Welcome to Yale A Cappella!

Hoping to ace your audition?

Here’s what to expect from us, and a few things we’ve learned along the way!

1. Warm-ups

After a huge, warm welcome from us, the first thing you’ll do in your audition is a handful of warm-ups. These will include exercises that isolate different parts of your voice: head, chest, mix, belt. These happen fairly quickly, though, so we recommend that you spend some time warming up on your own beforehand.

2. Pitch matching

Learning by ear is a big part of what we do in rehearsal; pitch matching exercises like the ones we’ll give you are a way of simulating this part of how we teach each other music. Here, we’re listening for pitch accuracy and intonation (how well you stay in tune with yourself).

3. Aura Lee/Blending

Unlike your solo, what we’re looking for in the quartet is how well you sing as a member of an ensemble. Singing the right notes is definitely #1. Beyond that, we’re listening for how well you match the tone, color, dynamics, and phrasing of the singers around you. (Hint: Read the sheet music closely for these elements - here’s the PDF and learning tracks!)

4. Solo

Our favorite part! This is the component of the audition that you have the most control over, so be sure to choose a solo that makes you feel good. The more confident you feel about what you’ve prepared, the more possible it becomes to really have fun with your performance.

Choose a song from any genre or era - our taste is quite diverse. If you’re strapped for ideas, consider going through our past albums and finding other songs by artists we’re guaranteed to love. (That said, we don’t recommend singing a song that is already in our repertoire.)

Above all, highlight your strengths! Do whatever you need (or want!) to give us the best possible picture of your voice. Coming in with a starting pitch in mind (“B flat, please!”) is highly recommended.

Lastly, bear in mind: brief is beautiful. A well-executed verse and chorus of a song is plenty, but if you’d like to sing more than that, feel free! We recommend preparing a 45 seconds to a minute long solo. If it’s longer than a minute, we may have to cut you off for time purposes, but of course we won’t if it’s clear you’re wrapping up!

We are so excited to meet you! See you soon!

Find information about the 2023 Rush schedule at rushyale.com