<p>My daughter, age 14, will be performing in the upcoming Access Broadway Nationals in June.... We are looking for 1-2 songs and would appreciate any recommendations. For the past 2 years, she has performed Astonishing and The Wizard and I. Any past or present BIG vocal numbers (she is a soprano - who can belt) that you feel would be worth trying? Just looking for new and exciting material for a 14-year-old with Broadway aspirations!</p>
<p>mrdutt, congrats on having an obviously very talented daughter! As far as good vocal numbers for her age, type and ability: does she have a voice teacher you can ask? I don't have to tell you that it is particularly important to make sure that such a young singer is belting in a healthful manner. My D's voice teacher is always bemoaning how many young female singers hurt their voices before they reach maturity, because they tend to want to try to sing like Idina Menzel or Sutton Foster and they may not be ready to do that, technique wise. So a good voice teacher well versed in healthful singing technique (breathing, posture, etc.) would be the best source of material for your daughter.</p>
<p>Two years ago, I sounded just like you. Please, please get your daughter a GOOD voice teacher. The absolute worst thing she can be doing to her voice at this age is constant belting (ask my daughter after she looked at the ENT's pictures after having her throar scoped). She too was one of those"sopranos who could belt" and she worked and worked to get those last high notes for "The Wizard and I" -she finally did, along with the beginning of a polyp.which with vocal rest and a great teacher, is now gone. Belting is not good for any voice, much less a youngster who is still developing and if your daughter keeps at it, unsupervised, she may get to Broadway, but it will be by buying a ticket to watch a show. She needs to learn technique such as placement, head voice vs. chest voice, and then learn how to work on "mixed belting" little by little. Classical training can only help her, not hinder her. In the long run, it really doesn't matter if she lands the lead in her school musical and the conservatories the really good colleges know that and are listening for control and potential.
She is only 14 and does not need to do the BIG numbers yet- there is plenty of time for that and if she wants "it" that badly, she will work with the proper teacher and suceed. Ask around and then talk to a few instructors, go to their recitals or offer to pay for a lesson to see how your D and the teacher "click". Trust me on this one- there is a big world out there and it is littered with kids who were "phenoms" in their High Schools and now have no voice left at 25.
My D will be 16 in August and is now competing and placing and was accepted into BOTh the Vocal Arts and the MT sections of Oklahoma City University's summer sessions, something that would never have happened had she kept on working by herself and doing unknown damage to her vocal cords. Feel free to PM me if you want to talk further.</p>
<p>mrdutt - </p>
<p>Belting IS always more phonotraumatic (tough on the vocal folds) than legit singing, but you can also be taught to do it "well" and how to temper it was the much less injurious "mix." In addition, there are a SELECT FEW voices which were just "born" to belt - those truly "cords of steel" people. BUT...even they - and sometimes ESPECIALLY they - can incur damage b/c of overuse, often because they are used to belting so "effortlessly" that they don't monitor their vocal health and technique diligently enough. I'd be glad to talk with you more about this, as I work for one of the country's most renowned laryngologists, Dr. Clark Rosen (and I am the go-to person for the intake interviews for our patients who are young, female MT singers).</p>
<p>Your D may be a natural belter, but even so, there are many different types of "big" voices and therefore different songs which might fit different individuals. I know from your previous posts that your D is pretty experienced (and therefore so are you, in the ways of rep :) ), but what makes a song "big" is not just the money notes but the actor's overall fit with the material: for example, consider "Notice Me, Horton" from SEUSSICAL (very big ending) as contrasted with "Astonishing" - these songs could each show off very different acting types to great advantage - but if you switched songs on those differently-typed actresses, the brassier belter wouldn't be shown off as well by "Notice Me Horton." I'd say your best bet is to find a person who can meet/hear your daughter AND has a great stash of new MT rep - that way she'll get a real power MATCH for her specific voice. :)</p>
<p>Great answer, Coach C you were able to put it much more technically than I! My D is lucky enough to have a world-reknown laryngologist who takes care of her throat and voice and I was amazed at what I saw and what the MD's can do. I know she hates it when I sit there with that mezmorized stare on my face while she sings notes with a scope down her throat, but it is incredible! Another thing he was able to do was to back up the decision to move my D's section in Show Choir as she was being forced to "hold back" and doing more damage every day. So, thank you for being one of those wonderfully helpful people who work with those Docs and take care of our future stars.</p>
<p>I love the people at Access Broadway! My daughter will probably be working at Nationals this year. She won nationals at Access Broadway a few timesa and her belting songs were "Gimme, Gimme" and "You Made Me Love You". She also won with "Over the Rainbow",sipmle, not belty, but she was 12 then and your D is older.
Please keep in mind that the judges really put a lot of emphasis on "age appropriate" numbers.
Have fun and best of luck! See you at Nationals!</p>