As an alto singer, it is extremely important to know which songs are meant for alto singers, as these ones will actually let you sing to your full potential. The problem with alto singing is that oftentimes singers are miscategorized, and the definition of what alto singing actually is not helping either. The word alto is Italian and comes from the Latin word Altus, alto in Italian means high. Now to the confusing part, as alto means high you might probably think it refers to the highest sound or voice which a singer can produce.
This is not true as alto singing is different for males and females, for females the alto voice is generally considered their lowest voice, on the other hand in men their alto voice is considered their highest voice. So if you are a beginner singer trying to figure out the different terminology always take into consideration the gender to which is applied, for one gender it might mean one thing than for another.
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A couple of hundred years ago there were not that many females singers, even in theatre plays men would play the role of females, this is why most of the singing terminology is a lot easier applied to the male voice. This is where all the confusion comes from, which isn’t helped either by some vocal teachers who simply ignore the definition of alto singing and interpret it as they feel like.
Before picking an audition song, make sure that you are actually an alto singer, in the below list you will find plenty of alto songs that are good both for beginner and advanced singers, odds are that you have probably heard some of them. If you are preparing for an audition then my recommendation is to not pick the most popular song, because a lot of singers will use them at the audition and you will just be competing with them. In case you are a young singer, then my personal recommendation is to check out my recent article Good audition songs for kids ( Top 110 Songs ).
My recommendation is to pick a song which you can sing relatively easy, and which is not that popular as this will make you stand out fo the crowd. If you are fairly comfortable that you can crush it with a popular alto song, then go for it but let me explain first why that isn’t the best idea. At any singing audition, you will hear the same songs plenty of times, this will allow the producers to compare one singer to another based on one song, but if you sing a song that isn’t that popular you will stand out of the crowd and the producers will not have anybody to compare you to, which is a win-win situation. If you are struggling to sing high notes then check out my recent article How to sing high notes? ( Top 15 Tips ).
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“As Long As He Needs Me” by Oliver!
“Nobody’s Chasing Me” by Out of This World
“I Don’t Know What I’d Do Without You” by Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder
I Want to Go to Hollywood Grand Hotel
“About a Quarter to Nine” by 42ND STREET
“Frozen” by Madonna
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“Asheville” by Bright Star
Happy to Keep His Dinner Warm by How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
“Something Better Better Happen” by Little Miss Sunshine
“Somewhere” by West Side Story
“Only Yesterday” by The Carpenters
“Backwoods Barbie” by 9 TO 5
“Days of Plenty” by Little Women
“If He Really Knew Me” by They’re Playing Our Song
“No More Fear” by Freaky Friday
“I Can Hear the Bells” by Hairspray
“Just Around the Corner” by The Addams Family
“Gotta Get Out” by Ordinary Days
“Every Tear a Mother Cries” by Honk!
“You’d Better Love Me” by High Spirits
“Keepin’ Outta Mischief Now” by Ain’t Misbehavin
“Another Night at Darryl’s” by Witches of Eastwick
“Easy As Life” by Aida
“Here Within These Walls” by Sister Act
“Rainy Days and Mondays” by The Carpenters
“Disneyland” by Smile
“Stop and See Me” by Weird Romance
“Don’t Tell Mama” by Cabaret
“Live to Tell” by Madonna
“A Change in Me” by Beauty and the Beast
“I Still Believe in Love” by They’re Playing Our Song
“As We Stumble Along” by The Drowsy Chaperone
“Wait a Bit” by Just So
“Plant You Now, Dig You Later” by Pal Joey
“Anyone Can Whistle” by Anyone Can Whistle
“Nobody Makes a Pass at Me” by Pins and Needles
“Good ‘N’ Evil” by Jekyll & Hyde
“Here We Are” by Gloria Estefan
“The Power of Goodbye” by Madonna
“A Way Back to Then” by Title of Show
“Ladies” by Destry Rides Again
“The Gods Love Nubia” by Aida
“Lazy Afternoon” by The Golden Apple
“Old Friend” by I’m Getting My Act Together And Taking It On the Road
“Whatever Lola Wants” by Damn Yankees
“If My Friends Could See Me Now” by Sweet Charity
“Chanson” by The Baker’s Wife
“Turn Back, O Man” by Godspell
“Goodbye My Love” by Ragtime
“How Can I Wait?” by Paint Your Wagon
“You Don’t Tell Me” by No Strings
“God Help the Outcasts” by The Hunchback of Notre Dame
“A Trip to the Library” by She Loves Me
“Flaming Agnes” by I Do! I Do!
“That Mister Man of Mine” by Dames at Sea
“Look to the Rainbow” by Finian’s Rainbow
“Come to Your Senses” by Tick, Tick…BOOM!
