InTune

40 Songs for Stage Auditions

Posted on Jan 15, 2010 by Monica.

Do you want to try out for a talent show like the X-FACTOR or AMERICAN IDOL? Are you preparing for a musical theater audition or just want to sing on stage? Musicnotes wants to help! Not only have we dug through our digital sheet music files to offer you suggestions for songs that we think you’ll love, we’ve also got a book we think you’ll get a lot out of.

One song in particular that you might want to consider practicing is entitled The 60 Second Audition. This song was written specifically to highlight a singer’s ability to perform different musical styles and techniques within sixty seconds, and can be purchased in multiple keys to fit your range.

If you’re not sure what your vocal range is or how these Singer Pro arrangements different from our instrumental sheet music selections, we invite you to read our post about Deciphering Singer Pro Sheet Music and Finding Your Vocal Range.

Sale! 15% Off Vocal Audition Book

We’ve taken 15% off a unique book that’s designed to help aspiring performers with their stage auditions. Thank you — that’s all we need for today… A Practical Guide to Musical Theatre Auditions is a book written by Mary Hammond, a vocal consultant who has worked with performers in world-renowned Broadway shows and pop music. This unique book helps singers understand the basics of a song, prepares them for auditions, mentions technical aspects that can help singers improve their sound, discusses stage presence and much more! Although there are notes for beginning vocalists in this book, this is a comprehensive overview of how a singer can be their best on stage. Even experienced vocalists will find something useful in this book to help them sing professionally.

Included with this book, you also receive a CD with vocal warm-ups, too. Normally, this 6 in x 8 in book and CD is $21.95, but we’re offering on sale at $18.65 from now through midnight, January 31, 2010.

15 Songs for Female Lead Vocalists

For singers who sing in the soprano and alto range, you might want to consider one of these fifteen songs. We’ve pulled together some song titles from Broadway shows and a variety of popular musical styles for you to consider for your next audition.

• Somewhere Over the Rainbow from THE WIZARD OF OZ
• Defying Gravity from WICKED
• The Alto’s Lament by Zina Goldrich
• I Dreamed a Dream from LES MISERABLES
• Good Morning Baltimore from HAIRSPRAY
• I Will Survive by Dino Fekaris
• Alone by Heart
• The Greatest Love of All by Whitney Houston
• Beautiful by Christina Aguilera
• Fever by Peggy Lee
• I’ll Stand By You by Carrie Underwood
• Hero by Mariah Carey
• If I Ain’t Got You by Alicia Keys
• Black Horse and the Cherry Tree by KT Tunstall
• The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face by Roberta Flack

15 Songs for Male Lead Vocalists

If you sing in the tenor or bass vocal range, we invite you to take a look at these song titles for your next audition. From Broadway to popular love songs, we’ve selected fifteen songs we think will work well on stage.

• Summertime from PORGY AND BESS
• The Music Of The Night from PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
• You Raise Me Up by Josh Groban
• Fly Me To the Moon by Frank Sinatra
• Stand By Me by Ben E. King
• Imagine by John Lennon
• What’s Going On by Marvin Gaye
• Man in the Mirror by Michael Jackson
• Hallelujah by Rufus Wainwright
• You Give Love a Bad Name by Bon Jovi
• Isn’t She Lovely by Stevie Wonder
• Georgia on My Mind by Ray Charles
• Bless the Broken Road by Rascal Flatts
• The Way You Look Tonight by Tony Bennett
• Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon & Garfunkel

10 Classical Pieces for Singers

If you prefer to sing opera or songs by classical composers, then we think you’ll really enjoy this list of ten songs. Each Singer Pro arrangement in this list is part of our Musicnotes Editions catalog, so you receive an added value when you purchase any of these songs.

