hey there! i am a 15 y.o. girl from australia! Anyway, our school is going to be doing a production of the musical "GREASE" Anyway, i have done a little singing in choir and stuff, but i love musicals and would really really love to get a part! I was wondering if anybody out there could tell me what voice is the proper singing voice: head or chest? my head voice is not too strong. I have heard it depends on the kind of music, is this right? What voice would be right for a Grease song? Any advice would be heaps appreciated, and I am also looking for suggestions as to what song I should sing at my audition which is in a weeks time.. i have a fairly low voice for a girl ranging to high g on treble clef if that helps! i was thinking somewhere over the rainbow, but maybe i should be doing something more similar to grease songs? any replies are great, thanks all! nicole

Hi Nicole

Your choice of song and how you sing it depends on the character you are going for. On the whole, the songs in Grease are belt numbers, but nobody sings an entire song in belt - it would exhaust the singer and probably bore the audience! Singing is about expression after all.

When the music in a musical theatre number indicates that the notes are to be sung double forte (fortissimo ff) you are probably going to be belting. Also where there is a strong emotional message in the lyric. Belting is basically happy yelling, but it is not something you should be attempting as a singer without some help from a singing teacher because it is a potentially damaging voice quality. Done well it is also thrilling.

If you are serious about your singing, find yourself a good teacher, someone who knows about how the voice actually functions and who can give you clear instructions on what to do to obtain the sound you want. In my view, imagery (imagining the sound coming out of various parts of your face etc) is not adequate as a singing teaching tool, although it may help an accomplished singer to fine-tune their expressiveness.

Good luck with your audition.