Singing Assessments

Even though this is my second year in chorus I still get nervous before singing assessments. Part of these nerves comes from having the fear of not perfecting each note. I feel sometimes I over think these assessments. Before I sing I make a checklist of what I have to do: sing the right pitch, work on dynamics, manage breath so that I have support, and finally project my voice. Although it may seem like a good thing to do it only makes things worse for me. I start thinking about all these things at once and when its time for me to sing my nerves take over. Breathing deeply before a test is something that really helps me get calm. By the end of my freshman year in concert chorale I don't remember feeling overwhelmed or nervous before singing. I think I had reached a level of comfort in which I did not worry about what others thought of my singing. This feeling of comfort is something every chorus member should have when doing there singing assessments. We shouldn’t have worry about what others think, because we all have to do it at some point. Even if we do mess up trying again will help us in the future. In conclusion, these singing assessments should, in effect, be stress-free tests to show our improvements as individual singers.