• Aria “Bist du bei mir” Composed by Bach
• Zion hort die Wachter Singen from “Sleepers, Awake!” Composed by Bach
• Habanera (from Carmen) Composed by Bizet
• Wiegenlied “Cradle Song” (Brahms’ Lullaby) Opus 49, No. 4 Composed by Brahms
• Caro Mio Ben (Thou, all my bliss) Arietta Composed by Giordani
• Voi, Che Sapete (from Le Nozze di Figaro) Composed by Mozart
• Nessun Dorma (from Turnadot) Composed by Puccini
• O Mio Babbino Caro (from Gianni Schicchi) Composed by Puccini
• Wandrers Nachtlied II, Opus 96 No 3 Composed by Schubert
• Ach, ich darf nicht hin zu dir (From Die Fledermaus) Composed by Strauss
• Brindisi (Libiamo Ne’ Lieti Calici) from La Traviata Composed by Verdi

About Musicnotes Editions Our Musicnotes Editions are the best digital sheet music value your money can buy. Each professional arrangement offers you unlimited print capabilities of your sheet music as well as performance and/or recording rights for your piece!

Are you a singer and want to help your fellow Musicnotes performers? Feel free to recommend a song in the comments below!

Regarding Your Feedback

In response to your comments, we wanted to take a moment and address the concerns that you brought up with regards to the songs mentioned here in the post.

Initially, we were inspired to highlight the songs that have resonated with many of our customers because several of these songs were performed on stage and at auditions through talent shows like the X-Factor and American Idol. Susan Boyle is just one example of someone who sung a well-known Broadway song so well, that she ended up getting a recording contract from her performance.

After reading your comments, it is clear that some of you were expecting a list of songs appropriate for community theater or professional stage auditions. We understand that our presentation of these songs may have resulted in some confusion, and we are currently consulting with professionals that work on-and-off Broadway to provide you with a list of their recommendations.

As always, we appreciate your feedback. Thank you for taking the time to respond to this post.

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Sheet Music for Schoolhouse Rock & Back to School

Posted on Aug 11, 2009 by Monica.

Get ready to break out your sheet music and practice your instruments – school is almost back in session. Believe it or not, going back to school can be a lot of fun because there are a ton of great songs for you to play and perform. Why not get a head start and play some school-inspired songs to get in the mood to learn music?

For starters, you could groove to School of Rock Guitar Tab. This song was featured in a comedy film by the same name, starring Jack Black. To help you learn this song, we also have a Guitar Guru Session of School of Rock, too. Remember, every session comes with an accompanying guitar tab so you can play this song well after you’ve mastered it.

Not into hard rock? That’s okay, we understand that you might think we don’t need no education, but we still think you do. Don’t want to keep Waitin’ in School? Maybe you should Grease back your hair and get ready for a High School Musical. After all, you don’t want to be a Beauty School Dropout, do you? If the first HSM isn’t enough, you might want to try High School Musical 2. What’s that you say? You want to Scream “I Want It All Right Now!” Okay…don’t worry! We have what you want in this High School Musical 3 Collection.

Well, before you Walk Away, you might want to study up on your lessons with Schoolhouse Rock!

Schoolhouse Rock Sheet Music

Do you remember Schoolhouse Rock? From songs like Conjunction Junction to I’m Just a Bill, Schoolhouse Rock has brought animated humor and a whole lot of fun to help teach topics like politics, science, grammar, money, math and technology.

In this money-saving Schoolhouse Rock Song Collection you can enjoy ten popular songs for only $26.95, which saves you $23.15.

Here are ten songs from Schoolhouse Rock that you might enjoy playing or singing:

• I’m Just a Bill
• Conjunction Junction
• Three Is a Magic Number
• No More Kings
• Interplanet Janet
• Lolly, Lolly, Lolly, Get Your Adverbs Here
• Electricity, Electricity
• My Hero, Zero
• Dollars and Sense
• The Great American Melting Pot

What songs get you in the mood to learn your instrument or master your singing lessons? Share your favorites in the comments below!

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Ask Musicnotes for Beginner Piano Players

Posted on Apr 30, 2009 by Monica.

