Helping you select and perform the audition piece that is best suited to your performing skills
If you're auditioning for a musical â or needing to choose a song to perform for an exam, showcase or drama-school application â it's vital you find a song that shows off your voice and reveals your full potential as both a singer and an actor.
In this invaluable book, you'll find comprehensive introductions to fifty of the best songs from musical theatre, for soprano, mezzosoprano and alto voices, and in a variety of periods, styles, genres and tempos. Each song comes with detailed textual, vocal and musical analysis, and a practical performance guide to ensure you perform it to maximum effect in your own unique way.
Drawing on his experience as a performer, musical director and teacher at several leading drama schools, Paul Harvard gives his top tips for performing each song, note by note, moment by moment. He also recommends soundtrack recordings to inspire you, and tells you where to find the correct sheet music for your chosen song (please note: the book does not contain the sheet music itself).
The selection includes songs from acclaimed contemporary musicals such as In the Heights by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Songs for a New World by Jason Robert Brown, as well as Next to Normal, Miss Saigon, The Color Purple, Sister Act and Ragtime â alongside much-loved classics like The Sound of Music, Fiddler on the Roof, My Fair Lady, Anything Goes, and five of Sondheim's masterpieces.
Also included is an extensive introduction to the process of choosing your song, preparing your performance and approaching the audition itself, along with many vocal and acting exercises to improve your technique and boost your confidence.
'For anyone wishing to do justice to a musical-theatre role, and definitely for those wishing to work in this genre, this guide is a must' Teaching Drama Magazine on Paul Harvard's bestselling book Acting Through Song
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If you need to sing in an audition, then this book is for you. It is an easy-to-use, accessible resource that will help you discover the perfect song choice â no matter what your audition needs. You might be applying for a vocational musical-theatre course, or a place on a performing-arts degree. If so, this book will help you find a first-rate, distinctive song that shows off your voice and reveals your full potential. Or you might have an audition for an acting programme. If singing is not your first skill, you will want to find a song that sits comfortably in your range â that you feel confident with â but that also highlights your strengths as an actor. The songs you need are identified inside. The book can
assist you if you are auditioning for a school production, or for a youth drama group â enabling you to find the song you need to land the role you want. Finally, this book is an invaluable tool if you are already in vocational training, or are a professional actor. It will help you broaden your understanding of the musical-theatre repertoire so you can continuously develop your portfolio of songs, and is a great resource when you need to find the right material for a last- minute casting.
WHAT IS INSIDE?
The book explores fifty songs that have been carefully selected because they work particularly well in audition. For each song there is a detailed, bespoke self-rehearsal guide. These guides contain the sort of information you would receive from sessions with a vocal coach and a director â providing you with the professional expertise and technical advice you need to deliver a high-quality performance. Each guide is like a singing lesson and an acting class rolled into one.
The self-rehearsal guides begin by describing what are commonly known as the given circumstances of the song (see here). They outline how it fits into the narrative arc of the musical, summarise what has happened previously, and provide key information about character and setting. The lyric of the song is then analysed as a piece of dramatic text, helping you develop a clear understanding of the writerâs intentions. Potential objectives and actions (see here) are discussed to open up possibilities for the sort of acting choices you might play. The pivotal dramatic moments of the song, called events, are pinpointed where appropriate â and acting tips are provided to help you shape your overall performance.
Alongside the investigation of the acting content, the self- rehearsal guides explore how to tackle the songs from both a musical and vocal perspective. A recommended recording of the song is suggested for you to listen to that can help you learn the music accurately and understand the correct vocal style. This is particularly useful if you donât have access to a singing teacher who can help you learn the music. The vocal range and original key signature of the song are identified, and your choice of accent is discussed. At times, cuts are also suggested, as you will need to shorten some songs for audition. Finally, the guides offer advice on how to deliver the songs vocally and musically. For those looking to deliver a more advanced-level performance, perhaps for a drama-school audition or a professional casting, the technical set-ups and vocal delivery required for the song are examined. These provide an overview of the musculature you should use to ensure your vocal performance is healthy, repeatable, dynamic and stylistically accurate. The technical language in this book is heavily reliant on the work of Jo Estill, the American voice specialist, who died in 2010. The Estill method is a very useful system because it is anatomically specific. It allows you to understand, feel and recreate the precise muscular patterning needed to achieve the different sounds used in musical theatre. In particular, this book frequently references Estillâs work on voice qualities (see here), such as Twang and Belt. Advice is also given on musical decisions, such as dynamics and phrasing.
