Singing Assessments!

Singing Assessments are I'm sure, nobody’s favorite thing to do. As you sit in class waiting for your turn it can be difficult to calm your nerves to a point that you will be able to sing to your best ability; your voice, and your entire body, shakes because no one whats to mess up in front of other people because they are afraid of being judged or made fun of. Before it's my turn to sing, I try to calm myself down by taking deep breathes and going over what we are required to do in my head. When I am the first person to perform, I am always more nervous because I may not expect to be going so soon and I'm not prepared to potentially embarrass myself in front of the whole class. Although the opportunity to sing without the whole class present is given, I try very hard to push myself to perform in class because I know it will make me a better performer and musician. I personally think that, like we did in class today, singing a few measures from one of our pieces is fairly easier than the reciting a scale or doing rhythms or sight reading as we might normally do, because I already know what to sing, so I have more room to focus on my pitch, toning, expression, rhythms, and vocal technique. No matter what you have to do, I believe that singing assessments are a way to improve the chorus and even bring us closer together; because when people are signing in front of their peers, they may be vulnerable, and when someone is in that state, the support and respect of the chorus can always help.
-- Julia Murphy