Overused Audition Songs
Machele
out of the loop. I am teaching a class on singing technique for
Musical Theatre. I have a good idea of overused songs (anything by
A.L. Webber, no Oklahoma, Guys and Dolls, etc.) but was wondering if
there are any new lists out concerning overused audition songs. I
will be making the audition circuit next year (1 year left for the
MFA!!!!) so I and my students would appreciate any suggestions.
Thanks!!
ccon...@mindspring.com
ladies.
"On My Own" & "I Dreamed a Dream" are still grossly overused.
It's not as ubiquitous as it used to be, but I would STILL have tenors shy
away from "Corner of the Sky."
Amanda Elend
that's over-popular, or that people know too well(eg. Scarlet Pimpernel).
The best audition songs are the ones not too many people have heard of,
obviously. WHEN PIGS FLY, an off-Broadway musical has some good ones for
males.
~Amanda
<ccon...@mindspring.com> wrote in message
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Ritalouise5
influenced, and I ask for Traditional Musical Theatre...so that narrows down a
lot of my "oversung" material...
(of course sometimes you get the women who go in and sing something from AIDA
anyway, those who don't understand the difference..or those who don't read what
they are auditioning for..they just walk in and sing)
But, overdone in my situation have been (and I have said this before)
"I'll Know"
"If I Loved You"
"Vanilla Ice Cream" (just don't do it...please! If you have the B flat...find
another song)
and the MACK & MABEL belter girls still like to sing "Wherever He Ain't and
"Look What Happened to Mabel"
"This is the Moment"(and this is for classcial musicals??? HELLO!!)
"Anthem" (see above)
"Lonely House"From Street Scene (but at least that's legit..but I swear
everyone's singing it)
And then there's that one song from THE LIFE that EVERYONE is singing "You've
Got to Use What You've Got"...is that the title? It's actually a great song
but trust me EVERYONE is singing it.
Then out of no where: Everyone is singing "Georgeous" from THE APPLE TREE
"What Did I Have That I DOn't Have" & "She Wasn't You" FROM ON A CLEAR DAY...
It's so weird...what songs are suddenlt in style
And no one sings Tomorrow, On My Own, etc...anymore...
Alison
who is Rita Louise?
http://angelfire.lycos.com/ny5/ritalouise5
Kswan7321
More dancer women than I'd care to count sing "All That Jazz" or "Cabaret" -
eek.
I have heard "Orange-Colored Sky" (from men and women) a great deal for many
years, but it's still a pretty good audition song if you have some style.
Why do men feel the need to song "Gethsemane" when they are auditioning for a
non-rock musical?
I hear a ton of "I Could Have Danced All Night" and "On the Street Where You
Live" (from men and women), which, again, is okay IF you sing the songs
extremely well. If not, well, choose something else.
DSDiva
>"What Did I Have That I DOn't Have" & "She Wasn't You" FROM ON A CLEAR DAY...
>
>It's so weird...what songs are suddenlt in style
>
>And no one sings Tomorrow, On My Own, etc...anymore...
>
>Alison
>
everyone who pays them 60 bucks an hour to find them "original" audition
material the same songs. (Whoa, that's a long sentence!)
I've been quite shocked after going to a coach who acts like his song
suggestions are revelatory, then asking 5 or 6 audition friends what songs they
got, and hearing a list identical to mine.
BndLeader
Don't sing UNEXPECTED SONG anymore!! Especially if you're a woman who doesn't
belt and when it goes into the higher key you switch into your legit soprano!!!
Noel Katz
avoid all of Wildhorn and the Eurotrash. A good audition involves good acting,
and these songs provide too little for the aspirant to act.
http://hometown.aol.com/noelkatz/main.html
David Zack
>"What Did I Have That I DOn't Have" & "She Wasn't You" FROM ON A CLEAR DAY...
I see this happen all the time. It's not so much that it's out of nowhere.
It's that a lot of actors have NO imagination. So as soon as there's a fairly
high-profile production of something, everyone starts doing the songs. Don't
they know that's the exact moment you should STOP doing those songs?!?