Are you learning to play piano? From asking questions related to playing piano with both hands to learning how to play for the first time, many of you are interested in how you can play piano sheet music. While there is no musical wand we can wave to help you play like Peter Cincotti or William Joseph in a matter of days, there is one thing that you can do to help get your fingers used to practicing.

Beginner Piano Playing Tip: It’s not uncommon for beginner piano players to experience difficulty playing songs with both hands. To help strengthen your fingers and learn how to play with both hands, try “practicing” your sheet music on a counter-top or hard surface.

Why is this helpful? Well, if you’re focusing on a hard surface instead of a keyboard, you’ll concentrate on how your fingers work together instead of worring about hitting the right notes. Over time, you’ll begin to notice when your hands go “flat” and correct your form, too!

Remember, practicing is really the only way to get through some of your greatest challenges while you learn. It does take time to master an instrument. For example, many of our Musicnotes YouPerform contest winners have been playing for several years.

Here are two more questions we’d like to address that were very similar to several others we received, regarding proper fingering and recommendations for books:

ASK MUSICNOTES: What is the proper finger numbering for scales up 3 octaves and back? The entire circle of fifths and more. Thanks! – Stowell

There are a number of books that teach players how to practice scales, arpeggios and other music theory fundamentals. These books are called “method books” and help piano players learn how to play using a number of different techniques. We feature piano method books on Musicnotes.com, but here are a few we recommend that might help with proper fingering. The book pictured here is called “The Complete Book of Scales, Chords, Arpeggios and Cadences.” One of the reasons why we recommend this particular book, is because this is a good piano method book for both beginning and advanced piano players to use as a resource.

If you have a keyboard, there are a few method books that have been written specifically for you. One of those books is the Master Scale & Chord Guide for Keyboard; another is the Keyboard Guide – Chords, Scales & Modes In All Keys.

If you want to learn how to play guitar, we’d also like to point out that we do offer guitar method books as well.

ASK MUSICNOTES: Is there a book that I could buy and some great software that will help me learn now to play the piano? Thank You! – Derrick

One of the great things about new technology, is that many music publishers have embraced new ways to help you learn how to play piano. Alfred’s Teach Yourself To Play Piano is one book that we recommend, because it offers you the ability to learn multiple styles of music and comes with a CD. Here’s a little bit more about this piano-learning book:

Everything you need to know to start playing now! Whether you’re a beginner with no prior musical training, or you “used to play” and are need of a refresher course, Alfred’s Teach Yourself to Play Piano is the perfect resource to teach yourself piano, even though you have never taken a lesson. Complete with on-screen scrolling music, MP3 play-along tracks for every example, and iPod*-compatible video files, you will master how to make rhythms made simple, how to form the most important chords, techniques for playing with feeling and expression, and so much more. Upon completing Teach Yourself to Play Piano, you will be able to play in pop, blues, classical, folk, hymns, spirituals, and ragtime styles. The DVD includes exciting arrangements of “The Entertainer” and “Amazing Grace,” and sets the stage for a life-long relationship with music and playing the piano.

Well, that’s all the time we have to answer your questions today. Whether you’re just learning how to play piano or you’re an experienced pianist, we hope you enjoyed this edition of Ask Musicnotes. Don’t be afraid to keep your questions coming or chime in with your thoughts below!

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Did you Ask Musicnotes? Read about the Melodic Minor

Posted on Apr 14, 2009 by Monica.

While many of your questions were related to transpositions, music notation and symbols, and learning how to play piano or guitar, there were a few that were quite technical like this question about the melodic minor. We’d like to address this question here today for our advanced music lovers out there.

I have been teaching piano for over 15 years and have taught the 3 kinds of minor scales, but I have never understood the origin or the purpose of the melodic minor. I have continued to teach it along with the natural and harmonic minor scales so that if my students continue on with their music education they will know it and hopefully find someone to explain it to them later—perhaps in a college theory class?! I have asked many music-minded people over the years and have never received a satisfactory answer as to WHY we even have the melodic minor, let alone an example of a song with it in it. Any ideas??!

