Audition songs?
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Anonymous
| Hey all! I want to try out for a musical. It’s been literally 18 years and I’ve never had to come up with my own song. Where do I begin? I’m required to pick 32 bars of music. How do I find out what 32 bars of a certain song is? Do I need to buy the sheet music? Also any suggestions for a song should I use? I’m assuming I need to pick something from another musical. I have a mezzo soprano to high soprano voice. I was actually classically trained and sang some pretty high soprano stuff, but it’s not my favorite. I am better with simple, lyrical style songs. Ideas? |
Anonymous
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No joke, google "Audition songs".
I pick songs that showcase my voice and range really well. I like "You Don't Own Me" by Lesley Gore. I like "Picture" by Sheryl Crow and Kid Rock. |
Anonymous
| What’s the musical? It would help to pick a song that’s in the same period or style. Nothing light or funny if you’re auditioning for Les Miz, for example. |
Anonymous
| So cool! Where is the audition? I have a dream of getting back into musical theater (except in my case it has been 30 years). |
Anonymous
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Bars = measures. Start at the beginning and count out 32. You should learn more in case they want you to continue.
If you have a store near you that sells sheet music, go browsing. There are a lot of compilations of Broadway songs. Good luck! |
Anonymous
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First, it's good you know your voice. Second, as both a director and performer (having been on both sides of the table), I can tell you that style of music/song makes a big difference. If you are auditioning for Chicago, singing Memory from Cats, no matter how good you sound doing it really doesn't help me decide that well whether you're a good candidate for and of the feature parts.
So, start by figuring out what show you are auditioning for and looking for shows/songs that are in the same genre of music. So, if you are auditioning for Jesus Christ Superstar, look for rock songs. If Sondheim is almost it's own category because of his challenging lyrics, so if you are going for a Sondheim show, it is usually good to choose another Sondheim show to sing from. Then once you have the genre, then you can look for songs in your range that show off your voice well. In general you should stay away from the musical you are auditioning. You may think you are perfect for part A, and sing a song for that role, but if you do that, if they have someone better than you for part A, they may not seriously consider you for part B, even if you would be great at it because you colored their perception. The classic case is someone who sings something from Guys and Dolls for Sarah and then doesn't get serious considered for Adelaide because she didn't show off that she could handle comedic singing while trying to sound like Sarah. Don't pigeonhole yourself by singing from the show you are auditioning for unless they ask you to do that. If you are considering you for a given part, often you'll be asked to prepare a song for that role for callbacks. Also, try to stay away from the most popular songs, especially anything really popular in the last 3-5 years. You want a song that will set you apart and make you memorable. The 15th version of "Let It Go" or "Defying Gravity" or the 5th version of "I Believe" don't do that. As for music, you are always safest to have your own sheet music. You can buy a lot on-line now from places like http://www.musicnotes.com (I have no affiliation, but that's the last place I purchased a song a few years ago). Once you pick a song, you can Google for sheet music for the song and you should get links to the song. You should be careful to check the key of the song because often the published version of the sheet music is not the original key from the soundtrack. They often shift published versions closer to middle C so that high Soprano versions are lowered and low alto versions are raised so that they are more accessible for a larger number of singers, in other words, buyers, of their sheet music. If you are auditioning for a community or amateur theater production, check the audition notices. They should list whether an accompanist will be provide and whether you should bring sheet music. If not, you can look on-line to see if you can find a recorded version of the accompaniment (sans vocals) and download the MP3, then play it on your phone (bring a bluetooth speaker that will make the accompaniment audible to people 10-25 feet away from you). If you are going for a professional or equity audition, there will always be an accompanist and you should have your own version of the song that you want to sing annotated with any changes or tempo notes that you want the accompanist to play. Although these are professionals who probably already know the song you are singing and can probably follow you, you don't want to find that they know a different arrangement or the song in the wrong key and you won't look as good as you hope. So, what show are you auditioning for and what types of songs do you sing that really show off your voice and your style? If you provide that, we can give you better ideas for songs to consider. |
Anonymous
Long-winded PP. One caveat is that you don't have to pick the first 32 bars of the song. You can start at the first chorus, so that you can sing the chorus and bridge that makes you sound good. You just have to have the sheet music or accompaniment of the part you want to sing and have it clearly marked for the pianist to follow. |
Anonymous
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If you are auditioning for a specific show, find a song that is similar in style to the music in the show.
Don't pick an overdone song or a signature song done by someone really well known and distinct. You do not want to come in singing a well known Idina Menzel song for example unless you are 100% certain you can knock it out of the ballpark and surprise the casting people (like Susan Boyle on her first BGT appearance). |
Anonymous
OP here. It’s a rock musical, Heathers. I’ve graduated to looking through sheet music to try and figure something out, but I’m confused again: am I counting any introductory chords as part of the 32 bars?? And what is a Long Cut? This is why I could never do a capella: I SUCK at reading music! When I was in HS, I just learned the song and sang it. 
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Anonymous
| OP again. Thanks for that website, long poster! It has sheet music that actually plays the accompaniment and the right amount of bars. Iiiiiii love technologyyyyyy. |
Anonymous
| OP again. Thanks for that website, long poster! It has sheet music that actually plays the accompaniment and the right amount of bars. Iiiiiii love technologyyyyyy. |
Anonymous
You're welcome. So what type of songs make you sound the best? Note that rock is one of the few genres where you can get away with singing outside the Broadway genre. You can choose actual rock songs that are stylistically similar but not from shows. |
Anonymous
The instructions call for musical theatre songs. I sound best in a low-ish key or a head voice. |
Anonymous
| Hmmm … "Song of Purple Summer" or "Mama Who Bore Me" from Spring Awakening? |
Anonymous
I don’t know the former, is the latter too overdone now that it was featured in that show Rise? |