Hello!!
As I get ready to film my pre-screens, most schools ask for pre-recorded accompaniment. Does this mean it could be a karaoke track to the songs, or are the schools looking specifically for piano accompaniment that has been recorded?? Thanks!!!
My daughter either used tracks purchased from Musicnotes, or a karaoke track that are easily found on YouTube, etc. Just make sure that it doesn’t have any backing vocals so they can clearly hear you sing. Good Luck!
Karaoke tracks are not ok according to most prescreen requirements, you need recorded piano accompaniment. Good news is you may be able to find it on YouTube, otherwise have someone record the tracks for you. BAL!
As with most parts of this process, I think you’ll find that opinions vary. Paper Mill Playhouse MTCP Guidlines are the “Gold Standard” for prescreens and you’ll find no mention of karaoke tracks whatsoever, pro or con.
https://getacceptd.com/musical-theater-common-prescreen
I would defer to going through each school’s requirements with a fine tooth comb and do what feels best. I can tell you, for certain, that it’s important to make sure the accompaniment track you use should not have the vocal track played musically, if that makes sense. That was conferred to us as a big no-no during our process. Good Luck!
Don’t use karaoke. It is expected that you use an accompanist, if one is provided, and a piano track if it isn’t. They want to hear your voice, not orchestral accompaniment. The best source for piano tracks is PianoTrax. Tom Griep has a LOT of options of many MT songs and will do a custom track for you if you need (cut, tempo, other change) but you have to send him marked up sheet music when you order. This time of year, he is very busy, but he rarely takes longer than 24 hours to turn around a track.