Sincerely,
Curious in Spokane, WA

Do you know what a melodic minor is? A melodic minor scale is based on a natural minor, but the sixth and seventh tones in the melodic minor scale will be raised by a semi-tone (half step) when the melody is moving upward toward the root note (tonic). The trick is that a melodic minor is the same as a natural minor when you play the descending scale.

Both the harmonic and melodic minor scales are used to increase the “weight” of a desire to resolve to the tonic. In the harmonic minor scale, the 7th is raised to make it a half-step below the tonic where it is referred to as a “leading tone.” If you’re in A minor and play a G sharp, you get a tangible sense that it REALLY wants to resolve upward to A – even more so than a G-natural due to proximity. Plus, the raised 7th gives us the traditional V7-i cadence.

The harmonic minor scale does present a problem, though: it creates an awkward augmented 2nd interval (3 half steps) between the 6th and 7th. Historically, going all the way back to early music and chant, this interval was considered dissonant (both melodically and harmonically) and was to be avoided or resolved immediately. By raising the 6th along with the 7th (melodic minor) this awkward interval could be avoided. The raised 6th also serves to further emphasize the upward motion toward a resolution to the tonic.

However, if you’re descending melodically in the scale – moving AWAY from the tonic, there’s no need to build “upward” motion or tension toward that resolution. The raised 6th and 7th can actually be confused for a major scale if you play them descending, resulting in a sense of tonal ambiguity. That is why the 6th and 7th in the melodic minor scale are usually employed as “raised ascending/natural descending.”

Many songs may employ the melodic minor as a phrase-shaping tool, so it can be challenging to find examples of a song that uses the melodic minor consistently. Typically, the melodic minor is usually used to shape singular phrases or passages when it is convenient for the harmony.

Have a question for our team here at Musicnotes.com? Don’t be afraid to “Ask Musicnotes!”

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Love Piano Sheet Music? Learn about Types of Notation!

Posted on Apr 13, 2009 by Monica.

Notation is the way music is represented by written symbols. Symbols can include notes or other markings that indicate how to play your song. A few of you had asked what some of those musical symbols mean, and our production team recommended this list of modern musical symbols which includes everything from a “staff” to the “fermata” symbol, which looks like a bird’s eye.

Did you know that sheet music is a form of music notation? There are several different ways that a song can be written into sheet music. Often, the notation may change depending upon the arrangement, complexity and musicians involved in the piece. For example, our Singer Pro sheet music features an independent vocal line that is separated from the piano accompaniment. Whenever possible, our Singer Pro piano accompaniments are notated just as you hear on your favorite artists’ recordings. As another example, there are multiple ways that music notation for guitarists can be rendered, too.

Piano Music Notations

Here are some other piano sheet music notations that you might be interested in learning more about.

Notation Style	Example
Piano/Voice/Guitar (PVG) Typically, this notation offers the piano part, vocal line and guitar chord frames. You might also see the vocal part repeated in the piano part. Piano/Vocal/Chords (PVC) Typically the music notation offers the piano part, vocal line, and chord names above the staff. You might also see the vocal part repeated in the piano part.
Piano Solo This type of music notation doesn’t offer a vocal line, because it’s meant to be performed as a piano solo. These notations may or may not offer chord names as well.
Easy Piano This type of music notation is geared toward beginning to elementary level piano students. Sheet music may often includes lyrics, but isn’t listed as a separate vocal line. Did you know that easy piano arrangements can almost always be performed as a piano solo? However, easy piano arrangements are “abridged” and do not always contain complete lyrics. Like the piano solo notation, you may or may not find chord names above the staff.
Five Finger Piano If you’re learning how to play piano, you know how important fingering is! In this style of piano music notation, notes are numbered by finger and hands stay in one place over the same keys throughout. Typically, five finger piano notation offers the melody line of your favorite songs, but it also might include an optional teacher accompaniment.
Big-Note Big-Note notation refers to sheet music that features larger notes. These songs may include notation for easy level piano, but not necessarily. Big-Note notation is more about the “size” of the notes than the level of complexity. We recommend reviewing any songs you wish to download with big-note notation before you purchase them to ensure that the song fits your level of playing ability.
Letter or E-Z Play Today If you’re looking for the easiest type of music notation that we sell, then you’ll want to look for Letter or E-Z Play Today notation. Typically, these arrangements only focus on the right hand melody of your favorite songs and include large notes with the letters printed right in the notes.

