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Acting in Plays, Singing/Alto or Mezzo?
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QUESTION: Hello,
I am an 18 year old girl and I have been going through serious vocal training for the past two years. When I first began to sing, I was a low alto, with a range of D3-E5. However as the past four years have gone by, I have slowly begun to move up into a much higher range and I now can sing from F3-C6. The problem that I have is that I don't know whether this is because I am simply an alto with a high range or I am really a mezzo-soprano. My voice teacher has said that I am a mezzo, but I frequently have difficulty singing above the A5 or below an A3. I would love to be able to develop more comfort in my upper register but I am afraid that doing so will only help to strain my voice and in the end destroy my ability to sing. is my comfortable range that of an alto or a mezzo? Thank you.
ANSWER: Hello, Carolyn –
Thank you for a well-expressed question.
The terms alto, low alto, and mezzo soprano have become distorted and layered with mis-information. Clarification starts by defining the musical genre in which you want to succeed. Training the operatic mezzo-soprano requires a whole other process than what the Broadway singer wants and needs.
Your comfortable range? You mean the range you don't have to spend that much time maintaining? Forget it. The only way you will keep your so-called comfortable range alive and well is to stretch beyond it – no matter what you sing. Otherwise, that limited span of notes begins to atrophy at either end. My job as a professional singing teacher and vocal coach is to correctly identify your vocal category and to show you how to develop and maintain that well-established and expected range.
Speaking in treble clef – all my mezzos sing to at least High C, some go higher. My contraltos (or "low altos") sing to Bass C, some go lower.
The only way you will strain your upper register is by working with a coach who does not know how to teach. Simple.
I am a professional singing teacher in San Francisco. If you are in the Bay Area and want a coaching session, contact me through Craig's List –
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/lss/626059681.html
Take a look at my newest You Tube:
Lorena Feijóo - A Look at "Giselle" with Seán Martinfield
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33-a6Oa-0j4
I am also the fine arts critc for the San Francisco Sentinel. Below are some links to recent articles and reviews:
CHERYL BURKE RESCUES THE METRONOME BALLROOM
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=11150
SAN FRANCISCO BALLET – Program 6 – An International Salute
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=11592
DALE CHIHULY – Lighting-Up At The de Young
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=11432
THE GOVERNMENT INSPECTOR – Inspecting A.C.T. until May 20th
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?cat=10
At the Asian Art Museum – DRAMA AND DESIRE
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?cat=10
SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY – 14th Season with Michael Tilson Thomas
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=11074
MELISSA MANCHESTER – A Conversation with Seán Martinfield
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=10419
SAN FRANCISCO OPERA – ON SCREEN AT THE CASTRO THEATRE
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=10898
WEST SIDE STORY SUITE – Standing Ovation for San Francisco Ballet Premiere
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=10924
ANNIE LEIBOVITZ – On her show at the Legion of Honor
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=10764
LORENA FEIJÓO – A Conversation with Seán Martinfield
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/index.php?s=Lorena
SWEENEY TODD – PRIME CUTS FROM DIRECTOR TIM BURTON
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=8434
ANITA COCKTAIL and LEANNE BORGHESI – A 3-Way Dialogue
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=8007
NORMA SHEARER in “MARIE ANTOINETTE” – At the Legion of Honor
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=8783
JENNIFER SIEBEL – A Conversation with Seán Martinfield
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=6361
An Interview with PASCAL MOLAT, Principal Dancer of the San Francisco Ballet
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=305
Best regards,
Seán Martinfield
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Thank you so much for your answer. I am currently training to become an operatic mezzo-soprano. What are the differences between the two types of training that are neccessary to develop the proper usage of my voice? I am actually interested in both types of music and I believe I prefer the musical theater to opera. Is there an age limit to when you can switch between different genres without hurting your voice?
Hello, Carolyn –
Thank you for the follow-through question.
Training for an operatic career means that you are in a top-tier university with a strong vocal department or a world class conservatory such as the one we have here in San Francisco. Your competition is world-wide and so is the database. There are only so many paying jobs to go around and only the cream-of-the-crop will qualify to audition.
The essential difference between Opera and Musical Theatre is the performing environment. These days, the professional Broadway singer will never sing an unplugged performance 8-times-a-week in a standard-size theater. Some of those performers wear two body mics. None of them can sing over a classical orchestra for three to four hours.
For the opera singer – it's all about having the vocal chops to begin with. You either have what it takes to be heard in a 3,000+ seat theater, such as the War Memorial Opera House, or you don't. If you do – then it's all about being a consummately trained musician with a huge memory bank, a penchant for foreign languages, great acting skills, and an Olympian's sense of competition and personal discipline. If by 30–31 you have not accumulated a large performance résumé – including roles and recital appearances – and at least won a position into a company's training program, i.e., the Merola Program, then most major companies will not consider you and the major agencies will not represent you. On the other hand, there are many second and third string companies with extremely excellent singers. But, again, the woods are full and don't quit your day job.
An "operatic-type" mezzo will starve in today's musical theatre. That is, if she isn't near oblivion by the time she earns her Equity Card.
Hurting the voice starts with bad training. Damaging the career starts with bad or poorly-informed choices.
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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