Fall 2008 Auditions
Essentials
The Phantoms, GU's premier coed a cappella group, are looking for new members! Auditions are open to any Georgetown University student. Key information is listed below, followed by more detailed explanation of the process:
When
Primary Auditions: August 31 (1:00 PM) / September 1, 2008 (6:00 PM). Come either date; please arrive on time as we will be teaching you an exercise that will form part of your audition!
Callbacks: September 5 (6:00 PM). Callback auditions information will be posted after primary auditions.
Where
McNeir Auditorium, Georgetown University, Washington DC
Preparation
Be ready to sing part (approximately one verse and chorus) of a rock, pop, or R&B song. Please, no musical theater as this is not the type of song we perform.
Contact
If you have any questions or scheduling conflicts, please email us.
Detailed Primary Auditions Process
Please Note
This section is an optional read, as we will be guiding you through the process; you only have to know the "Essentials" listed above. Still, if you are curious, our regular auditions process is detailed below.
Procedure
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After warm up, we teach everyone a blending exercise to perform later. You then sign up for a 10-minute individual slot. So far we have not have been "auditioning," just introducing ourselves and establishing the schedule. Please arrive on time though as the blending exercise is important.
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During your individual audition, we will test your range by asking you to sing scales as high and then as low as you can. We just want to know your abolute highest and lowest notes, so please go at any comfortable speed and take breaths when necessary.
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Several sing-backs are next: we play a short sequence of notes on the piano, then ask you to sing them back to us. This is a pitch exercise to test your skill at hearing and reproducing specific notes well.
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Then you will sing the exercise taught earlier with two of us, to test how well you blend. We will briefly review this beforehand; it's not about memorization. The emphasis is on "blend," that is, matching our pitch, tone, pronunciation, and volume, and limiting anything that makes you stand out, such as vibrato. Singing "straight tone" (i.e. without vibrato) is important in a cappella.
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Finally, you will perform the rock/pop/R&B solo that you have prepared (just a verse and a chorus, more or less, in the interest of saving time). If you like, we can play you a starting note on the piano. We recommend you choose a song that is easy to perform a cappella (probably not one with many key changes and long pauses). Try to pick a fairly well-known song, if you can, because it helps us if we are familiar with it beforehand. No musical theater, please, as this is not type of music we perform. If you are concerned about song choice, you can email us. The point is to give you the opportunity to show off the best aspects of your voice.
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Afterwards we might ask you a few more questions. It may sound like a lot, but it's really not that bad – just 10 minutes, after all! So don't feel nervous. We want you to do well as much as you do! :-) Callbacks information will be posted Tuesday (the day after primary auditions end).
