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Acting in Plays, Singing/understanding how to blend the voice

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Expert: - 12/23/2008


Question
Hello!

I am a 20 year old college student training for a career in musical theater. I
am a "Soprano w/ belt" on my resume but I have not be able to attain that
contemporary mix voice that is common in many broadway performers and
needed for many broadway songs nowadays. I have a pretty awesome voice
teacher who has been trying to help me understand that I need to think
about my vowels and narrowing my mouth/throat positioning when I sing,
but I'm still very confused about the vowel thing.  Hence, i can do most of my  
"mixing" warm-ups with ease, but when I go to sing repertoire, I get stuck
and can't transition that same hard sound into the song.  Can you give me
specific advice on how I should move my mouth/lips/or jaw when singing on
certain vowels, or at least how the different vowels should sound.?????  I'm
thinking that maybe hearing it from a different person in different words
might be better for me.
Sometimes when we do warm ups, I try to imitate my teacher and I often
hear a kind of American midwestern accent placement of the vowels, but I'm
not sure.  I hope I'm making sense. Also, are there any books on vowel
placement when singing that I can look at, or articles online?  

Any advice is greatly appreciated.  Thanks in advance!

- N

Answer
Hello, Nora –

Thank you for the question.

Sorry, Nora – I can't help you on this one.

What you are trying to achieve – or "take on" – is the very thing that is causing you all the problems in the first place.  And your teacher is enabling you to create those problems.

Basically what you are identifying is a vocal Fad that is slowly coming to an end.  Its most identifiable characteristic is a closed nasal twang throughout the upper register.  It is that immediately recognizable and extremely irritating Little Mermaid voice.  What you describe as an imitation of your teacher's "Midwestern accent" is very close to that.

Just keep doing what your teacher is telling you to do and you too will twang just like the Little Mermaid.

The problem with this acquired variety of sound?  It's all about how to maneuver out of that closed nasal resonance – all the pinched tone in the upper register – and back down into your more "normal" sound throughout the rest of your vocal range.  Hence, the development of such terms as:
my head voice
my chest voice
my mix
my belt
etc.

If or when you don't want to sound like the Little Mermaid anymore, come work with me.  I will help you heal the huge chasm you are attempting to create.

The vocal range is all one thing.  My job as a professional vocal coach is to demonstrate how to balance your lowest note with your highest note.  It starts with identifying your true vocal category.  I don't believe for a minute that you are a Soprano "with a belt".

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/973848227.html
I am also the fine arts critc for SanFranciscoSentinel.com.  All my articles and interviews provide a link to my personal e-mail.

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Acting in Plays, Singing

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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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