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Acting in Plays, Singing/any hope for a non-belt alto?

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Expert: - 6/13/2008


Question
hi! my name is natalie, 16, and first of all, i feel TRUELY blessed to have stumbled upon an answer that you had given to another girl who asked a question about altos. my question is that even though my highest belt note (without sounding strained and flat) is a C, is there any hope for me to become a professional musical theatre performer? i have been singing and dancing since i was in 4th grade and started acting 2 years ago. i am now about to enter my junior year in high school, so i know that there is still time to learn and train, but it seems like every professtional play ive seen, all the females sing with very high belt voices. this definately put a damper on my dream.
i am still hopeful, but i just need to know, in all reality, do professional musical theatre companies higher altos who can not belt very high?

Answer
Hello, Natalie –

Thank you for the question.

Let me help you – OK?!

It's time to get out of your dreams about "professional musical theatre companies" and into the realities of The Business of Theatre.  The tone of your letter sounds as though time is running out and you're going to wind up kicked to the side of the curb.  At 15 or 16 – you are just at the gate of your life as an Adult.  No matter the career – including brain surgery and professional body building – you must be able to describe the business in which you hope to succeed.  Without a realistic grip on the details, you leave yourself wide-open for failure and an imposed life sentence of doom & gloom.

All my alto belters sing way higher than 3rd-space C.  That takes training and I know how to do it.  My job as a professional vocal coach is teach you how to develop, expand, and maintain your vocal range.  No one's voice simply dead-ends on C – end of discussion.  If you want to become a professional singer, then you must also become the most informed musician you know.  If you want to sacrifice your life to the uncertainties of the Performing Arts – then you need to know more than every Agent or Producer in every Directory.  That takes an incredible amount of education and a non-stop awareness of what is going on where and with whom.

Some of those "high belt voices" you are referring to cannot produce that "sound" without a microphone and a professional engineer operating a huge sound board in a state of the art theatre.  Guaranteed, there is a line around the block of girls who can do exactly the same thing.  When they wear out or get farmed out on some sort of tour – and when all those shows become available to community theatres, colleges, and high schools – there will be thousands of others standing in line ready to take their place.

Do you dream of being one of those candidates?

If so, then you need professional training.

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/719291466.html

Take a look at my You Tubes:
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IT’S MURDER, MARY! – A Killer World Premiere at The New Conservatory Theatre
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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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