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QUESTION: Hi i wonder if you can help me, I'm a professional singer and i have to do an audition they have asked me what my top note is and my bottom. if it's the a above the a after middle c what do i call it? and like wise if the bottom is the 2 B's below middle c. I know i should know this stuff but normally they haven't asked me so.... anyway thanks for any help you can give
ANSWER: Hello, Sarah –
Thank you for the question.
Who are "they"?
Speaking in treble clef, from Middle C your highest note is High A. For your lowest note, your description does not make sense. "2 B's below middle c" would put you down into the lowest note a legitimate contralto might hit on her birthday when the moon is full. In other words, you are claiming to be one whole step shy of having a three-octave range.
Unless you've got a microphone an eyelash away from your mouth and working in a state-of-the-art recording studio or concert hall with a state-of-the-art engineer monitoring your every note – the odds of you having a legitimate three octave range are very slim.
The vast majority of trained singers can demonstrate a range of at least two good octaves plus a minor third or so. Your job is to know your true vocal category, i.e., soprano, mezzo-soprano, etc., and to sing material that suits you. Perhaps you mean the first B below Middle C. If that's the case, then simply respond: B below Middle C to High A. That puts you into a somewhat limited but very standard mezzo-soprano range. If you were in a professional choir, the director might use you as a second soprano.
Do you have something posted on the Internet that I can observe? I would be happy to give you some feedback.
I am a professional singing teacher and vocal coach in San Francisco. To book an appointment, contact me through Craig's List – http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/lss/903291218.html
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---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: HI thanks so much for the reply. To clear something up i am one of those people with an extremely big range it is in factis 4 and a half octaves which has been heard by many an audience and vocal coaches.the lowest note that i am comfortable singing is 2 b's below mid c and the highest that is of good quality is f above top f. This is not me blowing my own trumpet but merely stating a truth. However
i do need my training as around my arppegio is somewhat weak. you can see my stuff either on you tube type in
sarah quist on on www.myspace.com/sarahquist if you want to hear the high stuff i would have to send you an mp3 as i
haven't loaded it up on to any site yet. Thanks for any help that you can offer me. kind regards Sarah
Hello, Sarah –
Thank you for the follow-through question.
I listened to your samples on YouTube. You have a warm and lovely voice and an engaging manner. I understand what you mean by your range. As much as I appreciated the arrangement of "Autumn Leaves" – it sounds very cautious. Can you sing it as written? Full out, without a microphone, and with all the standard dynamics? If the situation was a competition, then what key would you place the song in to best achieve that?
The vocal term you mean is "passagio". No matter what variety of tone you are able to access at the extreme ends of your declared vocal range – in the world of classical literature and that of musical theatre – your voice falls into the Mezzo-Soprano category. Very generally speaking, that means you probably notice a "transition" somewhere between 3rd-line B-flat and 4th-line D. All my mezzo-sopranos – including women with singing styles such as yours – can demonstrate fully-balanced scales between the two-octave range of Low A and High A, most go higher and lower. That translates to hitting that (more or less) major-3rd area of the passagio – smoothly! – through a variety of complex scales. For example, 3rd-space C or C# can be at the top of an 8-tone scale, in the middle, etc. It's all about your daily vocal workout before rehearsing or learning any material.
My job as a professional vocal coach is to show you HOW.
It would be great to work with you. When you come to San Francisco, call me.
I wish you the very best.
Most sincerely,
Seán Martinfield
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Answers by Expert:
Sean Martinfield
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 Editor of 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 the LGBT Frameline Festival, International Film Festival, Silent Film Festival, Jewish Film Festival, etc. For private vocal instruction, I can be contacted through SanFranciscoSentinel.com. Look under: Seán Martinfield, Sentinel Editor and Publisher.
Experience
As a vocal coach, I work primarily with singers and actors throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. My students range from absolute beginners to working professionals, from pre-schoolers to senior citizens. The vast majority of my clients 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 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 a number of major components to my work as a vocal coach. The first is to identify the client's vocal category and to strengthen and maximize the vocal range accordingly. Then it's about teaching a reliable vocal workout that will enable the client to gain better control of their musicianship. That includes scale work to expand the vocal range and to improve placement, breath control, and diction. Then we work on material for the audition portfolio, the immediate job or assignment, a recording session, etc. My task to is to better equip singers and actors who are hoping to or relying upon their performance skills and vocal endurance to maintain a career in the Performing Arts. My clients regularly appear in cabarets and musical productions throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Some have worked in New York and gone on National Tours. For more information, Contact me at: Broadwaybelters@yahoo.com
Education/Credentials
San Francisco State University – BA in Theatre Arts; graduate work in Theatre, Philosophy, and Comparative Reiligion.
Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley – Graduate work in Ethics
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