<p>I’m now a senior in high school and will consequently be auditioning for several BFA Musical Theatre programs cross the country. I was just wondering which group of girls there are more of - sopranos or belters? I’m a mezzo/belter and had just always assumed that that was the group that had the most competition, but am now hearing that some schools are saying “too many sopranos.” Is this true? Any thoughts?</p>
<p>i think there are just too many girls. But i too will be a senior next year and will be auditioning. And i think the best idea is to just be the best at whatever you think is your strength, and leave the rest to the auditioners.</p>
<p>there are a LOT of girls who have the mix/belt sound going on, but who have the RANGE of a soprano (meaning they have a legit sound above their mix/belt as well).</p>
<p>i think you might be referring to me. i was told “too many sopranos”. i am a high soprano with a high belt as well. it’s true – there are just WAY too many girls!! </p>
<p>the only thing you can do is your best. some places it really might come down to “too many ______”. audition as many places as you can!</p>
<p>best of luck
maggie</p>
<p>would that mean that those of us who can sing comfortably down there with the tenors, have a slight advantage?</p>
<p>yeah, it’s more that there are a ton of girls.</p>
<p>i don’t remember which school it was that said this, but i remember one school made a big point about how they can’t just have the popy belters, but we still need the Marion the librarians and Sarah Browns, etc etc…so i think it’s just that there are a lot of girls…</p>
<p>so my advice is for girls to apply to a lot of schools!</p>
<p>We went to one audition there were 100 girls and 4 boys and they took 1 of each. Those are the numbers. Girls especially need backup plans and backup plans for their backup plans.</p>
<p>Yes, too many girls! It’s hard to maintain self-confidence some times with all this good female talent!</p>
<p>The main thing is that no matter whether you are a soprano belter, legit soprano, alto, tenor or bass, you fall into a category. Out of each category they tend to pick several students depending on how many they’re accepting that year. The main thing to keep in mind is that there is no reason why they wouldn’t want you to fill that blonde soprano spot, or that tall baritone spot. Do the best job YOU can do for YOU. If its not good enough for one school, it may be for another. Don’t be overwhelmed by statistics. Spend that extra energy on practice. PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE! The rest will fall in place as it should!</p>
<p>My experience coaching many auditionees over the past 10 + years, hearing audition stories of those admitted to top programs, watching admission trends, and speaking with the heads of top programs has shown that colleges are looking for singers who:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Have good vocal technique, or at least bad singing habits that are “easily fixable” (which any expert teacher such as those who serve as vocal audition auditors can usually hear/determine right away)</p></li>
<li><p>Sing healthily. This dovetails with having good technique and can also be heard immediately in most cases. Colleges will ESPECIALLY listen for this with regard to a girl’s belt technique, since many girls who are “powerful” belters (and have gained a reputation for great belting in their home communities) are producing that sound with vocal tension. </p></li>
<li><p>Have distinctive marketability to their voices, even if it’s not developed yet - a soaring soprano sound, a rich baritone, etc. This goes along with what MTGeek said about fitting into a category. I’d expand this to say that it’s equally good to be your OWN, “new” category - as long as you are engaging to an audience. And this is why you don’t have to be a great SINGER to work in MT - you need to be a great PERFORMER/ACTOR. </p></li>
<li><p>On that note - the MOST IMPORTANT factor for most top schools is that you CONNECT to what you are singing - that you know what you’re singing about and convey that clearly and specifically to an audience. THAT is what audiences want to see! I have posted here before (but I can’t remember on which thread) about one of my favorite coaching quotes, from a CMU faculty person: “Hundreds of people have great voices - there has to be something ELSE, too.” That is why choosing material that shows something about YOU is so key - and that is true in professional auditions as well. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>A final thought: I can think of top young conservatory students who violate points 1,2, and 3 in my list above - singers who came into school with vocal nodules that were easy to hear, singers who had weak or seriously flawed technique, and singers who didn’t quite know their “vocal identities.” What those people all have in common in a strength in #4 - they captivate audiences, each in their own way.</p>
<p>I’m with the wisdom imparted by MTGeek - worry about what you can control - which, as he says, is PRACTICE. I would add to that the necessity of devoting a lot of brainpower to picking the best material FOR YOU.</p>
<p>Good luck! :)</p>
<p>Thank you everyone, I really appreciate it!</p>
<p>There are more mixers…we really need alot of strong altos. I found that at the Syracuse MT summer program, we had a million and one sopranos, a few belters, and 2 strong altos,like me. I can sing in 3 1/2 octaves so it’s no problem for me to hit a low F (like a contra tenor) but we altos need a lot of strength down here.</p>
<p>You have to remember that the summer program you went to is only a small percent of the audition pool. No one is a sure thing, even if you are a female bass/male soprano who sings queen of the night aria. I think its just better to be the best that you can be (Army nationallll guaarddd! YOU CAN) And, if you can be all of those things, a soprano, a belter, and a good alto, then that definatly increases your chances.</p>
<p>but, consitering you are probably one of the few (the proud the marines…a lot of puns on military today!) you may have a smaller pool to audition against. </p>
<p>idkkk good luck though!</p>
<p>That’s strange that Syracuse had a ton of sopranos. My d goes to NYU and from what I’ve gathered, there aren’t many sopranos; mostly altos and belters (guess you can be both, right?)</p>
<p>I just felt alone down there on those low notes. maybe there were more alto type singers but they just weren’t loud. The professors complained that the sopranos needed to work on a mix. But then again, you’re right. that was just the summer program.</p>