<p>Can anyone help me-I have a friend who's daughter is applying MT this year.
I know I have read on this site about individual college's "do not sing from these songs" lists but I can not find it. She has checked out the MT site on each of these colleges and cannot find anything listed. Does anyone know how to find out which songs are listed on the DO NOT SING THESE list? Thanks for any help.</p>
<p>From my own experience and research, its seems like many schools do not want to hear the new musicals such as Wicked and Aida and such that sound more like pop music than actual broadway. I would say that you probably cannot go wrong with Sondheim or Rodgers/Hammerstein but maybe someone here has an actual list.</p>
<p>Actually, Squiggle, it is often recommended to not use Sondheim material for auditions because of the difficulty of accompaniment. It does not mean it is out of the question but a lot of his material, though great, is not typically recommended for auditions.</p>
<p>Audi, I don't know all the lists that exist out there. Usually it is suggested to not do particular overdone songs. I have seen CCM stipulate certain shows as "no - no" material. This is from their current webpage: </p>
<p>"Applicants who audition for admission in 2006 should not perform songs from the following musicals:</p>
<p>Rent, Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera, Jekyll and Hyde, The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Secret Garden, Miss Saigon, Beauty and the Beast, Aida, The Mystery of Edwin Drood or any of the mature theatre songs of Stephen Sondheim."</p>
<p>Other lists must exist but this is one school where I have read anything specific. If there are songs this girl is considering and you want to ask me or others if we think they tend to be overdone, give it a try. I think finding something a bit out of the ordinary is best but it need not be so utterly unique or obscure. Just avoid the most common material. Songs like On My Own, I Enjoy Being a Girl, Defying Gravity, Broadway Baby, All That Jazz, Don't Rain on My Parade, Gimme Gimme, What I Did for Love, Tomorrow (just kidding!!), you get the picture. </p>
<p>Susan</p>
<p>Jumping on Susan's astute observation about "no Sondheim" (many accompanists simply cannot play it as a cold read), I would add Jason Robert Brown. Much of his material is hard to cold read, and it is VERY hard to find a clean 16 or 32 bar cut (they just go on and on, and finding a sensible cut is very challenging).</p>
<p>Add MILLIE to the list of shows not to sing from, especially if you are girl - it is the single most sung-from show at auditions in the last year (since the vocal selections were released). </p>
<p>And a really important piece of info: no matter what you sing, know what is "expected" of that particular song and DON'T sing it if you aren't able to do that. For example, you should NOT sing a song that is traditionally belted if you can't "nail it to the wall" (as casting director Dave Clemmons says) - because any auditor, whether the setting is college or professional auditioning, will be listening for those belt notes. In other words, they will assume the REASON you chose such a song is to show off some great belt "money notes" (referring to the "biggest," most musically exciting part of the song) - so if you obviously don't have those belt notes, indicated by the fact that you mix or flip into your head voice during the belty part, the auditors will be focusing on your weaknesses, not your strengths!!! As has been discussed before, girls don't HAVE to belt for college auditions - I am just using belting as an example here. The same could be true of singing a legit song where you really can't float the top notes effortlessly like they are meant to be sung. The best way to find out what is "expected" of a song if you're not sure is to listen to the cast recording - NOT to copy the orginal performer's every vocal nuance, acting interp, etc., but to hear what that performer's placement is like in various parts of a song (belt, legit, mix, falsetto for men, etc.) You really can't "fool" auditors by singing a song you love but don't have the right range for - so find things you really CAN "do" vocally - chances are, you will end up loving them EVEN MORE than you would have a favorite that didn't really fit your voice, because you will OWN them!</p>
<p>Wicked is audition suicide right now. I've also heard that a lot of judges don't like Andrew Lloyd Webber...so it's best to steer away from any songs written by him.</p>
<p>Hey all,
just want to make sure everyone is aware of how stringent CCM is about its guidlines. This summer when I was interviewing with the Musical Theatre director he told me that if someone performs material off the "do not use list" they automatically cross that person off the list for consideration because they did not follow directions. Harsh, but I just wanted to make sure everyone is aware of it. Also, Carnegie Mellon has a similar list on its website pertaining to monologues and songs not to use. </p>
<pre><code> -Mitch
</code></pre>
<p>Webber and I've hear Wildhorn are controversial so it would probably not be wise to use them.</p>
<p>The biggest no song ever: On My Own</p>
<p>I've heard the same thing about Webber and Wildhorn - strange - they write such gorgeous music! Oh well - there is certainly tons and tons of excellent material out there - it is certainly not worth risking an audition by using restricted/unfavorable choices.</p>
<p>U Michigan has a do not use musicals list on its music school page. </p>
<p>CMU has a short list of overused monologue material under acting. The musical theatre audition section refers to the acting section for monologue guidelines.</p>
<p>Does anyone have an opinion whether "What do I need with Love" from Millie would be over done. I get the feeling men aren't auditioning as heavily with the show but hopefully people can give some input. Thanks</p>
<pre><code> Mitch
</code></pre>
<p>mitch,
I've heard it done at auditions before. And although I only heard it once, the kid who was auditioning with it, although very talented, was at the school re-auditioning to get into the MT department. I get a funny feeling that although he had great potential, his bad choices might have kept him out of the running.</p>
<p>But the golden rule is to generally not do anything that is on, or has recently been on broadway.</p>
<p>Mitch:</p>
<p>I've heard it at least five times over the last year...best to avoid anything on Broadway now or recently.</p>
<p>mitch...</p>
<p>i was gonna sing it...but then realized that if mille was bad for girls, im almost sure that they wouldnt like it if i sang it, no matter how well i did...and also...i dont want them to have gavin creel's jimmy stuck in their head while im singing...</p>
<p>Thanks everyone. I appreciate the input</p>
<p>The conversation in this thread is making me wonder, how recent is too recent? Just a thought. rhetorical really... anyone have suggestions?</p>
<p>I mean, doing something from last season is a big no-no, but how about 4 years ago? or 8?</p>
<p>I assume that Avenue Q is currently terribly underdone, but I wonder if, since my monologues and my other song are both incredibly obscure, I might be able to get away with it. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>Don't know much about this, but was told not to use anything that is currently on Broadway and something that is new too. They seem to like more "traditional" songs. Maybe someone else can advise you better though.</p>
<p>Honestly, any VERY POPULAR Broadway musical from Les Mis on is in the "too new" category. If the musical was not that successful, such as The Life, Big, etc., you can get away with more flexibility...</p>
<p>I agree, the classics are a safe bet. I believe there is a sense of maturity demanded in interpreting these songs - one that conveys not only musicianship and technique, but acting chops and style (something that most students won't be exposed to until later in their studies). If this is within your range, why not?</p>
<p>BUT YOU HAVE TO LOVE what you sing (can't get bored with it overnight...), and must DO IT VERY WELL (showing your assets and not liabilities). Honestly, if you were to come in with something from 5 seasons ago, and did it better than 95% of the students I have seen using that material (because whether or not I am aware of it, I am constantly making comparisons when adjudicating a measure of ability), you will not be making a bad impression.</p>
<p>Your risk is that you have to be VERY honest with yourself - will you be in that top 5% of those students I have seen using this material? If not, a better selection should be found.</p>
<p>I would stay away from Ave. Q for a while - it is very hot right now, and not only are you being compared to others who sing it, you are being compared to a cute and expressive puppet in acting it.</p>
<p>Others may disagree, but this is my position on it.</p>