<p>My d has a 3 octive range and her best singing tends to be low notes as in alto vocal jazz, she has been audition with Climbing Uphill, Jason Robert Brown (I know warned as a "no no" because of difficult accompaniment, but so far so good JRB is definately her thing, using that as her uptempo, and she's been singing "Why Can't You Behave" from Kiss Me Kate because she does wonders with those low notes. However, several of the judges have made comments about her soprano voice, she has "If I Loved You" prepared but no one's asked for it yet.One school just had her sing scales to see her range becuase they liked her and another asked her to sing any soprano song she knew as a third song so she sang an Italian aria and that went well. I know If I Loved you has a reputation of being overdone and although she sings it well it really doesn't showcase her well. We've gone through bunches of soprano songs and her best is Hello Young Lovers, in the no no rules we've been told you shouldn't sing a song for a part you couldn't be cast in. I hear at the auditions that almost everyone is singing soprano. My questions are: if you can sing soprano SHOULD you sing soprano for contrast and to show them, even if your lower range is better? Another question is, is it bad to sing 2 songs even though they highly contrast, ballad and uptempo when neither are soprano? And three if you sing a song well should you worry that it's a part you would not be cast in? Please hurry with your advice, NYU on Tues. a few more coming in the next few weeks, thanks</p>
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<li><p>Yes, you should sing legit - as you can see from the response your D has already gotten :) - many schools are suspicious of girls who don't show they can navigate above their upper passagios (breaks) b/c that can be a sign of vocal tension or damage. </p></li>
<li><p>2 songs that contrast musically but not in range don't really "highly contrast" - the point of asking for 2 contrasting pieces for girls especially is to get the biggest contrast possible - a vocal contrast is most important and the real point of the contrast, then acting energy, then musical style. That doesn't mean that girls MUST belt and sing legit - but they must show a REAL vocal contrast. It sounds like your D's voice is wonderful, but jazzy alto and belt are still very much the same vocal range (even though her version of Climbing Uphill may show off her mix.)</p></li>
<li><p>You can definitely do songs from roles you wouldn't be cast in IF the acting can be believable - meaning if you can create a believeable scenario that is appropriate for you. Unfortunately, a young singer doing "Hello Young Lovers" is like a young singer doing "Send In The Clowns" - it simply doesn't work. There is a wealth of wonderful soprano material out there from older, lesser-known shows, so I'd have her learn something new for the auditions for which she has time. For Tuesday, it's a tough call - I'm not sure what you mean by "If I Loved You" not showcasing her well, but it's the safest bet if she REALLY nails it - it immediately reveals technique flaws (one reason why auditors like it) but also technique strengths - and of course she has to love singing it! </p></li>
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<p>Hope this helps - good luck to your D! :)</p>
<p>shellie, I am in the same prediciment as your D. I also have a three octive range and can go from a very low alto about a high G. Teachers at both my camps, and my private teachers have commented on my soprano and say it is gorgeous and "pure", but like your D. I am more comfortable in my lower range. For a voice class at camp I did "How lovley to be a women" from "Bye Bye Birdie" which seemed to go over well and I got alot of "I know you can go higher than that song etc". While i do have things in my book like Think of Me, HLTBAW, and some other stuff, my two audition songs are "Anyone Can Whistle" because I can showchase the very low notes and "waiting for life" from once on this island, which I have done for about a year and is starting to get mroe attention the more I do it, I do not know if I should add in a high uptempo or a high ballad if they should ask to see one. Is that normal for them to ask for things like a soprano song if you are singing both lowish songs or vice versa or can they kinda tell? Good luck to your D. at NYU on Tues! I have Baldwin Wallace in about 2 1/2 weeks eek. I would def. listen to Coach C's advice though as she is increadibly knowledgable and has had increadible success with her students. Anyway sorry for the book haha and good luck</p>
