Dr Karen Bauer, a friend of mine who taught for many years at North Park University in Chicago. She has great ideas for working on sight reading.  Here are her notes from a convention I attended.THEORY RUDIMENTS NECESSARY FOR SIGHTREADING There are many ways of approaching music rudiments. These procedures are mere suggestions. 1. Meters such as 2/4, 3/4, 4/4 and 6/8, 918,12/8, 6/4 Know the note values in these meters and which ones provide the "beat" or pulse. Be able to read rhythms...

Mark Crayton, friend and colleague of mine and Professor of Music at Roosevelt University: Chicago College of Performing Arts has these tips for choosing good repertoire: Choosing Repertoire It is important to remember that your goal is to have a great audition experience and sing well. Audition panels are not going to be impressed with repertoire that is too advanced for young singers. Instead they are going to be impressed with well-prepared, well thought-out and well-sung...

Christopher Lorimer, friend and colleague of mine, has advice for people who need suggestions for memorization.  These are notes from a longer class on the subject.  Memorization Ideas Simple concept, makes sense, but why it is so important The best way to combat nerves, is to be completely prepared Inevitable distractions (nerves, confidence, appearance, etc.) need not be complicated by memory concerns The better you know your music the less likely to make unnecessary mistakes When...

Theresa Brancaccio, friend and colleague of mine and  Senior lecturer at Northwestern University has some helpful tips for high school students on how to have an amazing audition.  Terry’s Tips on: HOW TO PREPARE A SONG OR ARIA Translate the text WORD FOR WORD using dictionaries and checking them with reliable books such as those by Coffin, Singer & Delattre, and Schoep & Harris and sources like the Ring of Words by Miller. You should own a good Italian, German, and French...