Expert: Wanda Reinholdt - 11/20/2007

Question
Hello, I am auditioning for Laguardia soon for voice and drama. I have
a very strong voice and can hold it for big finishes, however, I can
not hit high notes very well but I can a little bit, do you have any
suggestion songs for me?


Answer
Hi Chelsea.  Thanks for writing.  Laguardia- as in the college or as in the high school?  What age are you?

It sounds like from your note that you might be interested in looking into ways to increase your range.  So I thought I would start there.  To increase your range and be able to hit higher notes, I would suggest taking some voice lessons.  That's the best way to take a voice to the next level.  They teach you techniques and exercises that help with voice strength  as well as breath support.  I was an alto when I started my lessons and by the time I was finished, my range had increased to at least 2 more octaves. So it works miracles sometimes :)

Regarding suggestions for songs, I rarely if ever suggest particular songs for people on this site.  It's not that I don't want to.  It's that I do not know you, I've never heard you sing, nor do I know your level of talent or your performance ability.  So suggesting a particular song is not the best way that I can help you.

What I can say is that it sounds like you are either a mezzo soprano or an alto.  And if that is the case, I would encourage you to go to the library and listen to musicals like White Christmas or Annie.  You might find a song in there that you can do well.  Libraries are excellent sources for finding songs.  Once you find one, then I would check it out and practice it over and over until you had it cold.  Once you have the music, then add the dramatics.

The best way to find a song though would be to take some voice lessons or to seek out someone who is a voice teacher/ coach.  After getting to know your voice and you a little, they would probably be able to recommend something for you much easier than I.

Even if you don't go to them for voice lessons or coaching, if you could find a coach in your area that you could talk with, they might be able to help you find in their library (as they usually do have lots of suggestions) an idea for a song for you.

Does that help?

Let me know how it goes.  Congrats on deciding on Laguardia :)

Wanda