hello my name is Betsy and I'm a singing teacher at take lessons in this
video you're gonna learn some of the best audition songs for tenors for
your voice type we'll cover a mix of classical Broadway and Disney as well as
popular songs to avoid for your next audition. So stay tuned and don't forget
to click on the link in the description box to try our free online singing classes
So the best thing to think about when you're auditioning as a tenor is what
role are you auditioning for. So you want to think of something matching the
show you're auditioning for, the style, the piece, the genre, the time that it
was written, letting the director see you in that role and then choosing something
that's appropriate but maybe won't be overdone. You as a tenor kind of have it
luckier because most of the roles are going to be that leading man role, you
are going to have a love interest, you are gonna have some pretty lyrical duets,
probably with a young ingénue soprano type. So, if you can show that you can
carry that lyrical, that beautiful soaring tenor that everybody wants to
hear that's what you should showcase during your audition. Again as far as
roles go or songs to not sing it's gonna be anything that's on Broadway anything
that uses profanity it's gonna be hard to keep those adult context themes out
of some of these audition songs and especially if you're a younger singer
auditioning or if it's a junior theater or high school musicals, you don't want
to put yourself in a position that makes the director uncomfortable so think
about that think about something that's appropriate not being currently sung on
Broadway something that's not super overdone like Phantom. Choose something
that's a little bit maybe off the beaten path or even older if that's appropriate
for the musical that you're auditioning for. With Disney musicals it's
appropriate to use a Disney song at an audition for a Disney musical but
it's never appropriate to sing what that character is singing. So if you're
auditioning for Hercules you don't want to sing a song from Hercules. If you're
auditioning for maybe Prince Eric or something you would totally be
appropriate to use "Go the Distance" from Hercules which is a great tenor song or
"I'll Make a Man Out of You" from Mulan another really good one. "Out There" from
Hunchback is probably one of my favorite pieces to use for a tenor
audition too because it's so beautiful and you can
have some acting ability showcased with that one as well.
So if you're a young tenor it's important to show off your understanding
of bel canto or your lyrical lines and you really want to have that big soaring
tenor moment so you want to think of arias that are lighter and brighter and
have that gorgeous ability to just kind of ring through the recital hall or
wherever you're auditioning. Donizetti's Elixir of Love has a great
Aria called "Una Furtiva Lagrima" and it's going to just be able to show off
that gorgeous Bel Canto line you need a song or aria in English there's a ton of
operetta to choose from. Pirates of Penzance has a beautiful tenor aria, "Oh
Is There Not One Maiden Breast" that is a great song to show off a young
tenor's ability to sing about love comfortably lyrically. So let's say you
are a tenor that's been studying for a really long time and you've got
impeccable high "C's" so in that case I would just go for it I would sing some
Puccini and just bring out some "Nessun Dorma" and just let those directors and
casting agents know that you have the ability, you've been studying, you have
the agility, you've got the range and you can sing those really high notes with
strength and you know just show off everything beautiful that people just
love about operatic tenors. This is if you are a more mature tenor, you're able
to do it, you've been studying seriously, you've been taking voice lessons and
you're comfortable. Go in there with big guns blazing. If you're a younger tenor,
if you haven't been studying, please don't try to tackle something that's too
big for you even if you feel like you might be okay singing it. I would scale
down and choose something or work with a professional and help you choose
something that's a little bit smaller that isn't such a grand show
standing operatic tenor moment. So tenors for musical theater, there are
so many roles written for beautiful soaring lyrical tenor. If you're gonna do
something like "Bring Him Home" from Les Mis, you better make sure that you
have the most gorgeous ringing tenor lines ever because you can guarantee
that 5, 10, other people are going to be singing that piece and if you're
gonna be singing it make sure you're singing it the best. I'm not saying don't
but just be really comfortable doing it. So the Light From the Piazza, it's a
newer piece so if you are doing a show that was written in the last 10 years or
so it would be totally appropriate to do a piece from there. "Passeggiata" is a
beautiful soaring Bel Canto type tenor lyrical audition piece that I would
recommend has some beautiful lines that you could cut if you have to do a
certain bar phrasing or something - not being able to sing the whole piece. "Where
in the World" from Secret Garden again super appropriate for maybe something
that's written not in the last 10 years, go back a little bit farther and really
show that same style and show the director that you can sing and be
comfortable with music from that genre. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling
Bee is another musical that's maybe a little bit more modern and "The Prayer of
the Comfort Counselor" would be a great song for a younger tenor to showcase
it's going to be appropriate for most ages if you're doing junior theater or
community theater or even high school musicals on something like that would be
a really great piece. And again if you're doing a show that wasn't written in the
last 10 years Jesus Christ Superstar is a little bit older, Heaven on Their Minds"
is just a great song for a nice tenor piece that shows your ability and your
range it's out of a baritone range but it's also from a little bit older of a
genre where maybe you wouldn't be singing the same song as 15 songs from
Les Mis that you know are going to be auditioned with. So "I Can't Stand Still"
from Footloose is a great song to sing for an upbeat audition piece if you want
that, however, it does have a really strong mid-range so this piece would
only be good if you have that strong middle range or if you are a baritone
with a really solid upper range. If you're kind of on the cusp
been seeing one of the two and you want to show off and maybe that's the role
that it's written for, has more of that mid-tone range and you want to be
able to show some of your depth as a tenor that would be a great song to
choose that would have that kind of mid area and still be up tempo which is you
know a little bit more rare to find something that has the both of them.
