What Qualifications Must a Singer Have?
Professional singers do more than just sell albums and get radio airplay. The voices you hear in commercial jingles and children's television shows, for example, all belong to working singers who had to audition and compete for many jobs. Many singers complete post-secondary music programs to better qualify themselves for work, although this is not necessary. What are required are skills specific to the type of work a singer is trying to obtain.
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Proper Vocal Technique
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Singers must be able to sing properly. Most people can sing to some degree, but a professional singer must be able to sing with proper intonation, timing, tone and clarity. Whether the singer is accompanying a prerecorded instrumental track or blending voices with other vocalists in an ensemble, consistent control of pitch, rhythm and vowel shape is essential.
Genre Knowledge
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A singer must have knowledge of the genre of music being performed. This may involve linguistic training when singing chamber or choral music in foreign languages. Although it is not necessary to be fluent in every language that you sing, knowledge of or training in proper pronunciation makes a tremendous difference in a performance.
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Vocal Hygiene
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Knowledge of and practice in good vocal hygiene, or voice care, is essential for a singer. An effective warm up maximizes the singer's vocal ability and allows for an optimal performance. The professional singer should arrive at each job vocally warmed up and ready to perform. If proper singing technique is not employed to protect the voice, work is lost when performances are cancelled due to vocal strain.
Music Sight Reading
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A singer who joins a band and plays the night club circuit or wedding gigs may never need to read sheet music. A professional studio singer, on the other hand, needs music sight reading skill. Often a singer hired to record a jingle or music for a commercial will have no prior exposure to the music being performed and must learn each piece upon arrival at the studio. Without good sight reading skills, this is considerably more difficult; inability to sight read may cost a singer work.
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References
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