AboutSean 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 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 SCHÖNE 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
Question I have an audition for Marian Paroo in The Music Man (at my high school) in
two weeks. In addition to being a very solid belter (which I won't really need
for this role anyway) am an accomplished legit soprano with a strong middle
voice and easy high notes to a D6. I am confident that I could do a great job
singing this role.
However, in addition to having the disadvantage of not really "looking the
part" of the role (I am in great shape, but I am part hispanic and don't
necessarily resemble the Shirley Jones type), I am unsure on how to approach
this character. My high school drama teacher puts a lot of emphasis on
characterization. Could you give me some tips?
Thanks,
Allison
Answer Hi, Allison –
Thank you for the question.
Allison, my friend, what makes you so confident that you can sing this role? You are on the Internet asking a total stranger for "tips". That tells me and everybody else that you don't have a clue about who and what "Marian" really is. Along with that, anyone who can sing "Marian" will be or has performed the roles of "Julie" (OKLAHOMA), "Magnolia" (SHOW BOAT), "Cunegonde" (CANDIDE), "Sarah" (BITTERSWEET), etc. In other words, standard romantic Leading Lady musical comedy-type lyric soprano.
THE MUSIC MAN has been performed all over the world by every Soprano who beat out every other Soprano during Round One of any audition. Any drag queen can resemble Shirley Jones if he's got a great make-up kit, a decent wig and a hair brush.
"Marian" is a professional virgin. The City owns the Library, but she owns the books and has probably read the vast majority of them. She's holding out for a Real Guy – preferably one who knows which fork to use and doesn't get defensive when the New York City Ballet comes into town. That's about it.
The rest is about being a true Soprano with a good sense of humor. At your audition, you may want to consider the following songs from the true Soprano repertoire:
One Kiss – THE NEW MOON
Wanting You – THE NEW MOON
Only A Rose – THE VAGABOND KING
Deep In My Heart – THE STUDENT PRINCE
I'll Follow My Secret Heart – CONVERSATION PIECE