"Fortune Favors the Brave" from Aida is a great song for a tenor if you can have
that ability to sing with that diction and still carry that beautiful lyrical
line as well. "Into the Fire" from the The Scarlet Pimpernel is also a great choice
if you have that, like I said, just that Spitfire ability to just kind of
like let the diction fly. If I was a judge or if I was a director hearing
something like that done really well just like nailed to the wall quickly
would really really impress me and allow me to see you in that kind of way if I
were casting something that needed that song sung. So again with comedic songs it
doesn't matter if you're a tenor soprano or an alto or baritone or whatever. You
have to be able to show that you're an actor. An acting ability for a comedic
role is almost as important or more important in some cases than really
great singing voice because you're not standing on stage it's not an oratorio
you're not still you're not able to focus a hundred percent of your being on
just your voice. You have to be able to think about your character. You'll
probably be dancing you'll probably be walking across stage so really think
about being able to express a song tell the story get the point across be funny
with it without being maybe like slapstick something like Joseph and the
Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat has "One More Angel in Heaven" it's a beautiful song
you could totally tell this story but it's not like a punchline comedy so
something like that would be great if you're not expected to be slapstick and
you want to get the point across that you can tell the story, you can emote, you
can make people laugh. It is a funny piece you can be light with it but still
show off your vocal ability at the same time. The Book of Mormon has "You and Me
But Mostly Me" which is another really funny song - will totally show off your
personality and acting ability. But just you have to be careful if you
have super great control of your upper upper register because that piece does
have B flats and C's that you just need to really nail to the wall so if you do
have that high tessitura and you have those beautiful ringing tenor notes this
is a great one that combines not only the comedic ability but also the singing
ability and that shows off both really well which will be great too casting
directors. And if you're singing the type of role where it would be written from
maybe a few decades past Godspell is another good one that was
written a few years ago you probably won't see a ton of people auditioning
with it. "All for The Best" is a great song for a tenor to be auditioning. It can be
super funny it will show off your acting ability more so than a lot of other
songs and really lend the director you know an idea that you do have comedic
timing, that you can sing through something funny and again it's not a
super modern, show so it's good to pull from songs from the past. So The
Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder it's a great show "Poison in My Pocket"
can just be acted out and shown in such a funny way. It'll just really give the
director an idea of what you can do. So again directors in an audition for a
tenor, for a leading role, for somebody funny, they want to see you act out and
kind of portray yourself and put yourself in the light that they want to
cast. If you are going for that leading man that's paired up with a sweet young
ingenue you want to show them that ability that you have the ability to
express love and emotion and be emotional and open and vulnerable on
stage so choosing a song that showcases that would be important. Whereas if
you're doing something that's a funnier role you know do something with comedic
ability or acting a little bit or something that you can kind of put a
twist on and make your own that doesn't necessarily leave you open and
vulnerable on stage but instead shows off timing and acting chops that would
be more important than having some beautiful soaring high tenor you know
range that that's shown off. So it really depends on what the director is going to
be looking for which depends on what they're casting for. So again be ready to
vocalize. Most auditions will have a pianist there they'll stretch your range
they want to see how you can go. do you have those beautiful high C's
are you able to sing the role and what it's written for even if your audition
piece doesn't necessarily show off those high notes they might expect to hear
them. If you are auditioning for a love interest or the leading man type role
they might bring the soprano that they've cast as the you know the
love interest or the ingenue on stage and have you read together see if
there's good chemistry if you look good next to each other. Maybe be prepared to
have somebody else play off of you on stage at a role or especially a callback
just to see if you're good being cast with somebody else because you're not
only you know a tenor acting in this but you're half of a duet which is important
to see together. Can you think of any other good audition songs for tenors?
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