HSC Performance - Singers (1 Viewer)

[NobodyKnows]

Hi,

I'm a singer and I have been all my life, I have my HSC next year and I don't know what to sing yet.... I haven't really picked my topics either, I'm trying to stay open-minded. I do know that my teacher wants me to do a German aria - to show varying contrast between pieces, etc but I don't know what else to do - any suggestions? I'm a soprano, I play piano and my vocal range is pretty much G below the stave to Ab above the stave (which I'm working on - I wanna hit Top C!!!!) I'll sing pretty much anything but I can't stand country.

Thnx in advance for any insight.

 

[Emma-Jayde]

Nice to see that you're getting organised already!!
A couple of questions before I suggest anything though:

a)Music 1 or music 2? And if music 2, are you doing extension?
b)How many pieces?
c) What voice type are you. By this I mean do you have a light voice, or something more suited to opera or oratorios?
d) What was the German aria your teacher suggested?

Also, who do you learn from and what school do you go to?
(I'm a very curious person...)

 

[NobodyKnows]

Hey cool, you go to HSPA - I know a few people there. I'm in more of the Lake Macquarie area, though.

a) Music 1, my school doesn't offer Music 2 or Extension, if they were available I'd take them in a heartbeat.
b) Four. No way am I doing a viva again (hate them.... HATE them) and I can't compose anything other than flute duets.
c) I've done opera in the past, but I strayed away from it for about 5-6 years or so, and now I'm just getting back into it. I like jazz mainly, because you can do your own thing with it, and I've been doing a lot of Natalie Imbruglia and Kelly Clarkson lately, but I'm tired of all the generic cliche pop-type songs. I need a change and I want something different.
d) 'Wanderer's Nachtlied', an early work of Liszt (I think...?). It's a favourite for a high voice, apparently.

I've had a bunch of teachers before, the only one I think anyone would recognise would be Kim Hornby - Miss. Kim from Romper Room. That was a few years ago, though.

 

[Emma-Jayde]

Lol, I know how you feel with vivas...
Ok, with 4 pieces you want to have a nice variety.
I think you should do the German piece, if you like it, do 1 or 2 jazz pieces of different styles and a musical theatre, or maybe another classical-ish piece, or a folk song.

I don't really know what sort of jazz pice to suggest, something like It's only a Paper Moon is great, The Glory of Love, Someone to Watch Over Me. Eva Cassidy is done to death, so unless you can pull it off really well, I'd stay well clear of her pieces.

For M.T, The Secret Garden has some beautiful pieces( eg- A Bit of Earth, The Girl I Mean to Be, How Could I Know), as does Finian's Rainbow (How are Things in Glocca-Morra?, Look to the Rainbow). Seussical the Musical also has some really fun pieces, if you can get hold of them.
Also, if you can get to that high C and keep ot consistently, Poor Wand'ring One from The Pirates of Penzance is brilliant. I love it. It's one of my pieces and it's sooooo fun! Although it's operetta, so not technically M.T.

If you want another classical style piece, Voi che Sapette (Mozart; Marriage of Figaro) is a good one, in Italian. Although most of the pieces I'd suggest would be in German...And if you do the other German piece, you don't want 2 in the same language. The Laughing Song, Strauss, is one of my favourites, even though I'm not actually singing it for my HSC, but again, don't try it unless you can get that high C.

Folk songs are gorgeous, and there's so many different arrangements around that I wouldn't know where to start...Shenandoah is a nice piece, as are some arrangements of Greensleeves, The Water is Wide, Carrickfergus. There are lots...

Also, you might want to throw in an ensemble piece somewhere, such as a duet, a small vocal group or something with a couple of different instrumentalilst accompanying you.


Ok, that's lots more that 4 styles, but you'll probably find that you like singing some more than others. Go with pieces you like.
I made that mistake...I'm doing a Bach piece that I absolutely hate.
So pick songs you like. You'll enjoy it more.

 

[ezzaezza]

dont stress

dont worry about your choice, if u have been doing singing forever then whatever u sing should be awesome! as long as u perform your best. Oh and also, do u and your teacher realise that you get no extra browny points for variety? the examiners assess each performance with the last cleared from the record so to speak. So do what u want to do, not what u will think will get u versatility marks!! good luck!

 

[Phanatical]

Gilbert and Sullivan operas are full of great arias that are not too technically difficult, and leave lots of room for dramatics.

 

[Joni Next Door]

I'm not sure if it's suitable for female voice... but Gethsemene is an awesome song One of our singers from my 2005 class did it. He sung it very well! It's very emotional as well... so if u can put that expression into it, you should score well! I THINK it has a wide vocal range!

lol... but if u wanna score a band 1 for music (dno why but anyhow), I saw this video of performances catagorised from band 1 to band 6. The band 1 guy used a drum machine on a keyboard and played chords to the song (not sure what its called)... "In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight! A-weeeeeeeeiiiiii! A-weeiioo jungle weiiii...."

omg... like constantly a semi-tone flat compared to the chords, rhythm out and SO out of tune. It was amusing to say the least....

But yeh... the guy that sung Gethsemene ended up with a band 6 in music! And aural/written wasn't his strongest.

 

[Emma-Jayde]

Gethsemene is definately a song for a male voice.
A guy in the year above me sang that, and it ended up in encore, but yeah, it's a guys only sort of song.

But yeah, like I said before, stick with songs that are well within your vocal range. If you have to strain to sing a note, or if it isn't consistant, it's not a safe bet to use a piece requiring you to do so.

