award
Posts: 462
Joined: Mon Dec 08, 2014 6:34 pm

Re: Auditioning for 2017

Post by jennifer1972 »

Ok, I have some questions about the sheet music that is needed for the MT auditions. Firstly, can anyone recommend a good site to download from and secondly, am I meant to know what key my DD sings it in, or does the sheet music come in one key? If that is the case, how does it work on audition day with the pianist? Does my DD have to say what key she wants it to be played in? Lastly, if there is a big instrumental bit in-between the bits that they are singing, can you just cross that bit out? oh, and how do you present it, do you stick the A4 pages together in a double spread? Maybe someone who has done this can shed some light on it. Thanks x
reachforthestars
GRAMMY Award
Posts: 179
Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2009 9:05 pm

Re: Auditioning for 2017

Post by reachforthestars »

jennifer1972 wrote:Ok, I have some questions about the sheet music that is needed for the MT auditions. Firstly, can anyone recommend a good site to download from and secondly, am I meant to know what key my DD sings it in, or does the sheet music come in one key? If that is the case, how does it work on audition day with the pianist? Does my DD have to say what key she wants it to be played in? Lastly, if there is a big instrumental bit in-between the bits that they are singing, can you just cross that bit out? oh, and how do you present it, do you stick the A4 pages together in a double spread? Maybe someone who has done this can shed some light on it. Thanks x
Jennifer 1972, my DD is going to reply to your queries :D
reachforthestars
GRAMMY Award
Posts: 179
Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2009 9:05 pm

Re: Auditioning for 2017

Post by reachforthestars »

jennifer1972 wrote:Ok, I have some questions about the sheet music that is needed for the MT auditions. Firstly, can anyone recommend a good site to download from and secondly, am I meant to know what key my DD sings it in, or does the sheet music come in one key? If that is the case, how does it work on audition day with the pianist? Does my DD have to say what key she wants it to be played in? Lastly, if there is a big instrumental bit in-between the bits that they are singing, can you just cross that bit out? oh, and how do you present it, do you stick the A4 pages together in a double spread? Maybe someone who has done this can shed some light on it. Thanks x

Hi there jennifer1972, its reachforthestars DD - still waiting for my own account "reachforthestarsDD" to be verified!

There's hundreds of fab sheet music places out there on the internet, but from my experience I've always relied on musicroom.com (probably better for delivered proper copies) and musicnotes.com (printable downloads straight from the site which can be photocopied and accessed online).

In regard to your query about the key of music, sometimes sheet music (particularly well known pieces) is available in a variety of keys to make the song accessible to a range of singers. Take Defying Gravity for example - on musicnotes.com Db Major is the original published key but you can also purchase the same sheet music in A Major, Bb Major, B Major, C Major, D Major, Eb Major and F Major. Therefore it is essential that you purchase the sheet music in the right key because it can take pianists an extremely long time to transpose an entire song, particularly during scheduled auditions. The best way to check the key of a piece is to have your DD sing along with the Original Recording of the song she is planning on singing. If both vocals match up then you want to be purchasing sheet music in the original published key. I know musicnotes.com also have a separate app called Musicnotes Sheet Music Player so that once you've downloaded your sheet music in the preferred key, you can test it out with audio playback to make sure its perfect for the audition day!

Big instrumental bits can definitely be scored out of sheet music and certainly reduce the length of a song, which is handy for these tight audition time limits. Just make sure that your cuts are clear and make musical sense, particularly so your DD can follow along easily.

You have two options for presenting sheet music generally. The first choice you've already mentioned - put all of your sheets in order and then tape the edges of them together so they form one huge piece of sheet music that doesn't require any page turns and can be easily folded to put in your bag. The other option is to put your sheet music into a presentation/display book - the sheet music sits inside the plastic wallets back to back and the accompanist will simply flick through.The choice is yours, but organised sheet music definitely means a happier accompanist!

Please don't hesitate to PM me if you have any more queries or if you're having any problems with your sheet music, I know how complicated it all is!! Good luck to your DD x
User avatar
Pearl
GRAMMY Award
Posts: 325
Joined: Sat Mar 07, 2009 11:42 pm

Re: Auditioning for 2017

Post by Pearl »

I would advise finding a singing teacher who also plays piano, just so your dd has chance to practise with a pianist. Most of the colleges also stipulate how long the song should be or how many bars they want so you can cut the music to the right length prior to the audition. Good luck x
Bring it on!!!
moleseymum
BRIT Award
Posts: 71
Joined: Mon Sep 09, 2013 7:04 am

Re: Auditioning for 2017

Post by moleseymum »

My DS was advised for auditions to choose songs where the original key was the correct one for his range, and also to stick to ones correct for his gender...!

