Expertise I am a professional vocal coach in San Francisco. In addition to answers from a previous web site (Askme.com - where my "tag" was "VocalCoach") I have published over 2000 responses related to vocal training - particularly as it relates to Musical Theatre and Opera. I have 24 years of experience as Personal Trainer to singers and actors in the San Francisco Bay Area. I sang professionally for 20 years and know what it means to live the life of a musician. I can determine your voice category, i.e., Tenor, Baritone, Bass, Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Alto, Alto Belter, etc., and how to broaden and strengthen your range. Need an audition song for a Broadway Musical? I will give you suggestions that are appropriate to your vocal category and to requirements specified in the audition notice. I have also created a vocal methodology, "The Belter`s Method". It will enable those in Musical Theatre to practice more efficiently because it focuses on the demands of professional performers as well as to those auditioning for school and community productions, and as University and Conservatory performing arts majors. If what you want is a better voice and more control over your career moves and choices, contact me. Also, as the Fine Arts Critic for SanFranciscoSentinel.com, it is my privilege to review productions at the San Francisco Opera, Ballet and Symphony, as well as Broadway National Tours booked into San Francisco's Orpheum, Golden Gate and Curran Theatres. I also review works by A.C.T (the American Conservatory Theatre) and Magic Theatre. I cover select films, tributes and retrospects, and various international film festivals particulary those booked into The City's opulent Castro Theatre including both the San Francisco International and Silent Film Festivals. For private vocal instruction, I can be contacted through craigslist.com. Look under Musicians, then keyword: Martinfield.
Experience Distinctive celebrity voices and how they are used and promoted by the Entertainment Industry have always fascinated me. Drawing from all eras of film and animation, television, radio, Broadway plays and musicals, opera and a few politicians ? a huge bounty of actors and singers have had a profound effect upon my life, influencing all the choices I made with respect to my education and my dual careers as a professional singer and vocal coach. I am curious about what is promoted and, consequently, the competitive aspects of the Performing Arts.
I am a Theatre Arts Graduate from San Francisco State University. During the years of my attendance, the school enjoyed the reputation for having the best Theatre Department on the West Coast. My academic training equipped me as an actor, enabling me to prepare for professional auditions and to compete successfully. I learned how to take direction and to apply my skills during the rehearsal process. Along the way I learned to identify my assets as a performer, to market my particular abilities and to find the audiences interested in my particular product.
During my freshman year, I also began studying opera. For the next eight years, I trained as a baritone, learning the classical vocal methodology known as "Bel Canto" with well-respected coaches including Mr. James Schwabacher, then head of the San Francisco Opera's Marla Training Program. Because mastering the technique of Bel Canto is absolutely dependent upon its application to Italian opera and, consequently, perfect pronunciation of the language, I studied Italian as well as French and German with private coaches. I have performed the roles of ?Guglielmo" (COSI FAN TUTTE), "Marcello" (LA BOHEME), "Valentin" (FAUST), "Enrico" (LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR), "Dr. Miracle", (THE TALES OF HOFFMANN), "Top" (THE TENDER LAND), " Mr. Gedge, the Vicar" (ALBERT HERRING) and "Dr. Caius" (THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR). During these ten years, I also appeared in many classical recitals singing the standard classical Baritone repertoire. It was Mr. Schwabacher's training that expanded my upper range, turning me into a working tenor. My last appearances as a classical tenor were with conductor and pianist Robin Kay, performing Schubert's DIE SCHΦNE MULLERIN.
I then re-trained my voice, dropped the Bel Canto methodology, and went on to sustain another 10 years doing standard American repertoire including Broadway, Jazz, Blues and Standards. Throughout this period I appeared regularly on the San Francisco cabaret circuit and was a featured soloist with Bay Area bands, orchestras and choruses. I continued producing my own solo concerts, the last being at the New Conservatory Theatre.
As a vocal coach, I work primarily with singers and actors throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. My clientele ranges from absolute beginners to working professionals, from pre-schoolers to retired Senior Citizens. The vast majority of them come to me through recommendation. I know how to identify any singer's vocal category, i.e., soprano, tenor, alto, baritone, etc. I know how to muscle-up every singer's vocal range and to expand it beyond conventional definitions. I have developed a vocal methodology for those who want to know how to belt, THE BELTER'S METHOD. As a singer who spent half of his career doing Bel Canto, I know for certain that classical or Italian methodologies do not work in Standard American music. Bel Canto cannot be "adapted" to meet the needs of contemporary American music, including the demands of the Musical Theatre.
