TALENT PREPARATION - VOCAL

The Dilemma of Finding the Right Song and Track

1. About You

A. What is your voice type? Soprano or Alto?

B. Once voice type is determined what is your exact range? What are the exact notes vocally that can be used in a song?

C. What style of music are you looking for? Classical, Broadway, Pop, Jazz , Country, etc?

2. About the Music

A. Once the voice type, range, and style you are looking for is determined, you may start looking at music that is available to satisfy your needs.

B. Where do I find the music?

Musical Creations (www.musicalcreations.com)
One of the largest Karaoke Companies in the country.
Some of the new Karaoke Tracks are VERY realistic in sound
and also come WITHOUT background vocals. MC can edit
into the 2:00 format, and also do key changes. Prices range from
$10-25 and many of the tracks can be downloaded.

Omega Sound (www.omegasound.com)
A more limited library, however, some very good competition music. Some of the library is built with live players and thus generally produces a better sounding track. Prices range in the $15 - $25 area.

Bill Wolfe / Milton Smith (www.talentwolfe.com)
The arrangements available from Bill Wolfe are built a little different than the companies’ tracks.The piano, drums, and bass are always live players. Strings and horns are then built with synth over the top of the live rhythm unit. These tracks are made for 2 -minute competition in that they usually will have big intros, long notes, modulations and big endings (all the things needed to score points with the judges). More and more of the new tracks are being done with totally live players. Prices range from $50 - $250.

3. Perfecting the Vocal and Adding the Blocking

A. Once the song and track have been decided on, you are ready to get started perfecting the vocal.

B.When the vocal work is finished, the number must then be blocked. This is the presentation and movement that you will use in your performance.

If you already have your song and wish to perfect it.

1. I will first listen and watch you perform your song*.
2. I will offer my observations both vocally and on the blocking
3. We will clean up and perfect all vocal aspects of the song. I will do an analysis of specific problems and assign various exercises to correct them. Areas we will look at are:

A. Pitch
B. Phrasing
C. Pronunciation
D. Musicality
E. Style
F. Vowel Sound Analysis
G. Any rewrites that are needed

4. Once the vocal work is done we will then start on blocking and
Presentation.

*You will perform in a very comfortable environment with a good sound system and cordless mic. We will also record the whole session on audio tape. This will be a good tool for your use in reconstructing exactly what we worked on once you have left. I will be happy to evaluate how much time that an individual will need to work on a song to get it ready for competition.

If you are a vocalist looking for the right song.

We must first determine what voice range you are best suited for- alto or soprano. You most likely already know. Exact ranges must then be determined to best know where the strengths and weaknesses for the individual voice happen. This process will take place at the piano. Once vocal range has been determined, then we can start looking at voice type. Certain types of voices work better with certain types of songs. For example: a light alto voice is not going to be suited for a belt dramatic Broadway styled song. Another factor to be considered is whether or not a vocalist can sing in her chest (belt) voice. Many singers have the capability of singing in both voices, which greatly widens the material available to them. This is where we begin to narrow down the song choices.

Once we know the voice range and type we can start listening to material. We will listen to many, many selections that will work for the individual’s voice type. By the end of the first session we hope to have the list narrowed to three or four titles. The contestant at this point takes the three or four songs she has selected with her, learns them, and then makes a decision. Many times this can be done the following day and I can help in that decision making process. Finding the right song comes easier for some than others. You just never know when you will run across a tune that moves you in a way that you want to perform it. And that is half the battle.

You have to like and believe in what you are performing. A few examples come to mind. Megan Bushell, Miss Kansas 2004, just could not find the song she wanted to take to Miss America. Ten days before the music deadline she brought over a karaoke track of Josh Groben’s “When You Say You Love Me” and informed me that this was the one. She loved the melodic lines, loved the message, and loved singing the song. I needed to figure a way to get the song edited into a two-minute format which would be no easy task. It was edited, she loved performing it at Miss America and placed in the top ten.

Soncee Brown, Miss Missouri 1991 (2nd Runner Up to Miss America), searched for seven years before finally deciding on the piano-vocal “He Touched Me.” On the other hand, Jennifer Makris, Miss New Jersey 1994 (2nd Runner Up to Miss America) walked in and one of the first songs she listened to “The Man That Got Away” was it. She stopped me and said “It’s Perfect.”

Once the final decision is made on the song choice, the real work begins. We will take the song apart vocally, working every aspect of pitch, phrasing, style, musicality, and any re-writes that would enhance the presentation.

Every voice is so different. Every talent level is so different. This all must be taken into consideration. Talent is not the only area of competition. As proven time and time again by various Miss Americas, you do not have to win talent to be Miss America. You must have a presentable talent. I have found that one of the keys to success in a good vocal presentation is to make the vocal line work for the individual that is singing it. That is putting different lyrics in different places to accommodate the vowel sounds that best show off the singer’s ability. Getting the long notes on open vowels rather than closed. A good example would be Pam McKelvy, Miss Kansas 1992. I think we re-arranged the vocal lines in “I Am Changing” at least fifty times. Putting different lyrics in different places that would thus replace vowel sounds that would best show off Pam’s ability. This constant work paid off for her in a talent win and the 3rd Runner Up spot at the Miss America Pageant. This same scenario held true for both Paula Montgomery, Miss Arkansas 1995 (2nd Runner Up to Miss America) and Faith Jenkins, Miss Louisiana 2000 (Talent Winner and 1st Runner Up to Miss America). We re-wrote many lines on both “Can’t Help Lovin’ That Man” and “If I Could” to assure that the best sound could be achieved by both singers.