APPLE TREE was just done up at Goodspeed last year, and CLEAR DAY was an
Encores show. People think they're discovering these songs. "Ooh, that song is
great! And only 3000 other people just heard it along with me and thought the
same thing..."
Matthew Murray
news:20010619085957...@ng-fx1.aol.com...
> And no one sings Tomorrow, On My Own, etc...anymore...
Is that a bad thing? ;) Although, who knows, maybe they will
now...
----------------------------
Matthew Murray
matthe...@mindspring.com
http://www.plover.net/~hloif
----------------------------
Liz
and "Far From the Home I Love". I don't mind hearing "Now I Have Everything"
now and then because it's one of the lesser-knowns from that show.
"Gethsemane" for the guys unless it's for JCS in particular
"Corner of the Sky"
"All That Jazz"
"Seasons of Love" (I will cry if I hear someone audition with that one more
time)
"Close Every Door to Me"
Generally I would say steer clear of Sondheim, because it tends to be very
complicated for an accompanist to sight-read.
Liz
MaryLyon
>"What Did I Have That I DOn't Have" & "She Wasn't You" FROM ON A CLEAR DAY...
This is interesting - I always thought "Hurry, It's Lovely Up Here" was the
overdone song from this show - is anyone singing that one anymore, or could I
start using it? I've always shied away because I thought it was popular...
Best, Amy :)
Jason Travis
sing a song better than practically anyone else the auditors could
possibly see, then by all means, use it.
Also the type of audition you are attending factors in. In a high
school or community theatre audition you can often get away with an
*interesting* overused song. In a combined audition cattle call, you
want to avoid any of the current "hit" songs from anything playing or
recently playing, but once again you can sometimes chance fate and do
really well with a standard, especially if you perform it very well or
have some special interpretation that will catch their ear. In the
best situation, you want to throw them a curve ball and do it well.
If you're auditioning for a specific show with a specific role in
mind, you want to pick material from a *different* show that your
character could potentially sing. Best example is Faith Prince's
anecdote on her CD about singing "Something Wonderful" as Adelaide.
There's a list of songs that you should avoid just because they are
the ones inexperienced auditioners gravitate toward:
"Hey, Look Me Over"
"Hello Dolly"
"Sunrise, Sunset"
"On My Own"
"Memory"
"Tonight"
"Day by Day"
You should almost never do a song that is the title of the show or is
normally sung by a chorus. Avoid Sondheim unless you know the
accompanist.
Ritalouise5
>normally sung by a chorus. Avoid Sondheim unless you know the
>accompanist.
>
Absolutely
tel...@home.com
> Anything from RENT, auditioners hate. I usually shy away from any musical
> that's over-popular, or that people know too well(eg. Scarlet Pimpernel).
> The best audition songs are the ones not too many people have heard of,
> obviously. WHEN PIGS FLY, an off-Broadway musical has some good ones for
> males.
>
> > It's not as ubiquitous as it used to be, but I would STILL have tenors shy
> > away from "Corner of the Sky."
I think an important factor here, though, is region. Where I am, I'm the only
damn person I know who's even heard of Pippin, and I can't even conceive of
anyone else here knowing SP. I think the list will vary a fair amount from
musical scene to musical scene.
-Allison
Jason T.
of Scarlet Pimpernel? (Pippin's a little more understandable)
Jason T.
<tel...@home.com> wrote in message news:3B305B9D...@home.com...
Jason T.
always difficult to sight-read.
Jason T.
"Jason Travis" <jayct...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:7f374271.01061...@posting.google.com...
Jason Travis
>Not only Sondheim, but also Maltby and Shire. Shire's music is
almost
>always difficult to sight-read.
This is another issue. Sondheim is not the *only* person who writes
difficult accompaniment. Much of WSS (Bernstein) and Bock and Harnick
(fistfuls of accidentals) are similarly complicated. What a smart
performer will do is have those types of songs at hand, then get the
buzz from a few people ahead how the accompanist is. Usually you'll
hear if there's something to worry about and you want to go with
something in C; alternately if people are praising the person behind
the keys, you might want to be a little braver. Most of the players
they have at professional auditions have played every show under the
sun and enough auditions to at least not trainwreck some of the more
known songs. I've had decent luck with "Not a Day Goes By". This
also kind of monkey-wrenches the whole "be original" concept; the
overdone standards are always the ones people play best.
