So, I just wanted to lay out a few ideas in regards to placing at the NATS competitions- or any competitions for that matter- as I get a lot of questions on how one can place, or place higher at these events. NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing) is a professional organization that sponsors these competitions (or “auditions” as they call them) on a local, regional and national level. Students of all ages and singing styles compete for placement and cash prizes as well as receive constructive feedback from other qualified singing teachers. The events are a great opportunity to gain experience, recognition and build your resume.
Here are my thoughts on what I have observed over the last 20 odd years of doing competitions:
1) Understand your competition. Many, though not all, of the singers who place are career-track singers; even the ones at middle school level. That means you are competing with students who take hour long singing lessons, piano lessons, acting classes and years of choir. This is not to say that students who do not possess all these accomplishments do not place; they do. However all competitors need to know the level of dedication they are up against.
2) Winning students prepare for everything well in advance. They make sure they are memorized weeks before the event. They have word-for-word translations absorbed, wardrobe picked out and their song choices timed as soon as the repertoire is chosen. They do all this far in advance so that they can:
3) Have time to get feedback. Winning competitors never submit an audition without showing the performance to at least one other person. This is a common practice among professional performers as well. The solo performer can never objectively and accurately gauge themselves and there are too many small details that can be overlooked and derail a performance. Is the camera angle correct? Did you slate properly? Can I hear the accompaniment and are you pronouncing every word clearly and perfectly? These is just a small sample of all the many thousands of details that one person cannot possibly judge on their own. Get feedback before you submit.
4) Understand the rules, genre of music and text. Do not take a passive attitude to any part of the performance. To be totally honest, if a student has to ask me when the submission deadline is, I know they are not going to place. They are clearly not focused on the objective. If you are performing in the classical competition and do not understand what “art song” is, find out. If you are performing in the musical theatre competition and do not know who the character is and why they are singing this particular song, watch the show. If you are singing in a foreign language and do not understand the words, do a translation. Taking a pro-active and engaged attitude will show in your work; in your confidence and depth of your performance. Students who place are generally obsessed with every aspect of their performance. Students who do the bare minimum in preparation or focus too single-mindedly on vocal technique rarely place.
5) Lastly, if you have competed several times and have not placed or have not placed higher than the year before, this generally means you have not gone out of your comfort zone yet. You have either not asked yourself what more you can be doing in regards to vocal technique or you have not taken the acting part of the performance far enough. When you practice do you record yourself and listen back to what you are practicing? Is your acting animated enough and are you finding ways to make every line meaningful? Ask yourself where you should be focusing your efforts and challenge yourself to go the extra mile where you know you need work. There will always be a great payoff if you can accomplish this!