<p>Is Vocal coaching necessary? What if you don't have any experience? When's the best time for a student to start preparing for auditions?</p>
<p>I think it is. And the student should start preparing as soon as possible. Even better, an audition coach where they can get help with college lists, vocal coaching, song choice, and monologue coaching. Check some previous threads on this topic, there are recommended companies that many kids have used with great success. Even if you don’t live in a place where you have access to a good coach, a lot of them will do some of the work via Skype. My daughter did not use a coach, but has had private voice lessons for about 2 years. If we had a do-over (which thankfully she didn’t end up needing) I would have gotten her some coaching for sure. Especially for girls. This process is exponentially more competitive for girls. They need every edge they can get. Good luck!</p>
<p>I think vocal coaching is necessary. Not only do you need to get your vocal technique into shape before your auditions, but you also need to be VERY polished and confident with your material. The more help you can get before your auditions with acting, singing, dance and your interview, the better! I see you are in NYC. If you are looking for a vocal coach, PM me and I can recommend some great teachers.</p>
<p>MTCA musical theater college auditions just posted their updated website tonight! You can see students who have profited from their vocal, monologue, dance and song coaching this year and all the amazing programs they got into. In addition to audition coaching, they also have vocal training that can be accomplished very successfully over Skype with very experienced teachers who teach both classical and mix/belt technique. The cost is the same as it would be for private singing lessons in our area. I suggest you take a look at them!</p>
<p>For those who used MTCA for their kids, I was wondering how involved you were in the process initially. My S would probably have to skype for much of it, possibly traveling to one of the dance audition master classes and a mock audition. In the getting started and development-of-the-list type of Skype sessions, did you sit in and ask questions along with your child, or do they expect to just have the student doing it all him or herself? I know that there are questions that my S might not remember to ask, or if he did, might not remember all the answers once the Skype session was over! Obviously I don’t need to be involved in the monologue/singing coaching sessions, but was just curious about the initial contacts. Thanks for the help!</p>
<p>I can’t speak for everyone zebrarunner, but my D’s initial consultation with MTCA included both my D and myself. For subsequent sessions I was mostly “in the background” taking notes for her until we figured out that it’s best to record the sessions for playback and reflection.</p>
<p>We did MTCA in-person, but this could apply just as well if you are doing things by Skype. My husband, D and I attended the initial consultation with Ellen, in which Ellen assessed my D’s needs and determined which of her coaches would be the most appropriate, and we asked questions to better understand if MTCA would be a good fit. Then I sat in at the first meeting with her assigned audition and monologue coach so he could get to know my D and what our family is looking for in terms of schools. I also joined in for 15 minutes of the hour once or twice after that. I did not sit in on any of the vocal coaching. Most kids can use a lot of help from you in school selection. MTCA coaches are excellent communicators!</p>
<p>zebrarunner-I worked with MTCA over skype and my parents did my consult with me and then if there were school session just five minutes at the beginning of the coaching. I know sometimes my mom emailed them and then we would address them in coaching or my coach would email back. I also did the traveling to a mock and masterclass I live in the midwest and it worked amazingly. Feel free to PM with any other questions about long distance MTCAing</p>
<p>Thanks so much to everyone for all the replies about MTCA - they are most helpful! Glad to hear they are so good about communication, and it sounds like I’ll be able to get the info I need without a problem, while still leaving most of the vocal and monologue coaching time to S, which is just what we are looking for. And dg22894, thanks for the info on doing it all from far away. I’ll be sure to PM you if I come up with more specific questions!</p>
<p>Definitely a vocal coach, even over and/or along with an audition coach. If you have a knowledgeable vocal coach (who coaches teenagers in particular) they can guide the applicant through appropriate material. This includes appropriate material for the applicant’s age, skill, range, personality. They will also know what NOT to sing as well as what is over done. My S’s vocal coach made accompanist cd’s for him and covered basic audition notes about practical choices for playback devices, how to talk to a live accompanist about songs that would be sung during auditions. Small details that sometimes an applicant and/or parent may not consider.</p>