Studying the Song - Audition Prep and Musicianship for Musical Theatre

Discover the 4 types of songs that should be on your practice session work list. 

Do you look at your enormous repertoire book and wonder where to start when it’s time for your at-home practice?

Do you start practice warming up by singing through songs, only to find you haven’t learned anything new or honed any skills by the end of the hour?

If you’ve ever struggled with knowing what to work on during your at-home practice or felt like you weren’t practicing with specific intention of honing a skill or pursuing a dream role, then this is the episode for you. 

In this episode, I teach you how to create a TARGETED WORK LIST that will move you toward your performing goals. 

Your work list will be full of songs specifically selected to improve your skills, prepare you for auditions, and move you toward your performance goals.

Once you create this work list, you’ll be able dive into your practice time with confidence.   You won’t be stuck staring at a huge binder with a million songs in it and not knowing where to start.  And you won’t be rehashing the same songs over and over. 

If you’re ready to create a practice plan specifically tailored to your performance goals, then press play now!

Xo,

Korrie

Visit www.korrieyamaoka.com for FREE RESOURCES and sign up for the Studying the Song Email List for weekly resources about auditions and artist branding.

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Broadway veteran and award-winning director, Thomas James O’Leary, lifts the veil and shares his journey to Broadway where he played title role in Phantom of the Opera for over 1,000 performances.  

In this in-depth episode, Tom shares loads of lessons about rising through the ranks of some of the greatest mega musicals in history (Les Miserable, Chess, Miss Saigon) as well as the specific performance techniques that helped him break through to playing the lead role of the Phantom.

If you’re a megamusical history buff, a Phantom fan, or just looking for helpful tips about being a better performer, then this episode is for you!   

Listen to the whole episode now, or use the time stamps below to navigate to specific topics.

1:00 Welcome/Intro

5:30 Early Years and Going to New York

9:34 His botched audition for Les Miserable 1st National Tour

15:28 Audition for Chess (Broadway), finding “Pity the Child”

19:27 Owning Your Niche – “intense”

22:24 Being a Swing on Les Mis 1st National Tour

27:02 Chess (1st National Tour)

31:03 Audition for Miss Saigon (Broadway), the Dance Call!

34:54 Rehearsal stories Miss Saigon, not getting understudy role of Chris

43:46 Journey to lead role of Phantom on Broadway and his acting transformation

1:04:25 Acting through song, learning your music, and audition tips

1:19:16 Korrie’s Wrap Up

Xo,

Korrie

Visit www.korrieyamaoka.com for FREE RESOURCES and sign up for the Studying the Song Email List for weekly resources about auditioning, information on new offerings, and the latest news form Studying the Song.

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Are you an Actor/Singer who wants more confidence in your singing voice?  Or are you a Singer/Actor who feels like your vocal technique goes out the window when you start acting more fully?

In this episode, I reveal how acting gets in the way of singing with a beautiful tone.  Then I talk about 3 easy concepts to think about as you’re singing that will give you more consistent resonance, better intonation, and more control over your vocal colors - all without sacrificing your acting intentions.  

Once you implement these 3 vocal concepts, you’ll have more control over your voice and can lean into singing and using the melody to help tell your story.

If you’re ready to gain confidence in your vocal tone and access more storytelling options for your songs, then press play now!

Xo,

Korrie

Visit www.korrieyamaoka.com for FREE RESOURCES and sign up for the Studying the Song Email List for weekly resources about auditions and artist branding.

Did you enjoy today’s episode?  Please Rate, Review, and Subscribe today!

Are you constantly hitting a wall in the audition room?  You know you have what it takes to play the role, but the director just doesn’t seem to get it?  

What you need is to identify your niche.

In this episode, we’ll uncover the powerful concept of niche.  We’ll discuss what niche is and how to identify your niche so that you can communicate clearly to the director the assets you bring to the table.

Once you’ve defined your niche, you will communicate exactly who you are and how you fit into the show you’re auditioning for, making it super easy for the director to envision you in their show and move you into the yes pile.

If you’re ready to find clarity about your strengths and start booking the gig, then press play today!

Xo,

Korrie

Visit www.korrieyamaoka.com for FREE RESOURCES and sign up for the Studying the Song Email List for weekly resources about auditions and artist branding.

Did you enjoy today’s episode?  Please Rate, Review, and Subscribe today!

Learn how to unlock the secret of SONG FORM by analyzing common structural formulas of melodic form.

Today’s episode concludes our 3-part series on MELODY and how it tells a story.  We’ll examine how to identify phrase lengths, how to discover the structural formula your phrases are following, and how a song’s form emerges from phrase groups, more commonly called “song sections.”

Once you understand the form of the song, you’ll be able to trace your character’s transformation throughout the song by identifying where the main sections of the song are.  Then you can create clear beat shifts for your character as the sections change. 

I analyze song examples from Tin Pan Alley, the Golden Age, and contemporary musical theatre so you can see common song form formulas at work across several eras.   Plus, you’ll finally know exactly where the numbers for 16 and 32 bar audition cuts come from!

