<p>Hello-</p>
<p>I'm new to the boards and I've been looking for songs for quite some time. Though I haven't looked as extensively as I should. One song that I was curious to know was a good choice or not was:</p>
<p>"My Best Girl" (reprise) from "Mame"</p>
<p>Uh oh!!!</p>
<p>lol... SO in searching for audition songs I went to the library and found what I thought was an awesome book: It was HUGE, and it was called a Broadway Fake Book... and had songs from EVERYTHING. SO I made copies a bunch of possible ones...</p>
<p>Reading on some site recently, I see that we are "NOT" to use the Fake Books because they only contain the melody for the songs and do not have full accompaniment written in it. EEK!</p>
<p>Now what do I do? Do you have to buy each show's musical selections book to get 1 song from that show? I can go to my music director/chorus teacher at school who has a big selection from all of the shows we have done at school... BUT how do I get sheet music for songs beyond the shows I've done? CHEAPER the better please and thank you!</p>
<p>You wouldn't want to use "fake book" music, even if you could, because you could never depend on the accompaniment being the same. However, it is a great way to pick out possibilities - then winnow them out. </p>
<p>Many libraries have excellent collections of Broadway selections (the cheapest way) - but be advised that some schools do require that you have the original of a song, not just a photocopy.</p>
<p>If you google "Broadway sheet music" you'll come up with tons of places that sell sheet music - some in the traditional way, some allow you to download the music onto your computer and print it out yourself. If you know you only want one song from a show, it would be cheaper to buy just that one song, rather than the entire selections book.</p>
<p>If you are planning on entering musical theatre, and don't already have a decent library of music, you may want to look at some of the anthologies - some are for specific voice types, so you wouldn't be paying for a lot of songs that wouldn't work for you.</p>
<p>Yes! I think every girl <em>if they can afford it in time</em> should have all the musical theatre anthology books/accompaniment cds. You can find it on <a href="http://www.sheetmusicplus.com%5B/url%5D">www.sheetmusicplus.com</a>. You have to get the cd's seperate which is a pain but well worth it. You probably wouldn't use the cds for most college auditions depending on the school, but they are wonderful to practice with and to take to local auditions/etc. I spent quite a bit of money for the books, but I have been using them everyday though. It's worth the money.</p>
<p>My son had been buying the music books for shows when he discovered singers anthologies, he has about 7 or 8 of them now and they were very helpful for auditions and since his college requires you audition for all musicals and operas no doubt they will continue to be be very useful. They also help you to consider songs from shows you may not be familiar with. You can also buy sheet music for individual songs and they are not very expensive.</p>
<p>Another question regarding "over used" materials. I am interested in using a monologue from the play "The Laramie Project", though I'm concerned with the piece being out done. Could anyone clarify whether or not I should proceed with selecting a piece from this show?</p>
<p>I can't tell you which piece is best for you but can say my D has used a monologue from Laramie Project successfully in college audiions. It was one of four that she used, depending on the requirements. While it is best to avoid VERY overused material, it is OK if your material is not unique. There are not extra points given for uniqueness. It is more important that you find the right piece that shows off your talents. I think using material from this play for a contemporary monologue would be fine in terms of use in general.</p>
<p>It is possible to buy and download individual songs from this website: <a href="http://www.musicnotes.com%5B/url%5D">www.musicnotes.com</a> -I hope I am permitted to post that link. You pay and the music is licensed to you for your use. My D used that for a couple of songs. On one audition trip we found she needed another song at the last moment and we purchased a new copy which my husband faxed to the hotel for her use. I have never used the transposition software, but I believe you can print the music out in any key. They have a pretty complete library.</p>
<p>Would "Angels in America" be on the overdone list?</p>
<p>How about specific parts are overdone, but within the play lie great monologues not performed... maybe? Haha. My monologue knowledge is limited since I'm more of a musical performer, not a straight play performer but I need both for our musical theater auditions in college.</p>
<p>This was my son's hardest part in preperation for college auditions. Make sure you read the whole play, at first he didn't do this, then when he did it made the selection much easier because he really understood the character and the context. Also don't do monologues from a monologue book. And make sure you have a back-up or two. And don't use an accent. It was hard to find age-appropriate monologues and the comedic one was very difficult to find. Good Luck!</p>
<p>Hey all-
Just a few quick questions. It´s best to avoid monologues and songs with profanity, right? I mean, no one´s website mentions it and it hasn´t been brought up here so I was just wondering if it was at all "taboo" or something. Also, would it be looked down upon for someone to do a rhyming couplet monologue from one of Moliere´s plays? It just seems a little more trite than something like Shakespeare. Lastly, for auditions like the Unifieds where you bring your accompaniment with you, do you still have to rule out songs simply due to a difficult piano part? One could even make the arguement that it be advantageous to use something with a hard piano part due to the fact that it´s music that the auditioners haven´t heard a lot because people have been staying away from it. Any answers would be helpful.
