Audition Cuts Backing Tracks | 32-bar, 1-minute, 16-bar, Piano Accompaniment, Free

FAQs

• What makes a good audition cut? Just like choosing an audition song, choosing a 32-bar cut is subjective, and no two adjudicators will have the exact same preferences. In general, it’s a good idea to choose a cut that complements your voice and shows off a range similar to the role(s) you are auditioning for. Good cuts should have a beginning, a middle, and an end rather than just choosing a random excerpt to sing. Dramatically, the most important element is a journey for the character such that they end up in a different place than where they start.
• Does a 32-bar cut have to be exactly 32 bars? While opinions might differ, I’ve met very few people who sit behind the table in audition situations who will care at all whether your 32-bar cut is exact. The concepts of 32-bar and 16-bar cuts stem from early 20th-century standards, wherein a typical verse/chorus was about 32 bars of music. Today, it really just means that they want to hear a cut that’s around 60-90 seconds in length. Except for some college prescreens or other similar situations, you will rarely encounter someone with a stopwatch — just make sure you aren’t overstaying your welcome by singing a cut that is way too long.
• How worried should you be that a song is “overdone”? Another question that can only have a subjective answer, but I’ve always felt that performing an overdone song that you sing really well is far preferable to doing a mediocre job with an “obscure” song. Simply put, there are only so many songs in the musical theatre canon that can be considered decent audition material. At some point, almost every good song is going to be overdone — especially to someone who watches a lot of auditions. Often, deciding whether an overdone song should be ruled out will come down to the nature of the audition. If you’re going in for a youth or community theatre, you really don’t need to worry about songs being overdone. Odds are good that your adjudicators won’t see enough people to get sick of any one song — again, you should be more focused on choosing the song that shows your talent off best. Things change a bit when you are auditioning for schools. Overdone college audition songs do exist, but the list changes each year and it can be hard to predict what might be on it. Generally, it’s a good idea when auditioning for colleges to avoid songs from shows currently running on Broadway, as well as those that are closely associated with a certain performer (think Sutton Foster or Barbra Streisand). The deeper you dig when looking for college audition material, the more you might be surprised by what undiscovered gems are out there.