Singorama - How To Avoid Being An American Idol Reject

I admit it.

My favorite part of American Idol is when they do the auditions.

I realize that many of the people trying out just want to get on tv. They aren"t singers; they only came out to meet Paula or to stick it to Simon. But then there"s that other special group of people auditioning who THINK they can sing well. They usually have an attitude. You know who I"m talking about, right?

These people never really learned the basics of singing. If you watch when Randy tells them, for example, that their singing is pitchy, they look at him like he"s talking about physics. Like they have no idea what pitch is. This article will look at a few music terms you should know before you audition for American Idol.

Pitchy

In music, people talk about sounds being "high" or "low"---meaning high-pitched or low-pitched. Pitchy means off-key. It means the singer wandered off key in places and was "off" on the notes. The singer didn't hit the right notes.

Key

A key is the scale on which a piece of music is written, think of a key as the solar system... the sun being the key, and the planets are the rest of the sounds of the scale.

Nasally

When Simon says a singer sounds nasally, it generally means the singer is pushing too much air through their larynx, which causes a closed throat. This puts a lot of tension on the back of the tongue and also makes their jaw jut forward. With their jaw in a forward position, they can"t fully open their vocal cords.

There is a lot more to each of these terms. But basically, pitch and key, are rooted in learning how to read music. And nasally has to do with positioning your mouth so you sound your best. If you want to impress anyone with your singing, not to mention Randy, Paula, and Simon, you have to learn these things. Cold.

Find yourself an accomplished vocal coach or consider buying an online singing program. It depends how far along you are with your singing. But however you master the singing basics, you have to master them to avoid being an American Idol reject.

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