If you're ready to take your storytelling to the next level with practical score analysis, then press play now!

Xo,

Be sure to listen to Parts 1 and 2 of this series!

Episode 19 How Does Melody Tell a Story? -- Part 1: Melodic Contour

Episode 20 How Does Melody Tell a Story? -- Part 2: Motivic Development

Visit www.korrieyamaoka.com for FREE RESOURCES and sign up for the Studying the Song Email List for weekly resources about auditions and all things vocal styling!

Did you enjoy today’s episode?  Leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen!

Want to refresh your audition book, but not sure where to start?  This episode gives you an easy 3-step exercise to jumpstart the process of cleaning out your book and finding the songs that will really move the needle in your career.

I’ve been hearing from a lot of coaching clients that they want to work on their audition books. 

They feel like they haven’t changed the material in ages, they want new material that better fits them, something fresh, more contemporary feel – which I take to mean that it feels part of today’s theatre world.  Not that they don’t want classic or older material, but they want it feel fresh to them and like it will work for the shows that people are doing these days. 

So, I thought I’d give you a little peek into how I approach working with a client to refresh their audition book.   These are the exact 3 questions I send out in preliminary emails to my clients.

If you want a little jumpstart to get you energized about cleaning out your audition book, then press play today!

Xo,

Visit www.korrieyamaoka.com for FREE RESOURCES and sign up for the Studying the Song Email List for weekly resources about auditions and all things vocal styling!

Did you enjoy today’s episode?  Leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen!

Learn 6 different types of motivic development and how motives provide the architecture of a melody.

Today’s episode continues our 3-part series on MELODY and how it tells a story.  We’ll examine what a motive is and how we can alter and develop them to create variation and interest throughout the melody. 

Once you understand the logic of the architecture of the melody, you can make your own informed and personal choices about how you want to interpret a song.  You’ll know when to stick to the ink (when the writing is genius as is – hello, Sondheim!), and you’ll know when there’s flexibility and room for you stylistic flair to be added.

I’ll cover a range of song examples from jazz standards to Golden Age classics, from Sondheim to contemporary Disney movie musicals.  ALL songs are comprised of motives and utilize motivic development!

If you’re ready to reach a new level of understanding and interpreting your songs, then press play now!

Xo,

Visit www.korrieyamaoka.com for FREE RESOURCES and sign up for the Studying the Song Email List for weekly resources about auditions and all things vocal styling!

Did you enjoy today’s episode?  Leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen!

In this 3-part series, I’m dissecting melodic composition and how it impacts storytelling in song.  I’ll be answering the questions: What is melody?  How is it constructed?  And most importantly, how does melody tell a story of its own? 

This episode zeroes in on melodic contour and how it can elevate your interpretation of lyrics.  I walk you through specific song examples while I discuss conjunct and disjunct motion, melodic focal points, and a melody’s inner landscape of hills and valleys. 

When you learn these building blocks of melodic construction, you’ll be able to analyze a melody for yourself, communicate better with the music director, and make personal choices about how you want to interpret the melody.

If you want to feel more empowered to make unique interpretive choices for your song, then press play now!

Xo,

Korrie

Visit www.korrieyamaoka.com for FREE RESOURCES and sign up for the Studying the Song Email List for weekly resources about auditions and all things vocal styling!

Did you enjoy today’s episode?  Leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen!

My experience with reading deprivation and giving up social media for a week.   In this episode I get personal as I share my journey of reading The Artist’s Way and doing one particular exercise -- READING DEPRIVATION.  Sound scary?   Hate the idea immediately?  Well, If your brain is feeling fried or like you’ve got constant static going on, then it might be exactly what you need.

After just 5 days, I’ve experienced clarity and peace that I didn’t even know was missing from my mind!

I also do a check in with you about the podcast and where it’s heading.  And, I reveal a few things my intuition told me I needed that were not expected!

If you’re ready for some REAL TALK about what it’s like to have a podcast, run a business, AND preserve your artistic soul, then press play, and let’s get into it.

Xo,

Korrie

Visit www.korrieyamaoka.com for FREE RESOURCES and sign up for the Studying the Song Email List for weekly resources about auditions and all things vocal styling!

Did you enjoy today’s episode?  Leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen!

Let me know what you’re interested in hearing more about!  Email me at [email protected]

Instagram: @korrieyamaoka @studyingthesong

Learn five advanced techniques for clarifying your storytelling and improving your vocal performance.  Spoiler alert: these aren’t the things everyone talks about!  I’m going to lay out the 5 MOST COMMON MISTAKES I see singers make when interpreting their songs in an audition.   I’ll also discuss WHY they’re so important and HOW YOU CAN FIX these mistakes.  Once you learn these advanced techniques, you’ll never worry about blending in with the rest of the crowd again.  Your detailed, nuanced performance will show you for the superstar you are.

Ready to stand out from the rest?  Then press play, and let’s get into it.

Xo,

Korrie

Visit www.korrieyamaoka.com for FREE RESOURCES and sign up for the Studying the Song Email List for weekly resources about auditions and all things vocal styling!

Did you enjoy today’s episode?  Leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen!