Competitions are what Vanilla Vocal students look forward to most throughout the year. Students of all ages and singing levels take part in competitions and always walk away with a smile. Some competitions we take part in are: Kraalkunstefees; Garsfontein Kunstefees; Kids with Talent SA; SATCH; Eisteddfod and Talent Africa.

hoosing a song to suit your age and voice can be difficult. Most competitions ask their compeditors to sing four songs in four different genres. Here are a few tips and things to know when choosing a song:

1. It must suit your vocal range. Your vocal coach can transpose your backtrack if the song is too high or too low but if you only have a three octave range and your song requires four octaves transposing won’t help.

2. Your song must be age appropriate. Find a song that you can relate to. It is more important for your audience to be able to relate to what you are singing about, than just to listen to a song that you can sing on pitch. If you can’t relate to your song chances are good your audience won’t either.

3. What genres are you good in? I believe that singers should be versatile and explore all genres. It doesn’t mean if you are an opera singer that you shouldn’t learn to sing pop, but in the end everyone has a genre and style that suits them best.

4. Choose the right song for the right occasion. If you are going to sing at a competition it’s best you choose songs to show off your talent and skill. If you’re going to sing at a wedding or party you would rather choose songs that people like to listen to. If you are performing as background music you will choose easy listening happy songs but when you are going to be the centre of attention you would rather choose more entertaining songs. It takes time to find the right songs for all the different occasions but your singing mentor will be there to help you.