Quantitative Analysis of the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) All-State Choral Audition Music

Abstract

Young voices experience a multitude of physiological and hormonal changes that can impact vocal production. Singing an ensemble voice part that demands more than an adolescent laryngeal structure can readily support may be detrimental to vocal health and enjoyment. This study analyzes the musical range, tessitura, cycle dose, short-term recovery dose, and time dose of choral selections for the popular and competitive Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) All-State competition as a means of informing successful audition and rehearsal practices. An expanded model based on previous work by Stefan Thurmer, Ingo Titze, and John Nix is used to analyze the TMEA All-State Large-School, Treble, and Tenor-Bass choral audition music. Each vocal part's pitches are subdivided by the piece's smallest common rhythmic duration and converted to hertz for equal weighting. Quartile analysis is used to define tessitura as the inclusive range between the first and third quartiles. This method reveals the musical range, tessitura, cycle dose, short-term recovery dose, and time dose in an objective manner that can be compared with individual voices for best fit using similar individual metrics and the voice range profile. Vocal characteristics that individual singers should possess to successfully navigate the exacting All-State audition and rehearsal process are described based on data interpretation. Teachers and conductors can prepare their students for success by evaluating these factors ahead of time and assigning parts based on information gleaned from these methods.