At the end of each guide you will find directions to a suggested website where you can purchase the correct sheet music for the song, as, for copyright reasons, the music and lyrics canât be included in this book.
ADDITIONAL SUPPORT
To support the specific detail of the self-rehearsal guides, at the beginning of the book there are three extended chapters that contain overarching advice that will help you to prepare, rehearse and perform any of the songs. The first chapter provides definitions for the acting, singing and musical terminology you will encounter in the book. The second contains a series of easy-to-follow acting and singing exercises that will help you to improve your vocal delivery, and to produce a truthful and spontaneous performance of the lyric. The final chapter provides advice about audition technique. It deals with issues like making a good impression when entering the room, communicating musical instructions to the pianist, singing to a panel, and responding to redirection.
CHOOSING A SONG THAT SUITS YOUR VOCAL RANGE
The first factor you need to consider when choosing a song for any audition is: âDoes it suit my vocal range?â The song material in this book is divided into two sections: Soprano/Mezzosoprano and Alto. The first section is generally for women with higher voices, the second for those who mainly have a deeper sound. These terms â Soprano, Mezzosoprano and Alto â categorise a singer not only by their pitch range, but also reflect where their voice has the best timbre, where it sits most comfortably and resonantly. Modern vocal training allows all singers to expand their upper ranges through exercise. So as an alto, for example, you may find you are able to sing higher than some mezzosopranos â but are still classed as an alto because your voice sounds best in a lower register.
Because of these anomalies, you may find that, if you are an alto, some of the songs on the Soprano/Mezzosoprano list may also work for you. Equally, if you usually sing soprano, you might find songs on the Alto list that you can use. Therefore, to aid you with your decision-making, each song has its precise vocal range outlined in the self-rehearsal guide. If you donât know your own vocal range, it is worth asking a friend or teacher who plays the piano to check this with you. Typical vocal ranges for the three voice types are as follows:
Soprano: C4 to C6 (middle C to two octaves above middle C)
Mezzosoprano: A3 to A5 (the A below middle C to the A an octave-and-a-half above middle C)
Alto: F3 to F5 (the F below middle C to the F an octave-and-a-half above middle C)
TRANSPOSING SONGS
Sometimes actors consider transposing a song into a lower key if it is too high for them. Whilst many sheet-music websites â which sell the music you will need for your audition â offer this facility, it is not something to be recommended. An experienced audition panel â who will know the repertoire well â are able to tell if you are not singing your song in its usual key. If you change the key signature of a song so you donât have to sing the high G, they will assume it is because you canât. You may as well enter the audition with a placard saying: âI canât sing above an F
!â Therefore you are well- advised to choose a song you can deliver in the original key â which is indicated in the self-rehearsal guides â in the vast majority of circumstances.
A final point to consider when thinking about range is ensuring that your chosen piece doesnât stretch you to breaking point. For a song to be advisable you need to be able hit the top note when you are nervous, feeling a bit off-colour, and at nine oâclock in the morning. Donât select a song if you can only deliver the big belt when you are feeling on top form, have your fingers crossed, and the wind is blowing from the south-west!
CHOOSING A SONG THAT SUITS YOUR CASTING TYPE
Whilst it is essential to choose a song that sits within your vocal range, it is also highly advantageous to pick material that reflects your âcasting typeâ. This term refers to the type of characters that you would most likely be cast as professionally â because they are of a similar age, physicality, personality and life experience to yourself. Traditionally your casting type would also have been defined by ethnicity, but with the advent of âcolour-blindâ or ânon-traditionalâ casting, many contemporary productions commendably choose to ignore the ethnicity of the actors in stories in which race is not germane. An increasing number of productions are also casting âgender- blindâ, and although this is to be much encouraged in other circumstances, songs written for men have not been included in this book due to the technical difficulties presented by differences in the male/female vocal range. However, if you are particularly interested in singing a song originally written for the male voice, you can find some great material in the companion book Audition Songs for Men.
