Choosing Appropriate Repertoire

I'm taking a short break from the posts about voice books to talk about choosing repertoire.  I will admit  that I have very strong opinions about choosing music.  I don't think there is one song that will work for ALL sopranos.  I don't believe that you can buy a book of tenor songs and have that tenor sing every song in the book.  Sure, there are songs that will work for most voices, but there are some wonderful songs appropriate for high school students that will only fit a few of them.  And there are a few singers who will not be able to do the songs that work for most singers.  I believe in finding songs that bring out the best in our students, and that means an unique repertoire plan for each student.  


These are a few guidelines for choosing repertoire that I put together for a workshop a couple of years ago.  

• Does the song fall not just within the student’s range, but also within a comfortable tessitura?  Have you tried multiple keys to find the best option for that student?
• Does the song offer opportunities for growth AND does it also show the voice at its best?  Are the technical demands appropriate to where the student is today?
• Does the student like the song?
• Are the student’s musical skills advanced enough for the difficulties of the melodic line and rhythms?
• Is the text appropriate for a student this age?  Do they understand what they are singing about and can they communicate the meaning to an audience?
• Does the language of the song enhance the technical concepts you are trying to work on, or is the student so freaked out about how to say the words that they can’t even start to think technique? 
• Don’t fall into the trap of assigning men all sailor songs.  Yes, they like them, but given an opportunity to hear other things, some students will also choose the more intimate, lyric songs. 

Lastly, do not limit the songs you assign to the things that you worked on in your lessons or to the things that you love.  I am the queen of slow, depressing songs in minor keys, but if I really want to serve my students, I can't teach them just that.  I also need options for the baby coloratura with the bubbly personality.  I could live forever in Lied written between the time of Schubert and the time Strauss died, but my students need French and Spanish.  And they sometimes need those sappy songs that just make me cringe. Repertoire choices are about what the student needs, not what the teacher needs.  And sometimes by exploring those horrid songs they find on their own and ask to sing ("The Lost Chord"), I learn something important about that student, and I learn to appreciate the songs more.  

*stepping down from soapbox now*

What criteria do you use when selecting songs for students?  Please share.