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GSMD - Vocal Studies

Hi!

I really want to know what the audition is like for the voice course (undergraduate). How advanced should a applicant be to be accepted? Any detail is welcome. :smile:

Reply 1

christielovesyou

I can't really tell you specifically about Guildhall's auditions (or any conservatoire's, for that matter, as I didn't apply to any - the reason will become clear in a moment) but I do know that conservatoires don't generally accept singers until they are 20-ish. Their admissions are more based around physical maturity, and therefore stamina, than being "advanced". This is because the cartilage in your larynx hasn't toughened up fully until you are in your mid 20s, and training someone is considerably younger than this can cause permanent vocal damage due to the intense demands of the course. It's purely for health reasons and to preserve the longevity of the voice.

Obviously I don't know how old you are but that's the situation with conservatoires, so I thought I would share anyway. :smile:

Reply 2

Kolast

I'm 20.

Original post by christielovesyou

training someone is considerably younger than this can cause permanent vocal damage due to the intense demands of the course.

So trained singing voice is not required for admission? I wonder if I have any chance to be accepted because my voice is not excellent trained. I've been taking voice lessons for about one and a half years.

Reply 3

schenker

London conservatoires are all extremely competitive, you'll find most applicants sing very proficiently prior to their application. Although a "Trained singing voice" is not stated explicitly in the admissions criteria, the people who audition you will be looking for a good quality of voice, and obvious musicality in your performance - both of which are usually developed through vocal tuition.

With a year or so of vocal tuition behind you, conservatoire may not be out of the question, providing you have a decent teacher and a fairly decent sound to your voice. Also 20 is a good age to start an application (most singers I know have applied at 20+ or applied as postgraduates).

If you decide to go to apply this year - focus on tone production, SIGHT SINGING (there so many decent sounding singers out there who can't sight sing.. -.-), and the expressive elements of singing (Guildhall seem to be in to the dramatic side of vocal performance - 'candidates should prepare a short poem or piece of prose to perform at the audition')

Reply 4

christielovesyou

Original post by Kolast

I'm 20.

No, I meant "trained"/"training" I meant studying at a conservatoire - doing THAT too young is damaging, simply having singing lessons as a teenager isn't. They do generally require you to have developed good voice quality, technique and musicality prior to audition, as schenker said.

20 is a good age to apply though, so you should go for it.