<p>I think either "Quiet Thing" or "Time Heals" would work...neither is overdone. Do what you do best, and what you LIKE to sing.</p>
<p>eve</p>
<p>"If You Hadn't" is a great song, but it is VERY hard to act really well - and if you don't, it becomes an audition for the song and not you (it will be more interesting than the performer).</p>
<p>Also, this song is a belter's song, pretty low at points, and doesn't seem the best material to show off the voice you describe yourself as having.</p>
<p>Note that Liza Minelli did this song on her Carnegie Hall album. </p>
<p>I haven't found the sheet music sold commercially - maybe in a collection, but I am unaware of any. That means you will have to have someone tranpose it by ear...a costly prospect.</p>
<p>eve</p>
<p>To the Stage...I'll bite even though I am not familiar with the song. But actually since I'm not familiar with the song, that bodes well for you, right?? You see? :D</p>
<p>When I read your post last night, I asked my daughter about it since she seems to know a LOT of songs. She knew which song you meant and I asked her which musical it was from and she was uncertain...she guessed Aspects of Love but now I see it is from Mack and Mabel. She didn't say anything about it being overdone. My take is that it likely is NOT overdone. I have not heard others talk about this song when I hear lists of commonly overdone songs. That is not the definitive answer as I am not a voice teacher but I read a lot on the subject and this song has not come up. </p>
<p>I have written a bunch here about the issue of "common" songs. Last year, my daughter got a little too caught up in trying to find something "uncommon" to the point of ruling out many songs she was good at. While I agree that applicants should shy away from OVERUSED material, that as long as you are not singing the MOST commonly used or popular material....examples: On My Own, Think of Me or current stuff like Millie or Wicked songs.....and as long as you are not going against common "rules" of thumb with regard to no no's in audition material.....then you are OK. It is NOT essential to find the MOST uncommon or unique material as long as you make it your own. I think you should not use the common stuff but it need not be super unique either. It is nice to show that you are familiar with the repertoire out there beyond the most popular material. But once you do that, you are fine really. My daughter admitted late in the process that she should not have focused so much energy into trying to find something nobody else is doing, etc. She learned that was not so crucial. It is better to just find the right songs for YOU.</p>
<p>Thatt said, you mentioned that your upbeat song is REALLY rare. So, there you go! Time Heals Everything is not super common, I doubt it. Maybe it is not super unique but that does not matter. I say if this ballad sells you the best, go for it. You must have a reason for changing your ballad after the Syracuse audition. After my D's first audition, she also changed her ballad and had reasons why. I trust your judgement here and I think you should go with Time Heals Everything if it meets your criteria. Again, I don't know the tune and I don't know your strengths but just on the issue of "how common", I think you are FINE.....</p>
<p>hope that helps....
Susan</p>
<p>EDIT....I did not see Eve's post, and she IS an expert, before I posted but there is another opinion for ya.</p>
<p>eve-time heals everything shows the mix at the end
I think the reason I'm not singing "A Quiet Thing" well is b/c I don't connect to it as much as I want to. I think Time Heals Everything, though it doesn't show as much does sell me better....you know?
thanks so much to both you and Susan for helping me out....I REALLY appreciate it...I still have to figure out what to do, but I feel a little better about it all....
<33</p>
<p>Susan, your D may have been thinking of Love Changes Everything which is from Aspects of Love (and is now stuck in my head! :D)</p>
<p>My S asked me to post his question - He is preparing the songs:<br>
"Me" from Beauty and the Beast or "C'est Moi" from Camelot for the upbeat...and "Why God" from Ms. Saigon for the ballad. Are any of these really off limits?</p>
<p>I think Why God Why is very overdone tbh. I was hearing someone complaining about hearing it far too often last night on another website.
(Good song though, my bf thought about using it as an audition piece iirc)</p>
<p>i think c'est moi is a good choice there, i thought about using it myself. </p>
<p>chris</p>
<p>How overdone is My New Philosophy? It's perfect ofr my voice, and I can act and sing the heck out of it. My voice teacher really recommends I do it, and I agree, but I've heard it's often used a ton. Is that true?</p>
<p>I think that both "My New Philosophy" and "Why God" are overdone - we hear at least several of these each year still (and this on top of the bad taste in our mouths from WELL too many times in recent years).</p>
<p>I'd say give them both at least five years out of popularity before considering them.</p>
<p>eve</p>
<p>okay. i have no idea what to do for my ballad. this is not good.</p>
<p>When you do regional auditions, with recorded accompaniment (sp?), is there any reason that you should also bring sheet music? Or is it unneccessary baggage weight?</p>
<p>be<em>a</em>star:</p>
<p>Bring your sheet music. In fact, bring your book. It is not excess baggage. If the school happens to have a piano or a keyboard--even if they've had you sing with a tape or CD--they may want to work with you on one of the songs, or on another one in your book. We are always impressed by students who bring a book with their repertoire. It's one of the signs of a serious professional.</p>
<p>We do bring a keyboard to Chicago, along with our musical director. We don't ask him to play for auditions so that he can focus on the students. But we have the keyboard so that he can work with them, if we need more information. In other cities, we don't have a keyboard, but I'm always interested in seeing what students have sung, and may ask them to sing a couple of phrases a capella so that I can work with them.</p>
<p>Hope this helps.</p>
<p>I am very new to this site, but whew! So much good information, now if my S will just listen! I tried to share some of what was being said, and he told me I was just stressing him out more, too bad I didn't find this sooner.</p>
<p>srw - My son was the same way for the first year I was reading these boards, but once auditions and so many choices were upon him, he started taking the info seriously. Is your son a senior?</p>
<p>edmondsg
Hi, yes my S is a senior, his first audition is February 4th, then the 11th then the second week of March. So I guess he's got what he's got. He's worked very hard the last 3 years on MT, so I can just hope it's been enough, around here he's done well, but this college stuff is real scary. He did well with the ARTS program, I don't know if thats any indicator of what colleges want or not, I guess we'll just have to see.
Thanks for your comment.
srw</p>
<p>Yep, the college stuff sure is worlds apart from their previous achievements. The colleges get the best from high schools all around the country. That's great about the ARTS success, though. No matter how much coaching or training they've had, in the end it's all about crossed fingers, last-minute prayers, and what kind of day they're having!</p>
<p>I'm having a really hard time finding ballads. The best I have so far is My White Night. It's not extremely slow, but it's fairly close. </p>
<p>Secondly, I looked up ballad in the dictionary, and it has nothing to do with being slow. In fact, it only says: "A popular song especially of a romantic or sentimental nature."</p>
<p>But colleges expect ballads to be slow, right? Any suggestions?</p>
<p>so. syracuse says they need a song from a pre 1960 musical.....one of my songs is from a 1961 musical....do you guys think that's alright?</p>
<p>Be A Star.....colleges want your two songs to be contrasting. The ballad should demonstrate a sustained legato line and the upbeat song should demonstrate a more rapid, energetic movement. So, these must contrast. The ballad will be slower than your upbeat song. Most ballads tend to be narrative stories. </p>
<p>As I posted back in August on page seven of this thread:
"A legato line is like a smooth held phrase. There is no pause between notes. It is the opposite of staccato. A legato line is sung in one breath. On the music, it is often indicated by a slur line (a curved line above the notes). A legato line is often found in a ballad."</p>