Then there are those wretched auditions where the player is a sub of a
sub of a friend of someone who *kind of* knows how to play. This is
rare, but in horrible cases the auditors know this and will cut you
slack. Worse to worse, have something you can sing acapella and plan
to trainwreck creatively and have a sense of humor about it. And of
course we all know that whatever happens, you thank the pianist and
*do not* give them any sort of grief for mistakes.
actorguy2001
>
> Generally I would say steer clear of Sondheim, because it tends to be very
> complicated for an accompanist to sight-read.
>
> Liz
Why not supply your own accompanist? I do it all the time.
I've never had anyone object. Sure you have to pay them, but
I think it's worth it to have your music played the way you
rehearsed it.
Singapore Sammy Chow
playing on Broadway now or in the past 10 years.
Wil
David Zack
>I've never had anyone object. Sure you have to pay them, but
>I think it's worth it to have your music played the way you
>rehearsed it.
It's a good idea for an important audition, or if you plan to do some special
material, or have something that needs to be worked out with the pianist in
advance.
On the other hand, if you're auditioning for five or ten things a week, it can
get expensive real fast...
David Zack
>of Scarlet Pimpernel? (Pippin's a little more understandable)
And more to the point, how can we all get there???
Disclaimer, I actually had fun at Pimpernel, despite it's flaws. Still I saw
the opening here and had to go for it :)
tel...@home.com
> Just out of curiosity, where in the world are you that people haven't heard
> of Scarlet Pimpernel? (Pippin's a little more understandable)
I'm currently in Calgary, and was previously in central Illinois. And I was
polling people today (including the musical director of a production of Cabaret
going up this year) and no one had heard of them. Basically, I think if you're
not in NYC, Chicago, LA and a few other cities, the knowledge level will be
quite different. And it's not like Calgary's tiny...we're at about a million.
*sigh*
-Allison
Jason T.
certainly not trying to paint your location as backward or uninformed. I
was really thinking more along the lines of David Zack:
<And more to the point, how can we all get there???
Disclaimer, I actually had fun at Pimpernel, despite it's flaws. Still I
saw
the opening here and had to go for it :)>
Just so there's no misunderstanding. I'm sure Calgary's a wonderful place.
Jason T.
<tel...@home.com> wrote in message news:3B31A2F2...@home.com...
Jason T.
of the new year), I would first like to thank Jason Travis for his
insightful words about audition pianists. I've been playing auditions for
ten years at high schools, community theaters, dinner theaters, and regional
theaters.
The first thing I can say is that each audition is different - with it's own
vibe. I might play the same song at two different auditions. At the first,
the atmosphere might be tense, leading to a less than perfect performance,
whereas, at the second one, I might run through it hitting every note and
catching each nuance of the singer.
Second, I, for one, take my job when I'm playing auditions very seriously.
Since I'm also a singer, I know what it's like to be up there auditioning,
and relying on the pianist to go with you - wherever that might be. I'm
sure there are plenty of pianists in NY who take it just as seriously.
Third, musical theater is a varied artform. But, more to the point, so is
printed music. There are all types of sheet music. There's the full score
reduction, written to look like a piano/conductor score. These show every
instrument to the pianist, giving all sorts of info. Some pianists handle
all this information very well and use it to the auditioner's advantage,
others would be better off with just the two-hand rendition. Then there's
the vocal selections type. These are the ones to be wary of. Often,
they're in the wrong key (a decision made by people at Hal Leonard and other
publishers) and frequently don't give pianists a very good idea of tempo and
style. Furthermore, these often tend not to have pauses, tenutos, etc. that
a singer might be used to from a recording. For instance, "All That Jazz"
starts in the key of A and is commonly sung by dancers at local community
auditions. These dancers (I'm making this general, because I've had this
very situation at least a dozen times) will go out and buy the music (vocal
selections) of the one song that they feel they could sing well.
