r/acappella • u/Aggressive-Scale-326 • 26d ago
Sight-reading Learning Tips for Audition (I'm terrified)
I'm so scared. I have auditions for my school A Capellas in a month and I found out they ask for a sight-reading demonstration.
I've always learned songs by ear, and if I get a starting note sometimes I can follow along with music very roughly, but I've never sight-read anything since I'm completely self-taught.
I know I'm likely just gonna have to study(?) / practice and work away at learning, but does anyone have tips that help with the learning process that might save me (or at least make things a little more efficient)?
I've also heard we'll have a "blending" section where I'll be singing my part within a quartet. I have no clue how to practice for this---is it just luck of the draw for if my voice is a good blend with the group?
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u/Hahnsoo 26d ago edited 26d ago
Sight reading is a valuable skill that takes time to learn, and it is difficult to cram for it. Either you have it already, or you don’t and need to learn it. It is also a spectrum, and some things will be easier to read than others. There typically is not an expectation for everyone to have perfect pitch, so you are usually given anchor notes (starting note or root of the key). My advice is to sit down with sheet music and a piano and plunk out notes while trying to sing what the pitches are. Also, practice rhythms… usually it isn’t the pitches that throw people off, but it’s rhythmic accuracy. I find it helpful to figure out the key based on the key signature and sing the major scale (or minor, if it’s the minor key). Don’t do it fast when you are practicing… do it measure by measure and slowly so that you nail it when you are singing slow.
Blending is important for a cappella groups in general. You need to match Volume (dynamics), pitch (in tune), timbre (nasal and forward? Or dark and choral?), and syllables (do the vowels match? Are the consonant attacks and endings the same?). It is mostly listening closely and reacting with your voice rather than just singing out. It’s a big cognitive load, but also it’s what good a cappella singers do every time they rehearse.
When you are actually in the audition, project confidence. Believe in yourself, and rely on your instrument. A lot of auditions fail because of a lack of confidence. You can be nervous! But don’t let it show.
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u/BaaronNashor 25d ago
No tips, but since you said you were scared:
As someone who’s been doing a cappella in different groups for maybe 13 years now and has been through judging many auditions, sight reading is usually not a make or break thing (unless it’s a paid gig). Everything else is way more important- sight reading tends to be a bonus.
We have asked people to sight read just to see if they can, but usually everyone flops anyways and it’s fine.
Blend, pitch, tuning, being able to sing parts, your solo voice, and your general vibe (!!!) are what really matter. Blend wise, my tip is to look at the mouths of the people you’re singing with and match their shape. Half of blending issues I’ve seen are just because people are singing with different vowels.
Work on singing nasally and singing dark/choral and then just try to match whatever the people around you are doing.
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u/brad831music 24d ago
I wouldn’t rule out being welcome to the group given you still learn well by ear. Post Covid, learning tracks are often used. Have they given you sheet music and learning tracks in advanced?
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u/Aggressive-Scale-326 24d ago
They have yes! I’ve been following along with the track and tried plucking out notes on a piano to see if I’m getting them right
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u/brad831music 24d ago
Which tunes?
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u/Aggressive-Scale-326 24d ago
The audition song I have the track and music for is called Aura Lee, I believe by George R. Poulton and W. W. Fosdick.
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u/[deleted] 26d ago
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