When training teen singers, I don’t encourage a specialization in repertoire. If they are going to audition for music degrees, they often have to prepare repertoire from classical, musical theatre, and popular styles. Having a generally tension-free voice with two octaves of usable range and a clear connection to the text and a well-prepared audition […]
Tag: repertoire
Good songs for beginning to explore the “Great American Songbook”
I try to teach a style-agnostic approach to vocal function in general. Some of my students come for technical instruction only, and others come for that in combination with help with repertoire. In either case, I want to work with them on songs at least some of the time, because the bridge between acquiring better […]
Picking meaningful repertoire
I often tell a student “If you don’t like this song, tell me. There are a few hundred other songs that would be perfectly fine to sing instead.” In singing, like other performing arts, we have the opportunity to try on other characters and enter other worlds. If we are going to explore something new, […]
Repertoire While Rebuilding a Singing Voice?
If a singer has a lot of technical issues to improve upon, a majority of the lesson, or often entire lessons, will be filled with exercises. Getting the voice untangled, strong, flexible, and more highly functioning is very important, moreso than adding repertoire. However, a singer needs to sing! Even if they are “not ready […]
Picking appropriate repertoire
The prof Kurt met with at Throatwreck University wants him to get rid of the Quilter and do Every Valley from the Handel Requiem. Do you have that music for you and Kurt to look at this week? It seems a little ridiculous for a high schooler, but the prof said that the competition will […]
What to sing for auditions?
There is no “perfect song”. However, there are many, many excellent choices. The purpose of an audition is to show the listeners the best of what you can do vocally, and that you can communicate. That’s it. Whether you are castable is in the minds of the panel. Let’s talk about what your audition should […]
GOOD songs for beginning classical voice students?
I was asked about this recently in an online forum where I was expressing my opinion that most voice teachers, especially at university level, are not familiar enough with easy repertoire that better suits a singer who is just beginning to study singing technique. There is a lot of good material in the anthologies by […]
Songs in Spanish
For those of you teaching “classical” voice, I would like to encourage you to look at the wealth of Spanish language art songs and arias. Spanish is a completely phonetic language, and it is not hard to pronounce, especially if you have any experience with Italian. Unfortunately, it is not usually taught along with the […]
How to Learn a Song
In his book “Music and the Flute” Thomas Nyfenger quoted another master flutist, Julius Baker, who said this about slow, deliberate practice: “If you never make a mistake, you’ll never make a mistake.” This is a really difficult thing for beginners to truly understand. Below is a section from a typical classical flute piece, “Trois […]
Who picks the repertoire, teacher or student?
Here are some typical students who come to me: Adult beginner, age 50, who has never sung in public but would like to learn to sing better for her community theatre or choral groups. Grade 8 student, age 14, sings in his school chorus, voice recently changed, who wants to stay competitive for school musicals […]
Selecting a High School Musical
‘Tis the season for high school musicals here in the suburban Washington DC area. I have students right now rehearsing or performing in “The Drowsy Chaperone”, “Cabaret”, “Les Miserables (School Edition)”, “Cinderella”, “Into the Woods”, and “Legally Blonde”. The schools and private theatre programs around here aim big – often too big. Tonight I had […]
What are the music schools looking for in auditions?
Last year, one of my very bright students asked me this: I was looking at the [a school of music] website and they said they look for talent and not technical proficiency in the audition, but what’s the difference? How can you listen to a voice and say that it’s talented? Below is my response. […]