Help! I'm Creating a Musical Theatre Audition Songbook!?

Question

I'm so excited but I was wondering if anyone had any ideas! I do community and semiprofessional theatre but I want help to get into the more professional theatre production in the city. With more training is how I would do it of course.. but I want to work on a list of songs with my new singing teacher to be prepared for any audition ahead of time.

More about my "character type". I'm 5 foot 5, blond, average to small build, 21 years old. I'm very believable at playing naive and innocent girls.. but I love comedic roles. Roles I've played in the past are Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors (which was probably the best suited for me), Hope Harcourt in Anything Goes and Ariel Moore in Footloose.

My lowest note is an low g can belt up to a c, I have a pretty strong mixed register, and my head voice is pretty clear and can sing up to a high c.

Here's an example of the bases I need covered:

http://www.ehow.com/how_2111428_musical-theatre-audition-book.html

I'd like to have my bases covered so If you think of what KINDS of songs I should include.. that would be interesting too.

Answer 1

Hey, Molly!



Here are some ideas for you :)



1) The standard

"I've Got a Crush on You" from Strike Up the Band (Gershwin)

"Easy to Love" from Anything Goes (Porter)

"My Heart Belongs to Daddy" from Leave it to Me (Porter) Also fits in the Comedy Song category!

"Embraceable You" from Girl Crazy (Gershwin)



2) R & H (But I feel like this category is a little limiting... Why not make it Golden Age of Broadway)

"Stepsister's Lament" from Cinderella (R&H) also fit in the Comedy Song Category!

"What's the Use of Wond'rin'?" from Carousel (R&H)

"Many a New Day" from Oklahoma (R&H)

"Johnny One Note" from Babes in Arms (Rogers and Hart)

"Heather on the Hill" from Brigadoon (Lerner and Lowe)

"Life Upon the Wicked Stage" from Show Boat (Jerome Kern) also fits in the Comedy Song Category!



3) Comedy Song

From our previous categories, we already have "Life Upon the Wicked Stage," "Stepsister's Lament," and "My Heart Belongs to Daddy." But none of these songs are modern. So here's a few more ideas:

"Strongest Suit" from Aida

"Mix Tape" from Avenue Q

"It's a Perfect Relationship" from Bells are Ringing

"Schroeder" from You're a Good Man Charlie Brown



4) The Power Ballad - This one is easy! Just use "Suddenly Seymour!" The quintessential power ballad!

Other power ballads that could work for you:

"Almost Paradise" from Footloose

"I Know The Truth" from Aida

"Once Upon a Dream" from Jekyll and Hyde



5) Sondheim

"That'll show Him!" from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (a tad overdone, but an excellent choice for your type!)

"Unworthy of your Love" from Assassins

"I Remember" from Evening Primrose

"Sooner or Later" from Dick Tracy

"Not a Day Goes By" from Merrily We Roll Along

"I Know Things Now" from Into The Woods

"Everybody says Don't" from Anyone Can Whistle



6) Specialty Song

I don't know about this one... do you sing pop, gospel, country, rock, or opera? I personally have found a few pop, gospel, jazz, and country artists that I feel I have a similar vocal timbre and used their songs as audition material. Who's your favorite singer that isn't a Musical Theatre actor/actress? Sometimes it's fun to have songs from male artists too - like Elvis or Johnny Cash, or Queen! Just find something that speaks to you and sounds good in your voice :)



Hope that's helpful!

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

One of the most diverse muscles in our bodies is the tongue. This amazing tool not only helps you talk, but also helps you properly sing. When you sing, it is important that your tongue rest in specific areas as certain notes or scales are attempted. Learn here how to sing https://tr.im/qBWov

The tip of the tongue is the easiest to control, but is not what is used the most in singing. When you sing, the tip of your tongue should be lightly pressed against the back of the lower teeth. This will ensure that it doesn't get in the way, or hinder the middle, sides, or back of the tongue when attempting certain notes. The back of the tongue, probably one of the hardest areas to control, should be the section that is relaxed. Once you get used to keeping the tip of your tongue lightly pressed against the back of your teeth, this should be easier to do. You can even put the tip a little lower if you feel it's in the way or becomes irritated. So, the back of the tongue should be relaxed, yet ready for use. You should be able to control it a little bit at this point. As you practice singing a little more, try to notice what the back and middle section of your tongue are doing. On lower tones or notes, the tongue will lie flat. On higher tones, the contrary. When it comes to lower tones, the tongue doesn't have as much work to do because the lower sound that is emitted originates in the chest cavity and is formed through the throat. With higher tones, however, the higher the tone, the more 'active' this back section of the tongue must be. Now that the tongue has been covered in some detail, it should be noted that singing is difficult on the muscles and surrounding cavities and ligaments. However, difficult does not mean painful. If in hopes of reaching a certain tone or trying to hold a sound, you thereby cause stress to your neck or throat muscles, you are not going to last long. Controlling these muscles, as steadily as possible, and working them to a certain point each day, without strain, is one of the most important factors when it comes to practicing and learning how to sing. Remember, you should never feel pain nor strain.