Reflecting your casting type in your song choice is particularly important in professional castings, as it allows the audition panel to sense whether you might be suitable for a particular role. If you are auditioning for Les MisĂŠrables, do they see you as a Cosette or an Ăponine? If you have a casting for Grease, are you right for Sandy or for Rizzo? Of course, if you are applying for a place at a drama school, you will not be auditioning for a specific role, but these questions are still valid. If you choose a song that suits your casting type it will give you the best opportunity to show the tutors your potential, and reveal that you have an understanding of yourself as a developing actor.
To help you decide which of the songs in this book might suit you best, look at the âChoose this song if â section at the top of each self-rehearsal guide, which provides an overview of the character and helps you to understand quickly if it may work for you.
UNDERSTANDING YOUR CASTING
When I teach in drama schools, I often lead Professional Development classes for students who are preparing to enter the industry. A question I am regularly asked by final-year students is: âWhat is my casting?â In helping them to answer this query I encourage them to look at the roles they have performed before, particularly those they felt they did well in, and to try and identify any commonalities they notice about those characters. If you have played parts before then try this task for yourself: you may find it gives you a clearer comprehension of your casting type.
If you have not had much previous performance experience, another way to gain an insight into your likely casting is to consider how you relate to some of the archetypes we see in plays and films. Are you the romantic lead, the villain, or the sidekick? Would you play the soldier or the solicitor? The chimney sweep or the aristocrat? You should also consider whether you look your age, or could be cast as someone younger or older. Decide if you have a modern, contemporary appearance that would work for musicals like Spring Awakening or Hamilton, or whether your style and demeanour is more suitable for period pieces like Carousel or My Fair Lady. You may be right for both â depending on how you choose to behave, dress and style your hair. These are all factors in understanding what type of material may suit you.
But perhaps the best way to understand your casting type is to ask some close friends, whose opinions you trust, how you come across in day-to-day life. Choose people who you think will not only be honest, but also sensitive. It can be challenging to hear how you come across to others, particularly if the answers are not entirely flattering and were not what you were expecting. Get them to answer the following questions about you, and encourage them to be as frank as possible:
⢠How old do you look? (Get them to express this in range of five years, for example: 15 to 20, or 33 to 38).
⢠If they were to choose five adjectives to describe the way you come across, what would they be? (For example: inquisitive, shy, flirtatious, flamboyant, confrontational.)
⢠If they were to name three professions you could convincingly play, what would they be? (For example: a fashion model, an estate agent, a doctor.)
After this exercise you should have a much clearer understanding of your casting type â or what is sometimes called your âunique selling pointâ (USP) â and therefore a better sense of what songs might work for you.
CHOOSING A SONG THAT IS THE APPROPRIATE MUSICAL STYLE
If you are auditioning for a particular production, it is beneficial to select material that has a similar style to the show you are trying out for. This helps the panel determine whether you can sing and act in an appropriate manner for that particular score. To aid your understanding of which composers and lyricists wrote in a similar stylistic vein, outlined below are some of the major sub-genres of musical theatre featured in this book, their characteristics, and the composers and lyricists who wrote in that particular style. To aid you, the sub-genre of musical theatre that each song belongs to is indicated in the self-rehearsal guides.
Note: If you are auditioning for a drama school, rather than for a production, you will not normally need to restrict yourself to a particular style of musical theatre â unless this is specified in the schoolâs audition requirements. In auditions for vocational courses, you are normally best advised to choose any musical- theatre song that most suits your voice and personality.
MUSICAL COMEDY
When: The era of musical comedy was between approximately 1925 and 1943.
Key Composers/Lyricists: Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II, Harry Warren, Kurt Weill, and the Gershwin brothers.
Acting Style: Musical comedy had its roots in the bawdy world of vaudeville and burlesque and, as a result, these first American musicals were often little more than a series of popular songs, comic sketches and dances strung together by a tenuous storyline. The frothy, light-hearted writing of this period was symptomatic of the prevailing social circumstances of the time, as it offered audiences of the 1920s and â30s some escape from their memories of the First World War and the harsh realities of the Great Depression. Because it is generally upbeat, to act this material well you need to find real pleasure in the linguistic ingenuity of lyricists like C...