<p>Coach C Thanks for your informative advice you must be right because alot of people seem to agree with you and what your saying sounds right but it's still confusing because you want to show your "wow" voice and if your wow voice is the one that conveys your acting and indicates a voice that makes people sit up and take notice, then in my mind that's what you'd want to show, but I do hear people constantly talking about the soprano voice and sometimes hinting that the jazz/pop voice is not what auditioners want to hear. On one audition they asked my d why do you want to do musical theater how about doing pop? The truth is she would love to do pop, she would love to perform, and she loves musical theater but her voice is truely Adelaide vs Sarah (Guys and Dolls) and currently she is (Rosie not Kim) Bye Bye Birdie. She could be Sarah or Kim, she can hit those notes better than most but it's Adelaide and Rosie that make her unique. She can belt and dance and wow them. If she was Kim everyone would say she was really good, maybe not wow. So Defying Gravity I understand what you say about showcasing your low notes and I would assume your personality as well. By the way my d was Timoune in Once On This Island so she loves Waiting For Life too. I don't know what to say about the soprano song but I think she will sing If I Loved You, tomorrow for her 16 bars, not sure yet. I wish she had a soprano ballad that we felt wow about. By the way when you have a choice about what song to sing first do you think you should do the best one your wow song first or second?</p>
<p>I'd do your "wow" first and then show them "and I can also do THIS." :) Especially because there IS a bit of a suspicion (sometimes unfounded, sometimes not) that younger singers who are fierce belters can't switch over to legit - which they CAN'T if the belt is unhealty. (Which your D's must not be if she has a great top to her voice - unhealthy belts create nodules and other lesions which introduce easily-discernible "air" into the sound when the voice isn't being pushed.) So a great belt/chest song followed by great legit makes singing auditors VERY happy. I just had a student who did this very type of combo at Chicago unifieds today - NAILED her killer belt to the wall and then dazzled with her legit - and the school she was singing for LOVED it, kept her forever playing with her voice and commenting on it's versatility- yaaaaay!</p>
<p>Keep in mind that experienced ears will hear the "wow" in one song, very quickly, and then they want to know what ELSE she can do. Wow-ing them in the same way vocally in 2 songs isn't as wow-ing (lol) as it might seem.</p>
<p>So Coach C, if I am interperting this correctly you would recommened one belty altoish song and one legit song for auditions?</p>
<p>Defying Gravity, Yes I believe that's exactly what coach c is saying so I think we go for the soprano song tomorrow but I do have to tell you guys that this will be my d's 6th audition and we feel the other 5 went extremely well, only time will tell. We've only heard from one school so far and she's been deferred at a top school. That school did test our her vocal range so they knew how high she could go but they did not ask her to sing soprano. So now the question is is if she had not sung Why Can't You Behave would they have been impressed enough to give her the interview/call back where they asked to hear her soprano voice. By the way love CC and all the great people you meet both on line and at the auditions, thanks you guys.</p>
<p>Legit for sure - or, as you have seen, they will usually ask for it - either via song or vocalizing - if they are interested. My feeling for my own students is why not CONTROL that rather than have schools do it randomly? :) </p>
<p>As far as belt - you do NOT necessarily have to, but you do have to show some real vocal contrast if you at all can, whether it be mix or a true belt. However, if you DO belt, it should be HEALTHY, not pushed, strained, etc. - so make sure you're NOT exceeding your comfortable belt range in ANY part of your song, even one note!!!</p>
<p>Coach C, is having a true "fierce" belt rather than -- and I hope I am saying this right, as I am still confused about the lingo here! :) -- a legit soprano voice with a "mix" mandatory for getting into the "top" schools, or do schools such as UMich also accept kids who have strong, healthy legit voices and good mixes and train them to truly belt?</p>
<p>I can't speak for all schools, but FOR SURE U of M accepts young women who have great legits and strong mixes and then works on their belt voices. This year's freshman class only has a few experienced belters, for example. And the current senior class has at least 2 FIERCE belters (both of whom have had their Equity cards for 2+ years) who came in not really knowing "how" to belt...but they sure do now!!! </p>
<p>Strong legit technique prepares a singer to belt if her voice is "built" to do so. (And not all voices are!!!) That having been said, anyone who has a strong mix and is not currently a senior can and should move toward limited healthy belting if her voice seems ready and she can be GUIDED BY A KNOWLEDGEABLE TEACHER, since that vocal variety will sweeten the student's "package" for schools. OR she should work on really strengthening her mix so it lends itself to very different rep than her legit - including folk-pop, pop, rock-pop, or jazzy MT. :) ANY true vocal variety that is "fierce" and HEALTHY will excite schools!</p>
<p>The bottom line is girls need to show vocal health and strong technique, and then they must offer something uniquely excellent that they "own" vocally to excite top schools (unless they gain admission in virtue of being a great actress and dancer with vocal potential...EVERY such combination can happen, of course).</p>