Are these considered Ballads?

[ParachuteBoy]

Posted: 8/23/13 at 12:19am

I'm auditioning for a musical and I need to sing a ballad. I know a ballad is typically slow and tells a story. Two songs I can sing pretty well are, "What do you do with a B.A. in english" (Avenue Q.) and "I know things now" (Into the woods). Are either of those songs ballads or would they be considered uptempo

Also I'm a guy is it too weird if I audition with "I know things now"?

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 8/23/13 at 12:22am

I would not call either of those songs ballads.

How old are you? If you're young enough you could maybe get away with "I Know Things Now."

[ParachuteBoy]

Posted: 8/23/13 at 12:34am

I am 15/16 years old. Do you mean get away as in just pulling it off or do you mean I get away with singing it as a ballad?

Thanks for the reply as well!

[FlowerChild67]

Posted: 8/23/13 at 12:58am

I Know Things Now is definitely NOT a ballad, BA in English you could probably get away with using as a ballad, though, and it would be a safer choice anyway, instead of gender-bending I Know Things Now... :)

[ParachuteBoy]

Posted: 8/23/13 at 1:02am

Thanks! Sadly that is my weaker song of the two but this gives me something to work on. I emailed my director to see how picky he was on if they were precisely ballads and if the song(s) would work.

Thanks again for the help!

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 8/23/13 at 1:14am

For the record, neither of those songs are ballads.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 8/23/13 at 1:59am

Depending on the amount of time you have I would veer away from "B.A. in English," as it's not a great choice in providing you the opportunity to show off any range or technique. The thing to remember with an audition is that your song is your chance to show off what you can do. It's not a great time to go with the simple approach.

That being said, if time is limited then polish up "B.A. in English," as going into an audition with a piece that you are not ready to present is worse than going in with something simple that you have down cold. I've seen so many times where people panic and choose to do something new at the last minute and completely bomb an audition because they just aren't ready.

I would probably avoid doing any "gender bending" for an audition, unless that is what the role is specifically calling for (or if the song has become a standard and is regularly covered by singers of both genders outside of the context of the show it was originally written for). One of the other points of an audition is to show those people what you could potentially do onstage. It won't help them see that if they are sitting there wondering why you are singing a song for a female character.

[ParachuteBoy]

Posted: 8/23/13 at 2:39am

Thank you for the advice. At this current moment my singing is not the best. I think it would be much better to do a nice safe song so I can get a small singing roll, speaking role or at least in the ensemble, I don't always do musicals. I liked that song because I was familiar with it and it wasn't too hard or didn't required big strength. I would look a lot worst if I did a popular-ish big strong song but didn't have the strength in my voice to pull it off.

Thanks again, I really appreciate it!