Answer 4

have you ever seen Bye Bye Birdie? i will guess How stunning To Be a female would artwork large for you! Kim is 15, that's no longer a belty music. She's a tomboy who thinks she's starting to be a female now (yet she's nonetheless basically a baby) :-) additionally check out something Sandy sings in Grease, no longer very belty the two and besides the undeniable fact that that's nicely primary, no longer very over achieved anymore. some songs are famously sung 'belty' yet you may cause them to your individual and a director make like them with a softer sound, you on no account understand. basically make your individual stable character selections and if the director makes a guideline, circulate with it! I additionally like i'm Calm or or That'll instruct Him from A humorous element exceeded off on a thank you to The talk board. there is likewise Goodnight My somebody from music guy. no longer my favorite, yet actual soprano and not belty. check out here characters and what they sing of their exhibits: Wendy - Peter Pan Joanna - Sweeney Todd Tuptim - The King & I Nanette - No, No, Nanette youthful Sally - Follies Julie Jordan - Carousel Luisa - Fantasticks that would desire to get you started, yet of path there are maximum of selections available! sturdy success!

Answer 5

I'm not well versed in musical theatre, but I've been on both sides of orchestral auditions. I've also played a fair number of musical theatre gigs as a trumpet player and have colleagues involved on both sides of the auditioning in that realm as well.



Regarding audition literature, with orchestral auditions there a pretty set repertory for each instrument that each musician is expected to learn. With musical theatre, you're usually given a general set of guidelines or genres to chose from and are then expected to perform works that are well-suited to you.



My first suggestion would be to research any auditions you might be interested in taking within the next six months or year (local, schools and universities, studios, festivals, semiprofessionals, clinics, etc.) and note the repertory requirements of each of them. Get as much information together as you can and compare the lists to find out which songs or genres come up most often and target those specifically. If you run into auditions that have one odd-ball piece, it's best to skip it unless you're really interested. It's not efficient spending hours to perfect a challenging piece for one audition when you have six of the same pieces on the other auditions.



Your teacher should be able to help you a lot with this, but remember there are a lot of teachers. Many are very nice, but not all of them are good. If you're really serious about this, it's best to try to work with a few teachers if possible. At the very least, make sure your teacher is working well with you and that you feel your improving. If you go to them and they can't offer any advise on this, it might be time to shop around. Keep in mind not offering advise is different than making you do your homework. Especially if your teacher is a professional. They have their own stuff to worry about...



As far as choosing the music, this is very personal for a vocalist. You have a good methodology outlined on ehow. I think that's your best starting point. Now you have to ask yourself and others what your strongest songs from each genre are.



As you climb up the latter of auditions, you'll find the committees have to audition more and more people. Generally, people on audition committees - especially in professional situations where they may have to do this for an entire day - hate being on audition committees. By the end of the day, everything blurs together. Making their lives easier is a good thing and there are a couple of fairly universal rules of thumb:



1. Pick music that suites you well and make sure you've sang it in public as much as possible before the audition.



2. It's a good idea - as your choosing your music - to highlight one particular strength in each piece. This is generally how set repertory lists are devised. My understanding is that many people will fall into choosing music from different genres that all feature melody or really belting it out there. Avoid this as much as possible. Versatility is very important and even though you may be really great at one thing, you need to be able to show that you can sing well in different styles vocally as well as in genre.



3. Sing music you can sing well. The ehow article noted this, but it's worth stating again. Don't pick something you're struggling with. It's nice to be able to sing challenging music, but if you can only mostly sing it, you won't qualify. I can't tell you how often this comes up, especially in vocal auditions! Again, imagine you're setting on a committee listening to a hundred singers singing five minutes each. It's really tedious when someone isn't prepared. It's always better to hear an easier song sung well.



Musical theatre auditions almost always conclude with a song of your choice. That's a good one to really belt out. Something showy that makes them want to hear more.



Also, keep in mind that some auditions, especially in local musical theatre, are quite specific. If your local theatre is performing "The Music Man," you'll probably only have to sing parts from that musical.



Finally, a good modern way to get some feedback on songs is to record yourself using a video camera of reasonable quality attached to a microphone of good quality. Put the videos up on YouTube and ask for comments. You'll probably get some haters, but you'll also get some honest opinions and that can help you choose the music others think your best at (which is often better than picking the music we think we're best at).



I hope that helps some...