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Want to Become a Better Musician? Musicnotes Wants to Help!

Posted on Mar 05, 2009 by Monica.

Are you an aspiring musician? Need help with learning your sheet music? We want to help. Just ask Musicnotes!

Musicnotes.com employs a wide range of talented individuals who are as passionate about music as you are. From professional arrangers to educators to just plain old music lovers, everyone here is dedicated to bringing sheet music to life in one way or another. We’d like to share our knowledge with you by opening the floor to your questions.

Here’s how we’d like to help you in your music endeavors:

Trying to learn music and need answers? Write down your question related to learning music or music performance and send your question to this email address: musiclovers AT musicnotes DOT com. Please put “Ask Musicnotes” in your email subject line.

We’ll choose questions to answer here on the blog, and will provide you with a detailed answer. In the interest of time, not every question may be answered. How often (and how quickly) we respond to your questions will depend on scheduling and you!

If you’re looking for ideas on what types of questions to ask, you might start by reading our tips for sight-reading post to help inspire you.

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Sheet Music Sight-Reading Tips for Singers and Musicians

Posted on Feb 18, 2009 by Monica.

Can you sight-read sheet music? Enjoy singing unfamiliar pieces at holidays? Learning to read sheet music at first glace can be pretty challenging, because sight-reading doesn’t just depend upon your musical proficiency. For singers, it can be really difficult because different vocal techniques sometimes require practicing the song measure-by-measure rather than in its entirety. If you play an instrument that uses vibrato or other modifying techniques, trills, phrasing and fast tempos can throw a wrench into your sight-reading ability.

Here are some tips to help you improve your sight-reading of new sheet music that you’re interested in playing or singing. Two of these tips were recommended to us by Twitter user @kittskrafts, and we’d like to thank her for taking the time to mention these tips.

• The more you practice sight-reading the easier it gets! From Twitter @kittskrafts
• Be sure of your key signature before you begin. From Twitter @kittskrafts
• For singers, chant or speak the lyrics to the beat before you start singing, so you get a feel for the song’s rhythm.
• Clap out beat by beat–including rests–to distance yourself from the notes so you can get the time signature down right before you play.
• Try playing the piece your first time through without all the bells and whistles. Skip phrasing, trills and other embellishments to focus on getting the notes right.
• If you have a really complicated piece for two hands, play through the piece focusing on just one or the other.
• Attempting to speed up your fingering skills? Try playing the piece in a slower tempo before attempting a presto pace.
• If you’re listening to what the song sounds like before you’re playing it, fiddle with your stereo dials to amplify the vocal line.
• To ensure you’re singing is in tune, try singing an “f” to a “b-flat” when you warm up. That way, no matter what song you’re trying to sing, you’ll have a starting point.

Some of our Musicnotes YouPerform contest winners offered their tips when they were describing how they read the sheet music for our contest. You can read more about their tips on our Musicnotes YouPerform contest page. Just look for the previous contest winners.

Are you an excellent sight-reader? Have you more tips to share? We invite you to comment and share your thoughts!

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Music Gift Ideas for Kids

Posted on Dec 05, 2008 by Monica.

Do you have a child that loves music? Are you shopping for your nephew or godchild for Christmas and have no idea what to get them? We put our heads together to come up with a list of musical gift ideas that are great for kids. Not only will these gifts foster their music abilities, but they can be as fun as they are educational, too!

