Your top three songs- how to select them and be ready!
A professional singer has to be ready to sing at a drop of a hat. But what will you sing? I suggest you work that out before you find people asking for a sample.
Everyone needs their “top three”, ready to go, memorized, performed on or off autopilot songs.
My suggestion for selecting your top three songs:
1. A ballad. – something beuatiful that shows off your vocal beauty and singing lines.
2. An Uptempo piece- Something opposite of your ballad. It should move and show off a lot of your personality. A natural balance to your first piece.
3. Your wild card selection- Something about this song has to call out to you and be different from numbers 1 and 2. This is your opportunity to show us something unique about yourself. Some ideas for picking this third piece.
Your taste in music coming out- something modern or rennaissance perhaps,
Your culture- great time to through in a latino, or cantorial, or spiritual piece,
Your personality- if your funny, sexy, quirky, zen- show us.
Your skills- If you do a great scat, trill, high c, belt, whatever- here’s your chance to show us.
Whatever your top songs are, know them, live them, breath them. Be able to perform them no matter what at any moment- you never know when the opportunity to be heard will occur.
These songs need to be practiced regularly and completely memorized. Warm up with them after you vocalize, (Voice Lessons TO GO can help you with that 
, to keep them “in your body”.
Have them prepped for accompaniment- Make sure you have the sheet music for these three songs (if appropriate), copied, taped, and put into your repertoire binder, or have some sort of audio accompaniment available (mp3, tape (I know that’s ancient and unheard of), or cd.
So next time they ask to hear you, or you stumble upon a microphone, or an unexpected audition, you will be ready with your 3 songs, no matter what. As a result, you will come off professional as can be!
Sing Well!
written by: Ariella Vaccarino creator of Voice Lessons TO GO (singing lessons on CD), and author of Vocalize! www.voicelessonstogo.com