-Dan</p>
<p>I have heard auditors complain about EXCESSIVE profanity, for several reasons:</p>
<p>It is hard to see young people cursing...sounds archaic, but it's the truth for many.</p>
<p>Profanity is not allowing the character to express themselves articulately and fully - it is like a grunt, an "ummmmm," or other rhetorical interruption. So you aren't revealing as much of your intellect when you play a character that cannot express their angst without using profanity.</p>
<p>Moliere's rhymed couplets are great, IF YOU HANDLE IT EXPERTLY. Otherwise, it sounds sing-songy and we often can't see the actor for the rhyme.</p>
<p>Finally, if your accompaniment is recorded, don't worry about the difficulty of the accompaniment.</p>
<p>My two cents,</p>
<p>eve</p>
<p>Thanks, Prof! What you say makes sense. But I have another question; someone mentioned singing "If I Loved You". Now, if I remember correctly, that was a duet. Can you sing a duet for an audition? And, if so, can you sing an ensemble piece?</p>
<p>You can absolutely do some duets, especially if they are divided into a "singer 1 - then singer 2 - then harmony" format. I have had several students do this with great success in both professional and college auditions - you just pick one of the solo singer sections. However, certain songs are too back-and-forth conversational for this breaking apart to work. So check with someone who knows MT auditioning before you choose to do a duet. Ensemble pieces work in much the same way - if they can easily be either broken apart or sung as if it's one voice, and that makes sense both textually and musically, then go for it! ;)</p>
<p>P.S. I was at a great MT concert in NYC last Sunday night where Mary Testa sang a solo version of "Nice," a duet from LUCKY STIFF - and she introduced it by saying she uses it for auditions all the time!</p>
<p>I agree with Coach. If breaking up a duet/ensemble number loses the throughline of individual character, lyric, thought, and emotional journey, then it is not viable. Otherwise, go for it!</p>
<p>eve</p>
<p>What do you think about singing a song from an old, 1960s, musical revue/jukebox musical? It uses songs by a popular songwriter/composer/lyricst and performer, not one of the classic MT composers like Rodgers and Hammerstein, Porter, Gershwin, etc. Would that be looked down upon do you think? It's currently playing Off-Broadway and it's popular, but I honestly don't think that auditionees are going in with this music all the time, if much at all. I fell in love with a bunch of the songs in the show, and while they're not all that vocally demanding they really require more acting chops. I just wonder if it would be appropriate since the songs weren't "technically" written for MT or by an MT songwriter.</p>
<p>I wouldn't do it unless they REALLY fit your voice and show you off vocally in some way. There are expections to every rule, but colleges want to see what you can do as a SINGER in your singing audition - yes, they expect you to (or hope you will) connect to the words also, but the singing audition is your chance to say "Here's my vocal ability and potential." So keep looking for a song to which you connect that shows off acting AND voice. I know that's hard when you LOVE a song, but trust me, schools will either write you off as a "non-singer" or make you sing something else (and probably by frustrated in the process) b/c you didn't show them what they needed to see if you don't really try to show your VOICE off to it's best, most rangy and strong (YOUR range and YOUR strengths) advantage. </p>
<p>But the show to which you are referring IS a lot of fun!! ;)</p>
<p>P.S. FYI, the fact that the songs weren't written for a musical first is NOT the issue - MANY famous "MT" songs, especially old standards, weren't written for shows first!!!</p>
<p>Haha, yes it is!</p>
<p>Thanks! I do already have a few things picked out which are more than likely gonna end up being my audition songs. I was just wondering about these since I wasn't too sure.</p>
<p>Just a quick question: is it okay to use a Sondheim piece if we're required to have recorded accompaniment?</p>
<p>If the character is one that you personally relate to, and it shows your voice off to the best - and is not too old a character, I would say yes.</p>
<p>Go for it,</p>
<p>eve</p>