There are two major components to my job. The first is to teach basic musical skills such as reading music, counting, breathing techniques, development and expansion of the vocal range, phonetics and diction ? specifically as it applies to Standard American English. The second is about presentation ? that is, everything involved with the client's audition and/or actual performance. In short, for any person relying upon their vocal endurance and performance skills to earn a living, my job is to enable them to compete for a job and, when hired, to maintain that job.
Over the years my clients have appeared in all of the available Broadway musicals produced in virtually every theater throughout the Bay Area. Some have worked in New York and gone on National Tours. Most recently, my clients have been praised for their work in AIDA and WICKED.
So, if you want to prepare for "American Idol" or the Broadway stage, contact me through http://www.geocities.com/broadwaybelters
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Q: I'm not a trained singer and don't have any extensive background in vocals. Music has been is in my ... A: Hey, Jamiel Thank you for the question. I am not in the position to give either medical or ...
Q: my local community theatre is going to do Into the Woods and auditions are in a month. I know it's a ... A: Fiorella Thank you for the question. "Cinderella" in Sondheim's INTO THE WOODS is descrbed as a ...
Q: =] I'm 14, and trying out for a play soon. I'm mainly an alto, but I sing soprano very well too. I ... A: Laura Thank you for the follow-through. Go to this web site: ...
Q: My name is Laura and I am a junior in high school. I have been singing in various choirs and ... A: Laura Thank you for the question. I assume you're familiar with the quotation, "Be afraid. Be ...
Q: I am a junior in high school and I have been taking voice lessons/performing in musical theater ... A: I would sure like to hear these friends of yours who have "extremely developed voices". Send me ...
Q: =] I'm 14, and trying out for a play soon. I'm mainly an alto, but I sing soprano very well too. I ... A: Hannah Thank you for the question. What's the audition? Your job is to sing a song appropriate ...
Q: I'm auditioning for Westside story at my college and I am not sure what song I should sing. I will ... A: Luke Thank you for the question. "Tony" in WEST SIDE STORY is a tenor. Your job at the audition ...
Q: my name is carly, and in about a week and a half i will be singing, notice me horton from seussical, ... A: Carly Thank you for the question. You are nervous because you are not "practicing" to your ...
Q: I am looking for an old song, sung back in the vaudeville days. I believe one of the lines is "bring ... A: Nancy Thank you for the question. The song title is: Throw Him Down, McCloskey. It was written ...
Q: My name is Carmen, and I need some help! Theater is my passion. I love to sing and act, and I want ... A: Carmen Thank you for the question. Carmen, my friend, the reason you are confused is that you do ...
Q: So my question is one I've been struggling to get answered for years now and that is WHat am I?! ... A: Kasee Thank you for the question. Here's my best advice: Close your checkbook. Get a new ...
Q: I am interested in learning to sing Opera. I am 18 and have no voice training what so ever, but I ... A: Michelle Thank you for the question. Yes, I can help you. But it's with the total understanding ...
Q: I'm lauren and I'm trying to find a good, slow song to sing with my sister for a performance. She's ... A: Lauren Thank you for the question. Consider arranging Harold Arlen's "Blues In The Night". It's ...
Q: I am auditioning for the play A Bad Year For Tomatoes tomorrow night and I just want to basically ... A: Andrea! One of the keys in community theatres is just having a willingness to get involved. Even if ...
Q: I am auditioning for the play A Bad Year For Tomatoes tomorrow night and I just want to basically ... A: Andrea! There's not really a simple answer to your question(s) because there are so many variables. ...
Q: My friend Elena and I are looking for an Italian opera duet to get extra credit in italian. We are ... A: Meagan Thank you for the question. Consider these duets from operas by Handel: ALCINA Verdi ...
Q: Sean, I am auditioning for the musical at my college in Louisiana. ITs my first audition and I ... A: Caroline Thank you for the question. Your job at an audition is to prove your vocal category, ...