 

[SamTan*06*]

Hey!
I havnt been singing for very long (5 years i think) but im doing my hsc this year, and one thing I can say is: pick topics that give you a wide range to choose from. For example, musical theatre, music and religion, music for small and large ensemble etc. Then choose peices that contrast really well and help show off as much of your vocal range as possible. ive chosen a piece from Les Miserable, a classical leader piece, an african gospel accapella piece, and a contempororay rock piece. I hav the same range as you, and I feel the the examiners will be able to hear most of my range within these 4 pieces.
But most of all, dont pick pieces that you'll easily become sick of, but pick pieces that will challenge you, and always be fun to sing!!!

The sooner you choose, the sooner you can fine tune them! hehe!

Now...doese any one have any tips for stage fright? I always forget my words when I try to sing infront of people

 

[Emma-Jayde]

Try to perform in front of people more often.
One of the heardest things to do is get a bunch of your friends together and practise in front of them; to me, performing in front of people you know is always harder than performing for people you don't.
Or, if you wear glasses, take them off when you have to perform so you can't see the audience anyway. :uhhuh:
Oh, do you mean Leider?

 

[SamTan*06*]

Thanx for that! I will try it...I hope it works....HSC IS A MONTH AWAY!!!! GAH!!!!!

 

[Namlet]

Ah mine are kind of varied:

I'm In The Mood For Love - A kind of swing/ballad feel to it - Jazz

Clair by Gilbert O'Sullivan - An acoustic/pop version - Pop/Rock

Picture Of My Life by Jamiroquai - A melodic/bossa/latin feel to it - Bossa Nova/Latin

and a Musicology, hahaha.

 

[Emma-Jayde]

I like your song choices there!

 

[Namlet]

Ah, thank you lass!

 

[187]

I'm going to sway this conversation a little; does anyone know anything about sight-singing? I'm not a singer, and I really mean that. I never, ever sing in front of other people (especially not solo!), and although the rhythm should be fine, the pitch part will most likely be a problem.

I can do simple sight-singing exercises (i.e., where it's quite scale-like) fine when I'm on my own, but I don't know how it'll be in front of other people. Besides, it won't be an easy passage at all. I don't know how I survive the aural component of AMEB exams.

 

[Emma-Jayde]

The only advice I can give you for sight singing is to practise... 12? (That's just a guess...I don't remember how many you get) bars, play the first note and then give it a go, and then play it on the piano (or other instrument) to see how you went.

That's one thing I don't think is entirely fair in the HSC music exams.. I've been studying voice for almost 11 years and I was given the same sight singing piece as an instumentalist who has never studied voice. The HSC standard is grade 1 or 2 to me (At the time of the HSC I'd just done grade 7 with Trinity College of London), but much harder for people who don't have to do it on a regular basis.
The whole pitching thing can be hard to learn for those who don't need to learn it...

Another thing that might help is to practise singing intervals, even the 7ths and tritones, etc. There shouldn't be anything so nasty in the HSC, but it really helps improve your pitch.

 

[jessiquinhas]

hey....im also a singer n have been all my life...lmao all i can say is go for something thats not english coz that reli shakes em... they reli like that.... n make sure u pik songs that can cover the technical aspects.... if i were u... i'd try to sing "My Immortal" by Evenesence..... coaz that is such a good song.... it cover everything... and if u can pull it off... liek practice heaps and heaps... ull getgreat marks for it.... that was one of my mistakes..... not singing that song..... reli try it out.... its reli good!

 

[Emma-Jayde]

If you're going to do something in a language other than English you have to be able to do the language properly. Not just a half-arsed attempt at learning some words from listening to a recording, which I know is how some people learn their pieces. And you need to know what the lyrics mean. You can't get up and sing something like Das Verlassene Mägdelein (The Forsaken Maiden) with a huge grin on your face...

I'd also say that something like "My Immortal" is too popular... Imagine being an examiner and hearing the same song over and over? And personally, I think it can only be done by someone with a similar vocal tone to the original, which wouldn't come up very often.

 

[audra]

Yes...Emma-Jayde is right "My Immortal" is extremely popular. I have heard it so many times in the last 2yrs. That being said it is my absolute fav. Maybe if your into doing your own arrangements. It might be wise to take songs your passionate about and giving it your own flavour.
That goes for popular repertoire. Being a classical singer myself, I love the attempts of the amalgamations of the 2 styles with the new opera bands and language is a plus, if you happen to speak another language choose a song from your culture even if you arent dont be a afraid to venture out. Also consult your singing teachers, they are extremely resourceful in every sense. Choose songs that are not main stream or havent been on the charts recently. Also enjoy the pieces let the examiners feel your joy or your pain, where it need be. What ever you pick be passionate, also make sure you wont get bored with them half way across the year cos then they tend to lose spark.
All the best!

 

[NobodyKnows]

Heehee, this thread is still alive, I'm impressed!!

Seems like a lifetime ago, but I sang:

- 'Hello', Evanescence - was my core, I hated it, but it sounded OK, I had a violin playing the cello solo in TREBLE clef, which added a bit of contrast

- 'Sull'Aria', Mozart, from The Marriage of Figaro - an Italian aria with my singing teacher and classical guitar, it was amazing and I loved it the most!!

- 'Scarlet', Brooke Fraser - slow, low-pitch ballad, complete contrast to the opera, just me and a piano

- 'Fever', John Davenport - Damn stupid song.... it was done to absolute death, I'd been using it as an audition piece for lots of shows throughout yr 11.... I had a good jazz ensemble with me so it was alright.

All in all -- I think I went well.
Music is all over.... =(