Baritone (and BASS) showtunes- Page 2
Baritone (and BASS) showtunes
#25re: Baritone showtunes
Posted: 7/22/04 at 7:22pmBaritone goes up to a G or higher. I can often warm-up to a Bb above middle C without straining. If you're only able to get to a D or E that's a good sign that you're singing with too much tension. A great resource for all voice parts is the Singer's Musical Theatre Anthology: they have great selections for each voice part, and they are copied (legally) from the vocal scores, so they are real accompaniments. My favorite song to sing is "If I Can't Love Her" from Beauty and the Beast (it's really hard to sing at the end though). Also, "Stars" from Les Mis or "Bring Him Home." Once you get the G, "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables is gorgeous." Another good place to look is songs written for belters, down the octave they are right in baritone range ("Defying Gravity" is actually easier for a male to sing than a female, much easier than "If I Can't Love Her"); many of them are either gender neutral or can be altered easily when taken out of the context of the show. Remember, voice part is about tone, and while a Bass can go lower than a Baritone (and usually not up to the G without a falsetto), the range between any two male or any two female voices is roughly the same: all men should be able to reach a G full voice, and all women should be able to reach a high C (always without straining, of course).
AnothaPartofMe
Broadway Star Joined: 5/22/04
#26re: Baritone showtunes
Posted: 7/22/04 at 7:54pmwhat about the title song from SHE LOVES ME
And if she'll say, "My darling, I'm yours!" I'll throw away my striped tie and my best pressed tweed, all I really need is the girl...
jonartdesigns
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/04
#27re: Baritone showtunes
Posted: 7/22/04 at 8:48pmwell if this thread has taught me nothing else i've realized i'm not technically a baritone after all since i can sing far higher than the ranges mentioned here. (If anyone could identify my range i'd appreciate it- i can sing everything mentioned here as well as things much higher (fiyero in wicked, princeton in ave. q))
"Grease," the fourth revival of the season, is the worst show in the history of theater and represents an unparalleled assault on Western civilization and its values. - Michael Reidel
#28re: Baritone showtunes
Posted: 7/22/04 at 8:57pmIf you have a darker/fuller tone, then you're a baritone. A bright/thin tone is a tenor.
#29re: Baritone showtunes
Posted: 7/22/04 at 8:58pm
I'm a baritone, too, BlueWizard! Hooray. I also feel like there is no music out there since I can't hit many of the notes that are currently on Broadway. It's so hard to find a song that I can sing completely comfortably. There is always at least one note that is too high.
Right now I'm up to an E.
#30re: Baritone showtunes
Posted: 7/22/04 at 9:00pm
The term baritone is as much a "sound" quality as it is about range. I am a typical bariotone and go from F to A-flat above midle C. I usually sing the standard baritone roles but can also manage roles such as phantom of the opera (if im not sick
) but I sound like a baritone doing that, Not a tenor
#32re: Baritone showtunes
Posted: 7/22/04 at 9:08pmJoizey and Blue, keep working with your teacher, you'll get the G in no time. Just let it ripple off the breath.
#33re: Baritone showtunes
Posted: 7/22/04 at 9:15pmUgh, I'm working on 'Some Enchanted Evening' right now, and the very last note is this annoying E. Grr.
#34re: Baritone showtunes
Posted: 7/22/04 at 9:25pm
Hi JoizeyActor, tenors make me mad too! I feel like an alto in a church or school choir; it's always those damn sopranos who get the melody. 
MusicPos2: thanks for the advice and the encouragement. I don't have a vocal teacher, though; I'm just a blow Schmoe who loves musical theatre and singing in the shower, and at pubs with a piano. 
I do want to hit those Gs, though.
BlueWizard's blog: The Rambling Corner
HEDWIG: "The road is my home. In reflecting upon the people whom I have come upon in my travels, I cannot help but think of the people who have come upon me."
#35re: Baritone showtunes
Posted: 7/22/04 at 9:53pmi may not be a baritone, but i know where you are coming from. I'm a low alto. it is so hard for me to find an audition song that show my range.
Thou giveth fever.
Plum
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/4/04
#36re: Baritone showtunes
Posted: 7/22/04 at 10:28pmSome of the best stuff I've heard for a low-range baritone or bass lately is everything Chuck Cooper sings as the dryer and the bus in Caroline, or Change.
Paul LW
Featured Actor Joined: 6/17/04
#37re: Baritone showtunes
Posted: 7/23/04 at 1:41am
A lot of it is actually just how your vocal chords are made too.
Not all men can sing G's.
Not all women can sing C's.
All of our voices are made different.
You can also get more specific into the quality of a voice..i.e. I'm a lyric baritone. etc. etc.
musicaltheatreman
Broadway Star Joined: 5/22/03
#38re: Baritone showtunes
Posted: 7/23/04 at 2:21am
"you should be loved", "the devil you know" and "private conversation" from sideshow are good songs for baritone's!!! :)
#39re: Baritone showtunes
Posted: 7/23/04 at 7:42am
I used to audition with Fear No More from The Frogs - it's nice and low and you can't beat Shakespeare's lyrics...its a beautiful song and not long, and very low.
Also This Nearly Was Mine is a beautiful piece and not too rangy.
"I don't really get the ending,all i can go with is when after several months,Judith saw Pat sang,and later she kissed him on the toilet,after that the story back to where Pat went down from the stage after he'd sung,and he went to the italian lady.I just don't get it,what Judith exatcly meant when he kissed Pat that she had seen,and did Pat end up together with The Italian Lady?Please help me,thank u very much!"
Quote from someone on IMDB in reference to a movie he/she didn't understand. Such grammar!
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