Q: my questions pertains to singing with emotion/passion. I enjoy singing ballads and songs about ... A: Kenneth Thank you for the question. I understand what you are asking. The simple fact is no ...
Q: When you audition for acting and singing how do the judges judge you? do they judge hard? if you get ... A: I apologize for the delay in getting back to you. I just had a new grandson and was away taking ...
Q: I am 19 and in college with a voice proficiency in music ministries. I travel with an ensemble tour ... A: Jeremy Thank you for a great letter. I truly appreciate all the information. Throughout my ...
Q: I really need some help. I'm auditioning fo rthe musical HONK! in a few weeks, and I have no idea ... A: Tally! I wold recommend you look at "Impossible! It's Possible!" from Rodgers and Hammerstein's ...
Q: I'm in a beauty pageant and as my talent I chose to sing, only problem is I have no idea what to ... A: Hey, Chels Thank you for the question. I'm a big fan of beauty pageants especially those that ...
Q: my friend recommended you after you had helped her with an audition song. In a month my high school ... A: Samantha Consider Irving Berlin's "There's No Business Like Show Business" (ANNIE GET YOUR GUN) ...
Q: I am 19 and in college with a voice proficiency in music ministries. I travel with an ensemble ... A: Jeremy Thank you for a great letter. I appreciate all the information. Throughout my entire ...
Q: I'm 20 years old and have been singing for almost ten years now - mostly in the Music Theatre genre. ... A: Racheal Thank you for the question. Most everyone groans at the mere mention of yet another ...
Q: My name is Tandile Tshangela from South Africa, I am just a pop singer, i hope you wont mind helping ... A: Tandile Thank you for the question. All my baritones exercise to a fully-voiced and balanced ...
Q: my friend recommended you after you had helped her with an audition song. In a month my high school ... A: Samantha Thank you for the question. Choosing monologues is a very subjective process and not my ...
Q: I'm a 24 year old male singer from Ontario Canada. I have been in 4 amateur community musicals ... A: Chris Thank you for the question. Congratulations on your past successes. You need to expand ...
Q: I have 2 questions if you can please respond back to me. 1, I have a voice recital in June and I am ... A: Lauren Thank you for the question. The point of a Voice Recital is to display your wares as a ...
Q: Although I started this year trying to get voiceover work, I thought I might give a try to ... A: Hey, Ed! Thanks for the question. It has to start somewhere, right?! Fifty is a great age to ...
Q: I am a student at Arizona State University as a theatre major and have been told, many times, that I ... A: While height could play a small role in some casting situations (say, when pairing with a ...
Q: I have done plenty of straight plays, but I'm auditioning for both "You're Good Man Charlie Brown" ... A: Catherine Thank you for the question. For "Dorothy" consider: Zing went the strings of my heart ...
Q: so as I mentioned above I am a contralto, and finding a song for my voice is almost impossible. I ... A: Rachel! First, sorry it's taken me a bit to get to your question. I have a show opening on ...
Q: I'm looking for a university, i want to get a degree in my dream career acting and i want to know if ... A: I am not familiar with any university programs in the Turks and Caicos, so I really can't be of any ...
Q: I have an audition for Marian Paroo in The Music Man (at my high school) in two weeks. In addition ... A: Allison Thank you for the question. Allison, my friend, what makes you so confident that you can ...
Q: I am 64 and once I had ambitions as a singer (Bass baritone or bass), but truthfully, after entering ... A: Hey, Geoff Thank you for the question. My oldest client will be 82 this year. He is a true ...
Q: I was just wondering, if you wanted to be in musical theater do you have to major it when your in ... A: First of all, you need to improve your grammar and spelling in order to get into college. No matter ...
Q: I'm 17 and i go to this arts school. I'm in the drama program and we have an assignment coming up in ... A: Joseph Thank you for the question. All my legitimate basses sing to Bass C, some go lower. A ...
Q: I am auditioning for a part in FOOTLOOSE. I am 14 years old, 6 ft. tall and currently have a ... A: Zach Thank you for the question. It doesn't get more versatile than Fred Astaire in EASTER ...
Q: I'm 15 years old and in a typical high school drama club. I was wondering if you could recommend ... A: Kara Thank you for the question. I am a minimalist when it comes to Theatre. I would much ...
