Acting in Plays, Singing/Audition songs!

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Expert: - 1/24/2010


Question
Hello!  
I am 13 in 7th grade, and I am having trouble finding really good audition songs.  I feel like I have already used up most of the good songs.  I would like to sing some songs that not everyone knows.  I have a pretty high range.  I can go to a high G and sometimes a high A on a good day.  I like to sing some head voice songs, but I also have a very strong belt voice.  Could you recommend some songs that are good for head voice, chest voice, and some mixed voice? A couple of songs I have sang before are: Don't Rain on My Parade (Funny Girl), Once Upon A Dream (Jekyll and Hyde), Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again (Phantom), I Know the Truth (Aida), Easy Money (The Life), Broadway Baby (Follies), I Gotta Crow (Peter Pan), Home (Beauty and the Beast) and many more.  I have been singing and developing technique for a long time, so I like a good challenge.   I would like some fun, but challenging songs to sing.  I would really appreciate any suggestions!  Thank you so much!

Answer
Hi, Caroline –

Thank you for the question.

You’re too young to have used up all the good songs. Moreover, the vast majority of folks are not all that wild about Broadway musicals and are not likely to remember most of what they happen to hear. Many songs that some fear are “overused” come from musicals that are being produced everywhere on a regular basis. Your job is to know this money-making material and – if I'm on your audition panel or reviewing your performance – make me feel like I'm hearing it for the first time.

At 13, your vocal category may be leaning in the direction of: mezzo-soprano with a belt. I would want to hear you first. Between now and the time you are 18, you and your voice will be going through all kinds of physical changes. Don't get locked into terms such as: head voice, mixed voice, and chest voice. The voice is one complete thing. My job is to identify your vocal category and to show you how to balance out your complete range.

Depending on the situations coming up for you right now, i.e., school and community auditions, talent shows and contests, etc., consider any of the following:

By The Sea – SWEENEY TODD
I Can Cook Too – ON THE TOWN
I’d Give My Life For You – MISS SAIGON
Johnny One Note – BABES IN ARMS
Memory – CATS
On My Own – LES MISERABLES
Tell Me On A Sunday – SONG AND DANCE
When I Marry Mr. Snow – CAROUSEL

I am a professional singing teacher and vocal coach in San Francisco.  When you are in the Bay Area and want to book an appointment, contact me through Craig's List. This week’s connection is:
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I am the Editor and Publisher of SanFranciscoSentinel.com.  All my articles and interviews about the Performing Arts provide a link to my personal e-mail.

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Acting in Plays, Singing

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Sean Martinfield

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I am a professional vocal coach in San Francisco. In addition to answers from a previous web site (Askme.com - where my "tag" was "VocalCoach") I have published over 2000 responses related to vocal training - particularly as it relates to Musical Theatre and Opera. I have 24 years of experience as Personal Trainer to singers and actors in the San Francisco Bay Area. I sang professionally for 20 years and know what it means to live the life of a musician. I can determine your voice category, i.e., Tenor, Baritone, Bass, Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Alto, Alto Belter, etc., and how to broaden and strengthen your range. Need an audition song for a Broadway Musical? I will give you suggestions that are appropriate to your vocal category and to requirements specified in the audition notice. I have also created a vocal methodology, "The Belter`s Method". It will enable those in Musical Theatre to practice more efficiently because it focuses on the demands of professional performers as well as to those auditioning for school and community productions, and as University and Conservatory performing arts majors. If what you want is a better voice and more control over your career moves and choices, contact me. Also, as the Editor of SanFranciscoSentinel.com, it is my privilege to review productions at the San Francisco Opera, Ballet and Symphony, as well as Broadway National Tours booked into San Francisco's Orpheum, Golden Gate and Curran Theatres. I also review works by A.C.T (the American Conservatory Theatre) and Magic Theatre. I cover select films, tributes and retrospects, and various international film festivals – particulary those booked into The City's opulent Castro Theatre – including the LGBT Frameline Festival, International Film Festival, Silent Film Festival, Jewish Film Festival, etc. For private vocal instruction, I can be contacted through SanFranciscoSentinel.com. Look under: Seán Martinfield, Sentinel Editor and Publisher.

Experience

As a vocal coach, I work primarily with singers and actors throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. My students range from absolute beginners to working professionals, from pre-schoolers to senior citizens. The vast majority of my clients come to me through recommendation. I know how to identify any singer's vocal category, i.e., soprano, tenor, alto, baritone, etc. I know how to muscle-up every singer's vocal range and to expand it beyond conventional definitions. I have developed a vocal methodology for those who want to know how to belt, THE BELTER'S METHOD. As a singer who spent half of his career doing Bel Canto, I know that classical or Italian methodologies do not work in Standard American music. Bel Canto cannot be "adapted" to meet the needs of contemporary American music, including the demands of the Musical Theatre. There are a number of major components to my work as a vocal coach. The first is to identify the client's vocal category and to strengthen and maximize the vocal range accordingly. Then it's about teaching a reliable vocal workout that will enable the client to gain better control of their musicianship. That includes scale work to expand the vocal range and to improve placement, breath control, and diction. Then we work on material for the audition portfolio, the immediate job or assignment, a recording session, etc. My task to is to better equip singers and actors who are hoping to or relying upon their performance skills and vocal endurance to maintain a career in the Performing Arts. My clients regularly appear in cabarets and musical productions throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Some have worked in New York and gone on National Tours. For more information, Contact me at: Broadwaybelters@yahoo.com

Education/Credentials
San Francisco State University – BA in Theatre Arts; graduate work in Theatre, Philosophy, and Comparative Reiligion. Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley – Graduate work in Ethics

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