“Fortune Favors the Brave” by Aida
“The Hill” by Once
“Losing My Mind” by Follies
“Someone Woke Up” by Do I Hear A Waltz?
“They Don’t Know” by Thoroughly Modern Millie
“A Little Girl from Little Rock” by Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
“A Little Brains, A Little Talent” by Damn Yankees
“I Want to go to Hollywood” by Grand Hotel
“What a Mother Does” by A Christmas Story
“Show Off” by The Drowsy Chaperone
“My Big Mistake” by The Will Rogers Follies
“It’s An Art” by Working
“Close to You” by The Carpenters
“I Just Might” by 9 to 5
“Lithium” by Evanescence
“Millwork” by Working
“Good Enough” by Evanescence
“An Old-Fashioned Love Story” by The Wild Party
“How Are Things in Glocca Morra” by Finian’s Rainbow
“There’s a Fine, Fine Line” by Avenue Q
“Lacrymosa” by Evanescence
“You Learn to Live Without” by If/Then
“Why Do the Wrong People Travel?” by Sail Away
“Shadowland” by The Lion King
“I Just Want to Be a Star” by Nunsense
“Maps” by Fun Home
“Never Give All the Heart” by Smash
“The Dark I Know Well” by Spring Awakening
“You Don’t Know This Man” by Parade
“Somebody Older” by Steel Pier
“That Terrific Rainbow” by Pal Joey
“5 to 9” by 9 to 5
“How I Feel” by The Me Nobody Knows
“These Are My Children” by Fame
“It’s a Perfect Relationship” by Bells Are Ringing
“Where Did the Rock Go” by School of Rock
“See I’m Smiling” by The Last Five Years
“The Boy Next Door” by Meet Me in St. Louis
“I Ain’t Down Yet” by The Unsinkable Molly Brown
“You Can Always Count on Me” by City of Angels
“Lost and Found” by City of Angels
“Betsy’s Getting Married” by Honeymoon in Vegas
“A Quiet Night at Home” by Bare
“What Would You Do?” by Cabaret
“Maybe I Like It This Way” by Wild Party
“I’m Going Back” by Bells Are Ringing
“Our Kind of Love” by The Beautiful Game
“The Music Still Plays On” by A New Brain
“Deep Love” by Young Frankenstein
“One Fine Day” by Beautiful The Carole King Musical
“Teaching Third Grade” by Ruthless
“Kiss Her Now” by Dear World
“Lucky” by A Little Princess
“If He Walked Into My Life” by Mame
“I Wish I Could Forget You” by Passion
“The Cake I Had” by Grey Gardens
“After All of This and Everything” by Freaky Friday
“That’s Rich” by Newsies
“The Colors of My Life” by Barnum
“We Deserve Each Other” by Me and Juliet
“If You Knew My Story” by Bright Star
“Nobody’s Side” by Chess
“Mein Herr” by Cabaret
“City Lights” by The Act
“Kind of Woman” by Pippin
“Time Heals Everything” by Mack & Mabel
“Kiss of the Spider Woman” by Kiss of the Spider Woman
“I Gotta Crow” by Peter Pan
“I Miss the Mountains” by Next to Normal
“The Best In the World” by A Day In Hollywood, A Night in the Ukraine
“The Gentleman is a Dope” by Allegro
“Special” by Avenue Q
“Broadway Baby” by Follies
“If You Hadn’t But You Did” by Two On the Aisle
“It’s a Helluva Way to Run a Love Affair” by Plain and Fancy
“It’s A Business” by Curtains
“Just You Wait” by My Fair Lady
“Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” by Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
“There are Worse Things I Could Do” by Grease
“Invisible” by Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
“On the Other Side of the Tracks” by Little Me
“Sadie, Sadie” by Funny Girl
“No Time At All” by Pippin
“Change” by A New Brain
“Adelaide’s Lament” by Guys and Dolls
“What A Nice Idea” by Two Gentlemen of Verona
“So What?” by Cabaret
“Nobody” by Tintypes
“With Every Breath I Take” by City of Angels
“What Is A Woman by” I Do! I Do!
“Hold On” by The Secret Garden
“Stop, Time” by Big the Musical
“See What I Wanna See” by See What I Wanna See
“All to Pieces” by Violet
In conclusion
As you can see, there are plenty of songs to choose from, my personal recommendation is to try singing a couple of them. Some of the songs are more or less harder, but while choosing which song you will use for the audition, make sure to choose one which is good for your voice and not one that might or might not impress at the audition. Find a song that you can sing almost effortlessly and correctly, this way you will sound natural which is a big plus at an audition. Good luck!