Although you may intend to accept all of the interested students for a non- select choir, it is still best to audition each of them. It may not be possible or even necessary to do this before the first meeting of the ensemble. If the schedule determines that the audition must be held during the first rehearsal, have the students come, one at a time, to another room for this brief hearing or in front in groups of four to six.
Assuming that these students have no previous choral experience, the audition will not need to be as rigorous as that for the select choir. Begin with a three note exercise in a downward progression (see fig. 1).
Start in what you believe to be the middle of the person's range and do not be discouraged if the student seems unable to sing even the opening pitch. Students that are completely inexperienced and very nervous sometimes will not match pitch except in a limited part of their range. It is necessary for you to find that usable part of the range and begin there.
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Use a step-wise ascending and descending exercise up to the fifth, as in figure 2, for the next part of the audition.
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The pitch retention test can be used, not to determine membership, but to provide you with an accurate indication of potential that you will later want to have. The pitch retention test should be modified to fit particular situations and age levels of the students.