Unfortunately, the vocal selection is in C, a minor third higher - this is
going to cause a problem at the end of the first stanza that the auditioner
is not expecting. In this situation (and others like it) I'll often ask the
auditioner if she's sung it with this music. More often than not, she
hasn't - so I will tell her that I'll play it in the key she knows from the
recording. That said - NEVER EXPECT THIS. Transposing is the number one
way a pianist can screw up a song for an auditioner (but then, I get the
feeling that everyone around here already knows this, but just in case there
are newbies reading this).
The best auditioners (from this pianist's viewpoint) are those who come
prepared with a few choices. Their music is marked with where to begin and
where to end (i.e. "go straight to second ending"). It's in the key they
want and they've taken the time to sing to this very music with a friend
playing or they've paid for a coaching with a pianist. They'll politely say
hello and then give an idea of the tempo or the style they'd like. Finally,
when the audition is over, they'll thank the pianist on their way out. I
LOVE these people!
To sum up, the first thing to remember is that playing the piano and
sight-reading are really two different skills. They often go together, but
not always. Transposition is another skill that a lot of pianists have, but
not all, and each of us at varying degrees - do not rely on it. We want to
do well and we want the auditioner to do well - in other words, the pianist
is the auditioner's best friend.
Jason T.
"Jason Travis" <jayct...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
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Jason T.
Jason T.
"Singapore Sammy Chow" <Japanes...@webtv.net> wrote in message
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tel...@home.com
> Just for the record, although I don't believe you took it this way, I was
> certainly not trying to paint your location as backward or uninformed. I
> was really thinking more along the lines of David Zack:
> <snip>
> Just so there's no misunderstanding. I'm sure Calgary's a wonderful place.
Don't worry...no offense taken. :-) Calgary is a wonderful place in many
regards...the music and arts communities just aren't high on that list. It's
getting better, in its defense...but it's a very new city that grew up around a
booming oil industry. It's just taking awhile to grow some culture. <g>
-Allison
kate
> sing a song better than practically anyone else the auditors could
> possibly see, then by all means, use it.
Well, first of all, make sure you sing like Streisand or Westenberg.
Then, make sure you have a piece commissioned for you so you're
positive the auditioners have never heard of it... ;-)
The point is, I just read through all of these suggestions of what not
to do and WOW. Once again I sit and wonder what the hell any of us are
doing in this industry to begin with. It's a wacky place.
(all in good humor)
Jason Travis
> > sing a song better than practically anyone else the auditors could
> > possibly see, then by all means, use it.
>
> Well, first of all, make sure you sing like Streisand or Westenberg.
Woo...odd juxtaposition...
I realized it might not be clear from that paragraph above, but I
meant that for a typically *overused* song. If you can tear up "On My
Own" to the point that the auditors forget they've heard it eleven
times, you're justified using it.
> Then, make sure you have a piece commissioned for you so you're
> positive the auditioners have never heard of it... ;-)
Actually...that's another point. Using a song you wrote yourself or
your friend wrote is often *not* good (unless you personally know
Sondheim, or it's something by Jason Robert Brown that's being
workshopped...)
> The point is, I just read through all of these suggestions of what not
> to do and WOW. Once again I sit and wonder what the hell any of us are
> doing in this industry to begin with. It's a wacky place.
>
> (all in good humor)
Sometimes it seems hopeless. It's best to keep all these in mind as
guidelines and relax and sing something you're comfortable with and
enjoy.
KAR
treated as seriously as doing your homework if cast. Pick something
speicifc if you're going in for something specific. A person should use a
song that shows they're right for the role they're up for, both vocally and
emotionally. Find that piece, whatever it takes, observing many of the wise
pieces of advice that have already been given. My belief is it should NOT
be from a show, at all, if possible as you are playing with a lot of
unknown preconceptions from your auditors. Sometimes a simple
(non-hackneyed, of course) standard that is easily accompanied so that the
focus is on the performer is a fine choice.
