Follow Your Heart: Piano Vocal

This vocal selection sits in that sweet spot where Broadway polish meets genuine singability for students. The piano part is neither a bare accompaniment nor an overstuffed orchestration, giving singers room to inhabit the character without fighting dense harmonies.

The song carries an earnest, motivational quality that avoids sentimentality through Hollmann's clever lyrical touch and musical sophistication. There's an inviting warmth to the piece, as if the song is offering genuine encouragement rather than delivering a lecture.

This works well for intermediate to advanced vocalists studying contemporary musical theater repertoire. It suits solo recitals, audition packages for musical theater programs, or vocal ensemble performances that want to showcase Broadway writing beyond the standard repertoire canon.

• Treat the lyrical content as your primary guide for phrasing. Let the emotional arc of the text shape where you breathe and where you press forward, rather than letting regular phrase lengths dictate your interpretation.
• Listen closely to how the piano part moves beneath your vocal line. Hollmann's accompaniment often contains countermelodies or motivic material that can inform your own vocal delivery and help you find the song's emotional center.
• Avoid oversinging this piece. The title itself suggests sincerity and introspection rather than theatrical belting, so find the intimate core of the song first and let that authenticity carry the performance.

Include this in a concert exploring contemporary American musical theater songwriting, particularly if you want to represent composers beyond the standard Rodgers and Hammerstein curriculum. It also makes an excellent audition piece for students applying to college musical theater programs, as it demonstrates both vocal control and artistic maturity.

• Sustaining legit vocal production while keeping text articulation clear
• Phrasing lyrical content expressively while maintaining musical integrity
• Collaborating with a pianist on interpretation and tempo flexibility
• Understanding contemporary Broadway vocal writing conventions