Vocal

Level two vocal students expectations:

At this level the standard requires two substantial pieces of music.

• demonstrate greater control across the range of tone, pitch, breathing, phrasing, intonation, diction, projection and presentation.

• Pitch and tone should be relatively free and even across the full range of the music

• Rhythms and tempi should be generally accurate and students should be performing four bar vocal phrases with minimal difficulty

• Breathing should be mostly inaudible and carefully sustained. The voice should have clear, forward projection. There should be some demonstration of dynamic shading and attention to “telling the story”.

Moving into merit and excellence

At the Merit level, students should also demonstrate effective performance preparation. The voice should be vocally warm and the student should demonstrate prestudy of the two songs to ensure that they are familiar with the lyrics and technical demands of the music. Students should be performing without lyrics so they can focus on presenting an engaging performance which demonstrates rapport with the audience. Interaction with the accompanist should be secure and if possible the soloist should be communicating and in command of tempi and style. Allowance should be made for situations where the accompanist is not fully assisting the soloist.

A convincing performance at the Excellence level is demonstrated by all musical elements being carefully prepared and delivered across both pieces. Students should know and understand the repertoire thorughly and there should be minimal attention drawn to issues of weaker intonation, pitch, breathing and diction. The performance should be fluent and effortless, well projected and portray a sense of narrative and/or drama. The student should demonstrate good posture and positioning on the stage and have established a strong rapport with the audience.

General considerations for the contemporary voice

There should be an accurate sense of pitching, intonation and rhythm which allows for the style of the music to be maintained. There is more opportunity for a flexible vocal approach but there should still be a sense of cohesion with the style. Vocal projection should be evidenced and if the sound is amplified there should be close attention to not over or under-singing into the microphone. The use of the microphone should be seen as an extension of the voice rather than a barrier between the singer and the audience. Vocal production should still be relaxed and there should be no obvious tension or strain around the mouth neck or jaw. For this purpose, students should be guided away from performing Screamo Metal (or similar) which involves raucous and unmoderated vocal control. If students have opted to perform an extract of rap music, this should be fluent, and highly rhythmic with a well controlled tone.