With talent performance you MUST believe that you can. I have found that once you start believing in your abilities, you start actually performing. When you start actually performing, others start enjoying, and that’s when it becomes music. That brings us to your final step of preparation- blocking.

Vocal blocking is where and how a contestant moves to the music being performed. It is actually much more that that. It’s an attitude that must be projected to the audience that lets the movement become an inner part of what is happening on stage. Blocking needs to enhance the interpretation of the vocal, walking hand in hand for a total performance. It must always be taken into consideration the amount of blocking that an individual is capable of doing. This many times proves to be a fine line. An over-blocked, over-staged presentation can detract from the performer's overall effectiveness. I will evaluate how much blocking a person can handle and how much she wants, and then build from there. She is the one performing the number and must feel comfortable with what she is doing on stage.

Kim Kircher is a person that has worked with me for over fifteen years on vocal blocking. She understands the pageant world and knows what blocking will and will not work. She is also excellent at making an average person with little move ability look as if she is a seasoned performer.

ABOUT KIM KIRCHER Kim has been performing for over 25 years. Her experience includes light jazz, Broadway, opera, big band, country, pop, and rock and roll. She was 4th Runner Up in Missouri the year Debbye Turner won Miss America and was the overall talent winner two years consecutively. She has produced

state pageants, directed traveling musical groups, appeared in numerous theatre productions, and continues to perform throughout the Kansas City area. In 1995, Kim released her first album produced out of Nashville entitled “Red Ribbon Diaries”. It was created specifically to benefit AmFAR and sold out within six months. Kim continues to perform full time with her traveling Motown band ‘Souled Out’ and at various Cabaret styled establishments in the Kansas City area.

I think one of the best examples showing the importance of good vocal blocking would be Tricia Schaffer, Miss Kansas 1994. With her vocal well in place, and the creative and entertaining blocking of Kim Kircher, Tricia was able to pull off a talent win at the 1994 Miss America Pageant performing “Orange Colored Sky”. Which brings me to another point.
I continuously hear from folks on all levels- local, state, and national saying “You can’t sing that song…It has been used, used, and used again. Find something else.” Everyone wanted to change Tricia’s song as they were sick of hearing “Orange Colored Sky.” Tricia however was excellent on the song and did not want to change it as she loved performing it. Do what you are good at and don’t worry about it. Another example is Pam McKelvy performing “I Am Changing.” This song had already been in the top ten at Miss America two times before Pam took it. Once again, we heard “change the song.” Pam held strong and was the only contestant to win talent at Miss America with it. She also placed 3rd Runner Up. With Deborah McDonald, Miss Missouri 1998, “I will Always Love You” would simply have to be changed. “It’s tired and has been there a thousand times.” Deborah knew it was the right song for her and with new treatment on the music, placed higher than anyone had placed previously using the song (3rd Runner Up). Once again do what you sound good on.

If You Are a Piano Player

One of the first decisions you will need to make is whether you wish to use a background orchestral track or not. You will hear many pros and cons as to the use of such tracks. My thoughts are to take a look at the original composition as it was intended to be performed. Was it written to be performed with an orchestra, or as a solo piano piece? Just as with a pop vocal or opera presentation, what is your ultimate goal? My answer would be to entertain. Most contestants that compete at the Miss America Pageant are not going to end up as the next American Idol, Metropolitan Opera Star, or win the Van Cliburn Piano Competition. That being said, try to find the most entertaining piece in your specific field, and perform it well. With some piano pieces, my personal opinion is that the use of a background track can make the piece if the sound mix is handled correctly. That means that the piano level MUST be mixed above the orchestral track – otherwise it would appear that the piano player may be trying to hide something.

Piano as a Solo Instrument
The repertoire is virtually endless. The key is knowing what level is right for you as a performer. Once you decide on the selection, we must edit the music into the 2-minute format. When the edits are complete, we begin taking the piece apart instructionally.

Piano with Orchestral Background
Once again, the repertoire is quite wide. There are actually numerous background full orchestra tracks available through a company called Music Minus One (www.musicminusone.com). Once you decide on the selection, the track must be edited into the 2-minute format. (See section on Track Editing for pricing.) When the edits are complete, we can begin work on the piece. The other option for background piano tracks is to build the tracks as a custom. (See section on Custom Tracks.)

“El Cumbanchero,” as performed by Taryn Foshee (Miss Mississippi 2006 – 3rd Runner Up Miss America) was built literally from the ground up by just listening to a Liberace CD. There is no written score on the piece. Once Taryn learned the piano part, we built the custom track around her actually playing the piece, then simply pulled the piano part out of the final mix. This left us the track she performed with at the Miss America Pageant. Recently, there have been two other Mississippi piano players that have used background tracks and done very well at the Miss America Pageant. Christy May (3rd Runner Up Miss America 2001) played with a track to the “Theme From the Apartment” and Jennifer Adcock also used a track to “Rhapsody in Blue,” and placed in the top ten in 2003.

The debate whether or not to use a background track will always continue. I always look at the original intent of the composer, how the song is normally performed, and how a potential track could enhance the overall performance of the piece in order to determine whether a background track should be used.

Other Instrumental Players

Background tracks can be built for virtually any instrument (flute, sax, clarinet, trumpet, harp, etc.). If you are an instrumental player, it is much harder to find existing music and more difficult to build a background track. When building an instrumental track, everyone, including the player, the arranger, and the musicians, MUST all be on the same page musically or these tracks can turn into a disaster very quickly. Music Minus One (www.musicminusone.com) is an excellent source for existing instrumental tracks. Most of the tracks are in the classical arena, and would need to be edited into the 2-minute format.