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Acting in Plays, Singing/Singing with emotion/passion

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Expert: - 4/28/2008


Question
Hello Sean, my questions pertains to singing with emotion/passion. I enjoy
singing ballads and songs about love/heartbreak but these songs require so
much emotion and passion. I am 19 year old baritone and I find it harder for
men to covey the same emotion/passion/meaning that women do when they
sing love ballads. Do you have any advice as to how I can achieve that same
level of emotion that professional singers like Mariah Carey emits in her
songs?

Answer
Hello, Kenneth –

Thank you for the question.  I understand what you are asking.

The simple fact is – no matter what the sexual energy may be, men don't tell the same stories as do women, neither do their videos or films convey the same bodily expressions.  Some pop male singers rent the same wind machines for their hair (if they have hair) – but that's about it.  Including the material of such divas as Celine Dion – men generally don't make successful careers from songs where the controlling themes revolve around "without you, I'm nothing".

If you are referring to the current version of Mariah Carey – as is being promoted on the Disney networks with "E=MC2", then what you are watching is an almost 40-year-old woman who has clearly lost her vocal chops and is now working silly material any 13-year-old girl can imitate.  The drag queens are doing her now.

You need to get out more.  Specifically, to the Library.  You won't be 19 for long.  If you are seriously considering sacrificing your life to Music, then what you will eventually realize is that "emotion" plays a small part in singing the same given material day after day – and if you prove to be a Box Office success – year after year.  Concentrate on your musicianship and developing your range.  While you're at it – get your body into Olympic centerfold condition.

The singing world has always been full of passionate men with hot voices freely exposing their secret desires and susceptibility to the highs and lows of romantic, long-lasting or fleeting exchange – many of them some variety of baritone.  For starters, listen to the young Robert Goulet sing "If ever I would leave you" (CAMELOT).  Then check out these artists with fabulous material:

ENGLEBERT HUMPERDINCK – A man without love
JIM MORRISON – Light my fire
FRANK SINATRA – Angel eyes
BOB GAUDIO – My eyes adored you
ETTORE BASTIANINI  – O Carlo, Ascolta (DON CARLO)
ROBERT MERRILL –Vision Fugitive (HERODIADE)
THOMAS HAMPSON – (duet with Placido Domingo) Au fond du temple saint (LES PÊCHEURS DE PERLES)
SHERRILL MILNES – There but for you go I (BRIGADOON)
GORDON McRAE – Stranger in paradise
VIC DAMONE – An affair to remember
MEL TORMÉ – A Nightingale Sang In Berkely Square

That ought to keep you busy for a while.

I am a professional singing teacher and vocal coach in San Francisco.  If you are in the Bay Area, contact me through Craig's List –
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/lss/655506151.html

Take a look at my You Tubes:
Lorena Feijóo - A Look at "Giselle" with Seán Martinfield
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33-a6Oa-0j4

SAMSON & DELILAH – Meet Seán Martinfield
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Sean+Martinfield&search=Search

I am also the fine arts critc for the San Francisco Sentinel.  Below are some links to recent articles and reviews:

7 SINS – EXTENDED AT THEATRE RHINO THROUGH MAY 17th
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=12270

ANTIQUE ROADSTERS RACE FROM NOB HILL – THE 2008 SAN FRANCISCO MILLE
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=12210

LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN – Restored Film Noir Classic at SF International Film Festival
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=12196

BERNARD LABADIE & HAYDN – This Week At the San Francisco Symphony
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?cat=10

VETERAN SERVICE PROVIDER PATTI CARLISE WED AT EPICENTER OF SAN FRANCISCO’S HEART
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=12044

HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL – At the Orpheum, San Francisco
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=11906

TANGO EVOLUTION – At the Palace of Fine Arts Theater, April 19th – 22nd
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=11970

SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY – Clarinetist Carey Bell Featured in Mozart’s Concerto in A major, April 16th – 18th
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=11911

CHERYL BURKE DANCE – Dancing with Gavin and Jennifer
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=11873

CHERYL BURKE RESCUES THE METRONOME BALLROOM
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=11150

SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, 2008
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=11727

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

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

Best regards,
Seán Martinfield

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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