YOUTH WORSHIP TEAM
THE EFFECTIVE VOCAL AUDITION | Vance & Michelle Shepherd
Does your youth worship team have more background vocalists than you know how to get on the schedule , but you don ’ t have enough vocalists that can sing leads and special songs for your events and services ? Vocalists with a quality tone and good vocal range are much harder to come by than we think – but the way we hold our vocal auditions can help you find great vocalists and can point out their strengths and also their weaknesses , so you know how to best utilize them on your team .
We ’ ve found that the best first step in the audition process is to ask for a video submission . Just seeing them sing on video will tell you so much about their vocal styling , tone , presence , and how accurate they are on pitch . The video submission frees you up from having to do so many live auditions , and you ’ ll be able to give them feedback via email or phone as to whether they will move forward to the next step of having a live audition in person with you .
Once you have determined they will move forward , pick a couple of songs that are very popular in your church . “ What A Beautiful Name ” by Hillsong is an example of a great audition song for a female lead vocalist because it showcases different vocal tones in one song – moving from head voice to chest voice and will allow you to hear if the vocalist can navigate between the two dynamically , or if they sing the whole song in just full voice or head voice only . It ’ s great to ask them to also sing something that they personally connect with , or something very stylistic ( whatever genre ) so you can get a feel for what they might sound good on regarding features or themed songs . You can tell a lot about a singer by asking them to sing something that inspires them .
You also want to see if they can pick out harmony parts by ear . If the singer can pick out multiple harmonies on a recording and be at least 80 % accurate in their execution of the parts ), then you will be setting your team up for great vocal success . We ’ ve been exposed to so many worship teams that have an abundance of singers on the platform ( most of them just singing melody ), and so few singers that can actually add harmony to the mix and do it well .
Another thing to listen for during your vocal auditions is how well they can utilize their full voice and be able to belt . So much of modern worship is now leaning toward that style of singing . To have vocalists on your team that can execute a full belted voice will allow you to do songs like “ Raise A Hallelujah ”, “ No Longer Slaves ”, “ King Of My Heart ”, “ Who You Say I Am ”, etc , and sound much more like the original recording .
Do a check of their vocal range and see how high they can go in a full belted voice ( with control ), so you know what type of range they can execute well . A half to a whole step up or down can make a huge difference to a singer , so make sure that you as the worship leader are not asking your singers to sing out of their
range . They will be more than happy to try to sing out of their range just to please you , and to be able to sing on the team , but you want to set them up for success , and also a good worship experience – not have them walk away defeated and second guessing their talent . We try to know every singer ’ s range , style , tone , and stage presence before assigning them a song that we “ hope ” will fit them . We always want to showcase a strength , not a weakness . Excellence attracts excellence , so the higher you set the bar for your team , and the more you know your vocalists and what they can and cannot do , you will attract other talented singers to your team .
May you be blessed as you pour into to or become the next generation of worship leaders !
Vance & Michelle Shepherd Founders of The Shepherd School of Music in Las Vegas , NV , where they work with youth to raise up the next generation of worship leaders and musicians . facebook . com / shepherdschoolofmusiclasvegas www . ShepherdStudiosLV . com
46 June 2024 Subscribe for Free ...