I also believe that an actor should go into the room in a vestige of
character, i.e., without dialect or voice, but as someone who embodies many
of the character traits without ever being actor-y about it. The hope is
they would see something intriniscally right in the choice that said not
only could the actor hit the notes [your song should have the characters'
vocal range -- they WILL know], as well as hitting the basic character
stuff. I believe an actor should consider him/her self as being auditioned
from the second s/he walks into the room.
I was involved (around 90-91) in a TV Movie in which a working, but
relatively unknown actor was brought in by the film's casting director for
one of the lead roles of a real scummy pimp-type who got a 14 year old girl
who was desperate into a situation in which she brutally murdered a man who
had let her down. (The film examined the death sentence for "legally
defined" children who comitted brutal crimes and was necessarukt unflinching
in its portrayal of the crime and the perps.) I didn't know the name "He's
a good looking Baywatch type," said one of the network casting people, "but
I don't think he can play street." I was very surprised to see a not good
looking, but scummy, mumbling, stubbled, greased-hair guy in baggy clothes
which made him look scrawny, who I thought might actually be on something
come in and read perfectly for the part for which he was immediately hired.
It was Brad Pitt in what became a VERY big break for him. He was terrific
in the film (which no one watched and everyone should have -- it was good,
but too depressing, I guess) and we got a call from the producers on Thelma
& Louise who were worried about his chops (not his look) to look at the
rough-cut as he was up for that film, which he, of course, got. (I was
rather surprised when he and Juliet Lewis did "Kalifornia" subsequently as
they had essentially done the same in "Too Young To Die?" in which, in the
same session as Pitt, and also as a relative unknown, she gave the single
best reading I have seen -- to this day still. )
Michael Haslam
I would endorse those words and add:
Only take songs to an audition that you know, and know really well. When
I've been auditioning and someone sings a song that doesn't quite show what
I'm looking for I will sometimes look through the auditioner's folder and
find one that is more appropriate. If they then say "I'm sorry I don't know
that one." I feel cheated.
MJHaslam
Noel Katz
Shire or Jerry Bock because they're too difficult to play. In fact, these are
the two composers who've written the BEST songs for auditions. Show me the
pianist who couldn't play Autumn, Cross That Line, I'll Never Say Goodbye; The
Very Next Man, Beautiful Beautiful World, Will He Like Me or I Love a Cop.
Come on!
http://hometown.aol.com/noelkatz/main.html
Paul Wilson
a director I would much rather hear a familiar song done well than something
"obscure" that the singer just can't handle. At least with the familiar
song there is a general standard, a set of criteria.
In that ten-year-ago audition I did "God Bless the Human Elbow" from BEN
FRANKLIN IN PARIS. The director loved it, but asked then me to sing "Oh
What A Beautiful Mornin'" so he could get a better sense of my range.
Mes deux francs.
--
Y'r Ob'd'nt S'rv'nt,
P. Wilson
Fayetteville, NC
Jason T.
I did (and still do) contend that a David Shire piece is risky business
unless you have an idea of the pianist's skill. However, I made no such
claim about Jerry Bock - I find his music to be easily playable on the first
read. And to further clarify, I get excited when someone walks in with a
Maltby and Shire - one of the most underrated (popularly) composer/lyricist
teams in the business. I find many of their songs beautiful, challenging
and a hell of a lot of fun to play.
Incidentally, I had the honor of playing for a 3 hour workshop with Mr.
Maltby Jr. a few years back. It was a wonderful learning experience.
Jason T.
"Noel Katz" <noel...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20010622151158...@ng-mn1.aol.com...
Singapore Sammy Chow
accompanist once and she said it was an easy one and I had no problems.
