<p>Hi- hope everyones college process is going well! Just wondering if someone could offer their advice/insights...For my audition I want to sing "I Don't Know How to Love Him" for my auditions...do u think that its considered a ballad? Also, do u think its ok to sing 20 bars of a song even though they say 16?? I know its a little over, but for one of my songs the 16 bar cut off is really awkward. What do u think?</p>
<p>20 bars i would think would be fine... as long as you're not starting a new verse or something, it will only help you complete the phrase.</p>
<p>at least that's what I'd think.</p>
<p>I think it probably depends on the school, some would be fine with "finishing up". Others would wonder why you didn't select a song you could fit in the 16 bars. I would try to stay in the 16 bars just in case. But you never know, sometimes they will ask you to continue, to stop or to sing something else. It's best to be massively prepared for just about any contingincy. Last year my S had the requested number and type of songs ready as well as 11 additional songs prepared "just in case" so he could give them just about any type of song they wanted. Granted he probably went overboard in preparation. But I think it made him feel more confident to be over prepared</p>
<p>Well, the school for which i need 16 bars (NYU) requires a pre-recorded cd or tape...so its not like they could really stop me. And unless they're really paying attention, it's not like they're going to see that im going over on paper. I don't know...i'm hoping they wont mind...???</p>
<p>At NYU, I was told (and I'm attending there now) that it basically means the time it takes to sing 16 bars is what they want. Don't go too far over, basically keep it between a minute and a minute thirty.</p>
<p>Chris</p>
<p>I Don't Know How to Love Him is a ballad.</p>
<p>The response I am offering applies to NYU only: The NYU requirement states......"16 measures from two differnent songs, not to go over 2 mins each"</p>
<p>I think I have written about this before here.</p>
<p>All of us know, that you aren't going to find many 16 measures that go nearly as long as 2 mins. So then the question becomes..... Do they want 2 mins and under, or do they want 16 measures? So... I wrote an email to NYU and they answered!.... The answer they gave me was they want 16 measures.</p>
<p>I am coaching several students auditioning there, and all of them are freaking out for some reason or other. Let me just add, and I hope someone from NYU theatre staff is reading this.... HIRE A PIANO PLAYER. Your tuition is 40K a year...spend 200 dollars for the day to have a GREAT pianist there....your school is in the middle of NYC, where there are thousands of amazing piano players for auditions and you want someone to sing to a tape? This sparkling requirement is going to determine whether or not they get in your program! Again... I have written about this in another post.</p>
<p>I don't think they are going to run up to your tape player and turn it off if you do 20 measures. </p>
<p>I also found this out about NYU... they will allow a monologue from a MUSICAL. Just thougth I would share that little tidbit.</p>
<p>Good luck to everyone, and don't stress out about all the rules too much. Use your judgement. If they ask for 16 and you go in with 20 you will be fine. If they ask for 16 and you start at the beginning of a song, with no cuts, you will have a problem.</p>
<p>I recall "I Don't Know How to Love Him" is a song on some Do-Not-Use Lists....Just make sure it's ok wherever you're going to audition. I don't think I'd use it, simply because if one school doesn't want it, it's probably overdone. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.</p>
<p>I didn't want to say that I Don't Know How to Love Him is not a very good choice, but I agree......I don't care what list it's on.... it just doesn't go anywhere, and is very repetitive.....with all the great ballads out there, try another one. If I Dont Know How to Love Him is the only selection you have ready, and you are going in soon..... don't dispair!!.... go in and do a great job with it!! Good Luck.</p>
<p>Not to be rude...but I'm so tired of these "do not use lists" being thrown around. Sure, some schools tell you certain songs not to sing, but it seems like every freaking song is a "no-no". It's so frustrating. If you sound really good singing it, whos to tell you that its bad? I don't know, maybe its just me...but I don't think anyone can really say "thats a bad song". The bottom line is, these people have heard EVERYTHING. I doubt anyone can pick anything that original thats never been heard.