His singing teacher was brilliant at helping with cuts to make songs the right length but still make sense!
reachforthestars
GRAMMY Award
Posts: 179
Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2009 9:05 pm

Re: Auditioning for 2017

Post by reachforthestars »

Hope Dd's post made sense/helped in some way. She always like to choose a song where she can sing it in the key that it was written. She generally would only ever transpose it if it needed to be higher, never lower.

As a matter of interest, does anyone have any thoughts on when to audition ie early or late?

Thanks!
jennifer1972
GRAMMY Award
Posts: 462
Joined: Mon Dec 08, 2014 6:34 pm

Re: Auditioning for 2017

Post by jennifer1972 »

reachforthestars wrote:
jennifer1972 wrote:Ok, I have some questions about the sheet music that is needed for the MT auditions. Firstly, can anyone recommend a good site to download from and secondly, am I meant to know what key my DD sings it in, or does the sheet music come in one key? If that is the case, how does it work on audition day with the pianist? Does my DD have to say what key she wants it to be played in? Lastly, if there is a big instrumental bit in-between the bits that they are singing, can you just cross that bit out? oh, and how do you present it, do you stick the A4 pages together in a double spread? Maybe someone who has done this can shed some light on it. Thanks x
Thanks so much!! That was really helpful :D And thanks, I will pm you if I think of anything else!!


Hi there jennifer1972, its reachforthestars DD - still waiting for my own account "reachforthestarsDD" to be verified!

There's hundreds of fab sheet music places out there on the internet, but from my experience I've always relied on musicroom.com (probably better for delivered proper copies) and musicnotes.com (printable downloads straight from the site which can be photocopied and accessed online).

In regard to your query about the key of music, sometimes sheet music (particularly well known pieces) is available in a variety of keys to make the song accessible to a range of singers. Take Defying Gravity for example - on musicnotes.com Db Major is the original published key but you can also purchase the same sheet music in A Major, Bb Major, B Major, C Major, D Major, Eb Major and F Major. Therefore it is essential that you purchase the sheet music in the right key because it can take pianists an extremely long time to transpose an entire song, particularly during scheduled auditions. The best way to check the key of a piece is to have your DD sing along with the Original Recording of the song she is planning on singing. If both vocals match up then you want to be purchasing sheet music in the original published key. I know musicnotes.com also have a separate app called Musicnotes Sheet Music Player so that once you've downloaded your sheet music in the preferred key, you can test it out with audio playback to make sure its perfect for the audition day!

Big instrumental bits can definitely be scored out of sheet music and certainly reduce the length of a song, which is handy for these tight audition time limits. Just make sure that your cuts are clear and make musical sense, particularly so your DD can follow along easily.

You have two options for presenting sheet music generally. The first choice you've already mentioned - put all of your sheets in order and then tape the edges of them together so they form one huge piece of sheet music that doesn't require any page turns and can be easily folded to put in your bag. The other option is to put your sheet music into a presentation/display book - the sheet music sits inside the plastic wallets back to back and the accompanist will simply flick through.The choice is yours, but organised sheet music definitely means a happier accompanist!

Please don't hesitate to PM me if you have any more queries or if you're having any problems with your sheet music, I know how complicated it all is!! Good luck to your DD x
jennifer1972
GRAMMY Award
Posts: 462
Joined: Mon Dec 08, 2014 6:34 pm

Re: Auditioning for 2017

Post by jennifer1972 »

Thanks very much!! That's really helpful!!
reachforthestars
GRAMMY Award
Posts: 179
Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2009 9:05 pm

Re: Auditioning for 2017

Post by reachforthestars »

When to audition - early, late or doesn't it make a difference? Thoughts anyone?
Thanks in advance :-k
User avatar
2girlsmum
GRAMMY Award
Posts: 250
Joined: Fri Apr 06, 2012 10:26 am

Re: Auditioning for 2017

Post by 2girlsmum »

reachforthestars wrote:When to audition - early, late or doesn't it make a difference? Thoughts anyone?
Thanks in advance :-k
I think it's the auditionee's personal choice as to when to apply/audition.

I don't think (although would be happy to hear if anyone thinks differently) there is any advantage/disadvantage as to when you apply, I think all colleges either award places or ask you to attend recalls from all sessions, whether they are in Oct/Nov or Feb/Mar. I think most of the colleges where DADA funding is offered hold those funding auditions in Spring.

The advice my daughter has been given by her college tutor (she is doing a BTEC Ext Level 3 in MT) and her older friends who have already auditioned is to apply when she is ready, so any auditions that come through quickly will not faze her and she will feel prepared so therefore confident when she attends.
Post Reply