Well when I got the audition the piano player first said I will give you
your first note and you go. I have no clue what the hell she did but
she was never with me at any moment and I knew I was singing it
correctly. I was shocked it made me look bad cuz she rocked On My Own
and songs like that but she did say when I gave her the music "I have
never heard this." I gave her the tempo and it went down hill from
there. I kept going, same tempo the whole time. Sadly the director
seemed to think it was me even though he has never studied music and I
wasn't cast. Made me think maybe I should stick to Empty Chairs, Empty
Tables, or Mucus of The Night. But I won't! But it leaves me so
worried what to sing. I can practice a song for years in voice and go
in and the people can never play it. Reminded me of the Forbidden
Broadway of Playing Their Song! I am getting ready to audition for Man
Of LaMancha and I have no clue what to sing! I don't wanna lose another
paying gig by singing to hard of a show! OY VIE!
http://community.webtv.net/@Lookup/DiFrancoDivo/JoyfulGirls/
Singapore Sammy Chow
Now, Closer Than Ever, The Apple Tree. Great character songs!
Jason T.
in a more remote city? In general, most audition pianists in the bigger
cities have a good familiarity with the standard musical theater canon.
Jason T.
"Singapore Sammy Chow" <Japanes...@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:29801-3B...@storefull-147.iap.bryant.webtv.net...
Rick
over 25 years and I can certainly echo all of your points made.
As a reasonably competent "note player," and an awesome "winger" I'd also
like to offer that auditioners that provide the accompanist with a clearly
marked "roadmap" (all the measures that are to be cut are X'ed out or better
yet, covered.. what you can't see, you can't accidentally play..).
Additionally, if you have a friend that can "comp" the score you're
providing, ie: mark the relevant chordings in the measures, you will provide
most accompanists with a piece that is easy to play in situations where the
number is completely unfamiliar. This is especially important for singers
that insist upon auditioning with numbers that no one has ever heard of, in
some attempt to be "unique." (Sorry, a little bias there..) While this is
fine and good in a concert where you have rehearsed with the accompanist,
you can be entering the "audition from hell" with the majority of audition
pianists out here.
Also, let me echo Jason's "love affair" with auditioners that have 3 or 4
pieces to choose from. If you hand me three pieces, and I can play one or
two of the perfectly, and have never heard the other one, you're going to be
much more relaxed and competent in your audition, because I'll be able to
make you sound good by providing a solid accompaniment.
Honest, we guys/gals at the piano want you to sound great! And if we can do
it without resorting to mucking through music that is unfamiliar, it works
for both of us!
My war story comes from the gentleman that auditioned for a production of
"Carousel" with an aria from Pagliacci. He handed me the piano
transcription score (from the local library), pointed to a measure and said
"start there.." then walked up on stage. Well, being the Broadway Baby I
am, with NO working knowledge of Leoncavallo's work, I asked for the tempo,
and was given a disdainful look by the auditioner and a semblance of what he
wanted.. I managed to eke out the first 3 or 4 measures, then play a few
bass notes til he ended. As he was leaving the theatre, one of the
producers heard him mutter, "I probably didn't get this job because of that
f*cking piano player.."
Well, that might have been ONE of the reasons.. (grin)
Just another .02 from the pit,
Rick the pit guy
www.bway2.com
On 21-Jun-2001, "Jason T." <jmi...@earthlink.net> wrote:
> As a frequent audition pianist (in FL, but hopefully in NY by the
> beginning
> of the new year), I would first like to thank Jason Travis for his
> insightful words about audition pianists. I've been playing auditions for
> ten years at high schools, community theaters, dinner theaters, and
> regional
> theaters.
<snip>
Patrick
All, Slipping Through My Fingers and One of Us from Mamma Mia. They
are very tuneful, sound lovely if done well, and are not very well
known.
arkan...@yahoo.com (Machele) wrote in message news:<abd3c26.01061...@posting.google.com>...
> Hello All! I haven't visited this newsgroup in a while so I am a bit
> out of the loop. I am teaching a class on singing technique for
> Musical Theatre. I have a good idea of overused songs (anything by
> A.L. Webber, no Oklahoma, Guys and Dolls, etc.) but was wondering if
> there are any new lists out concerning overused audition songs. I
> will be making the audition circuit next year (1 year left for the
> MFA!!!!) so I and my students would appreciate any suggestions.
> Thanks!!
borderman
OFTEN THEY HATE IT!
Patrick <pbl...@surf.its.bond.edu.au> wrote in message
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