<p>i know some schools say that they want one of your songs to be from before 1960. do most schools do that? how strict are the ones that do if you're a couple years off like 1964?</p>
<p>I can't answer your question, but hope somebody can! What schools do you know that want a song from before 1960? Maybe we could make a list. i know that OU requires one before 1960.</p>
<p>I checked it out some time ago but at that time I think Penn State, Syracuse, Michigan, and Millikin required one before 1960. Don't have a clue if they really abide by the rule</p>
<p>Think of it this way . . . don't you want to do everything you can to have the best shot of getting in a school? So why risk it by choosing a song that's not exactly what they asked for? It may or may not matter to them, but if for some reason who ever is behind that table is having a bad day, and you sing a song that is not before 1960, it could really hurt you.</p>
<p>Is it a risk worth taking? There are plenty of really great songs written before 1960.</p>
<p>I have to say our D was/is very into 'following the rules' literally (exact time of monolgue,etc.), but hard to say if it always matters. For the dance call at one school, you were advised to wear black, no jewelry, hair back, -but most did not follow those "rules". Also, our D had some extremely wonderful vocal pieces she could have done based on her HS musical that was in rehearsal-but she elected not to use them because they said to do "age-appropriate" numbers. I would go for a reasonable interpretation of the parameters given. My instinct is that if you have some piece already in hand that you do superbly, it may be worth the risk to go ahead and use them! We had the same concerns about length of college ap essay questions- our D had a wonderful essay that was over twice as long (using tools/word count) as what one of the schools permitted, so she didn't use it, but it was better than the one she did turn in, so who knows what is best.
SK</p>
<p>My D asked her voice teacher about this "before 1960" thing. She explained that a certain musical came out then and forever changed the next ones to a more contemporary/jazzy style. This style is a different style of singing and shows additional variety in the voice. My D's problem was finding one AFTER 1960 that was age appropriate and not over used. She ended up settling on "It's raining on prom night" from Grease. She had a lot of positive comments on her "interpretation" of the song. At the time, she did not know how to search for an unknown song, so it was one of the few she found in the way she was looking that wasn't overused.</p>