These "lists" were freaking me out. So my suggestion to other people out there is not to obsess with them and sing what sounds good. You'll drive yourself crazy trying to sing something uber obscure. Does anyone else agree?</p>
<p>I appreciate the advice though.</p>
<p>The 'do not use' lists can be frustrating, but the bottom line is that you are trying to get into schools that are VERY competitive so it makes sense to observe the rules (especially if the school documents a list). When I initially read your post naming your song, my gut said 'overdone', but I'm not sure if it is on the so-called list or not. As TomBFACoach suggests, my advice would be to use the song if your audition is very soon and maybe take a look at some other choices for later auditions to see if you find something else that works for you. Who knows, maybe you'll find something you like even better!!!</p>
<p>I agree that you should DEFINETLY follow the list if the school provides one. But for the ones who don't I feel it's important to pick a song you a) really like and can relate to, and b) sound good singing.</p>
<p>Here, here TomBFACoach! It's ridiculous that NYU doesn't respect their prospectives enough to hire an accompanyist!</p>
<p>(sp, I know!)</p>
<p>Turn the lists into a positive. Yes it's hard to find good material that's not over done, but is shows the auditioners that you've done your homework and put in the effort. The schools all know about this forum, they've published their lists, and know that information is readily available. They expect you to have done your homework. Keep in mind that at any given university, you are competing with 500-1200 other"best and brightest". Why have any strikes against you before you even open your mouth? If you question your choices, call the school's drama/music department and ask. Once you've done so, you can relax and feel more confident.
Sarahsmom42</p>
<p>To respond to Melsmom about the pianist</p>
<p>Yes I understand it is not the norm to have a recorded accompaniment, but there are also some benefits to having it on tape/cd. </p>
<p>This way, you know your own tempos already. You don't have to worry about what key it is in and if the pianist will be able to play it. You (should) know the cd by heart and that way your songs have no excuse to be wrong because of the pianist. </p>
<p>I understand that it is not the norm, and that it may seem disrespectful, but I personally went through an experience where the pianist really hindered one of my college auditions, and that experience was the school I did not get into. I can't blame in on the pianist, but the miscommunication and messup of my songs is what led to my rejection (from what I was told by the admissions comittee after I had already been accepted elsewhere).</p>
<p>Chris</p>
<p>with chrisnoo on this one. Five of the MT programs my daughter auditioned for had an accompanist. She used the same 2 songs for all her auditions. They were not on any "do not use" list and were not considered particularly difficult to play, according to her vocal coach. And indeed three of the accompanists had no problem and she was accepted into those three programs. Two of them had problems with one of her songs, couldn't get the tempo correct, and basically well, butchered it. At one of the auditions I could actually hear this while I sat ouside, cringing, LOL! She was not accepted at those 2 programs. Coincidence?? </p>
<p>Yikes, CD's woud have been way preferable, IMHO!</p>
<p>Piano accompaniment
Wow! I am very surprised that Chrisnoo and BiGismama had such poor experiences with the accompaniests. My d did auditions at 11 different schools and didn't have trouble with the accompaniest at any of them. She did consider the difficulty of the accompaniment when she chose her songs, but I can't say how easy or difficult they were to play. THat's too bad that you both had those experiences. I hope and would guess they are the exceptions and not the rule. But I guess it's something to keep in consideration. </p>
<p>One note about Wright State's auditions. They ask you to bring both an accompaniment tape and the sheet music. You sing both your songs twice in 2 different rooms(that's both songs one time in each room) for different people. The first time you sing with the tape, I think for a member of the voice faculty. The second time you sing with live piano accompaniment for other faculty. Not sure of the reason for this. But I'm commenting on it because we didn't realize that she would have a live accompaniest in addition to the tape until we got there (we either missed it in the paperwork or it wasn't clear even though it said to bring the sheet music and the tape). It's the only school we came across like this, and like I said I'm not sure of the reason. But my d goes there and LOVES it there!!!!!</p>
<p>looking at calstate fullerton, ucla, uci....or, i guess aamda....any suggestions, comments or ideas...looking for the best musical theatre program in cali... any insight is greatly appreciated</p>
<p>If u click on the thread about cal state fullerton, you will find lots of info, as well as a wonderful contact there. The thread is located at the top of the main MT forum.
Also if you search the whole forum you will find info about your Cali options. I have seen a couple of UCI grads in touring productions lately. Use the search tool and the term california to find more discussions.</p>
<p>thanks so much...i'm new and kind of lost in here.... ;o)</p>
<p>Just wanted to add my comment to Chrisnoo's reply to melsmom about the lack of an accompanist at Tisch. It doesn't have anything to do with them not respecting the students who audition. Their reasoning for doing it this way, and it obviously works, is two-fold. What you have to remember about Tisch is that it is a Drama School, made up of several studios, only one of which is dedicated only to MT. They have approximately 200 sessions of auditions each year, (meaning they audition many more kids than probably any other program), many of which include auditionees for straight drama studios and MT both. The artistic review also includes an interview following the audition. So, logistically and financially, it makes sense to have the auditionees provide their own music. The other part of the decision to conduct the process this way is that it gives the kids the opportunity to rehearse their songs with the exact music they'll sing it to, during the audition and not have to be concerned about nuances of an individual accompanist.</p>