You’ll notice that some of these music gift ideas are perfect for kids that are younger than ten years old. If your child is taking music or theory lessons, we encourage you to double-check with them to see if they have any other ideas for you.

Music Posters

Music posters like the Poster Set Basic Elements Of Music – These educational music posters are perfect as another gift idea for the beginner musician. The other nice thing about this poster set, is that it comes with activity sheets and teaching notes if you choose to use them. At the very least, having four posters that help your child understand rhythm, intervals, fifths and scales help reinforce the fundamentals of learning music.

If your child or teen has a favorite musician or band, a poster can be a fun gift idea to inspire them, too!
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Gift Ideas for the Beginner Musician

Posted on Nov 25, 2008 by Monica.

Have no idea what to get for that beginner musician in your life? Here are some gift ideas that we’d like to share with you for guitar, piano and voice.

The book featured at left is perfect for either beginning piano players or singers because the notes and words are printed large and are extremely easy-to-read. When you’re looking for gifts for a beginner musician, you’ll want to find songbooks or sheet music that’s written in big notation. The benefit to finding a book like the Disney Giant Movie Hits Songbook or the 30 Favorite Christmas Songs sheet music book, is that the songs are familiar to the beginning musician. This is a great help for teachers or music enthusiasts who are learning how to read music.

The other benefit to “big” notation for beginning piano players, is that it helps them expect that “next note” for fingering. Sheet music with big notation often uses easier piano arrangements, so the musician doesn’t get overwhelmed with too many phrases and notes to play. As the piano player’s fingers get stronger with more and more practice, look for more complex big notations with chords to help that transition period.

Learning to Play Guitar?

If you are giving the gift of a guitar this holiday season, we recommend accompanying your present with guitar sheet music perfect for beginner guitarists. Sometimes, you will find guitar chords printed above the staff on an arrangement geared toward piano and voice. Other times, you’ll find specific notation just for guitar sheet music, called “guitar tab.”

One of our favorite guitar sheet music books to help our music lovers learn guitar is this one called, Teach Yourself Guitar in 10 Easy Lessons. For a more seasonal guitar book, take a look at the Christmas Guitar Book – A Collection of Easy Guitar Solos that offers fifteen popular holiday songs. Normally it retails for $9.95, but we’re offering a 20 percent off Christmas sheet music books sale through November 30th.

Guitar Guru Helps Guitarists Learn Songs, Too

Our Guitar Guru Sessions also help guitarists learn how to increase their skills, but in a unique way. One Guitar Guru session includes the guitar sheet music (or tab) for the song, in addition to an interactive fret board that you can use right on your computer. Compatible for Mac or PC, you simply download our free Guitar learning software and pick the song you want.

We recommend starting with our free Guitar Guru session that we offer once-a-month. Features of Guitar Guru include:

• Detailed, note-by-note instructions
• Virtual fret board with customizable, real-time finger positions
• Adjustable playback/learning tempo (up to 300%)
• MIDI or CD-Synched/MP3/WMA-synched Audio
• Use your CD or MP3/WMA files as an audio track, or use the included MIDI.
• Step-Through Playback Function

Sessions are, on average, one or two dollars higher than if you would purchase the guitar tab by itself. For Christmas music sessions, you can either look at individual songs like Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree or Dream Child by Trans-Siberian Orchestra. For the PC, we do offer two, different Guitar Guru gift packs that offer everything a beginning guitarist needs to learn six holiday songs and more!

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Free Music Games to Develop Your Ear for Music and More!

Posted on Nov 05, 2008 by Monica.

What do games like Simon Says or card games like Concentration have in common? If your answer is “music” then you’ve got it right!

Whether you’re new to playing piano or are a proficient classical guitarist, it’s always a good idea to practice and hone your skills. These browser-based music games feature different challenges from learning music theory to pitch recognition, songwriting and ear training.

For those of you wondering whether or not these music games are for adults or kids, we’ve added a mini-review to each of these websites to help you see whether or not these games are right for you or someone you know.

Enjoy!
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