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Acting in Plays, Singing/Average male vocal chest range
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Question
I'm a bit discouraged with my limited range.
I can only sing, in chest voice, from Eb2-G4, and even that G4 is quite a bit of
a stretch in all honesty. Everything else above forces me to go into my
falsetto or head voice.
Do you think taking voice lessons can significantly improve me range? From
your experience, and perspective, how much notes have you seen a student
tack on by simply taking voice lessons for say a few years, obviousy if they've
been really working hard at it?
Hello, Andrew –
Thank you for the question.
It depends on whom you study with.
My job as a professional vocal coach is to identify your vocal category and to teach you how to exercise it accordingly. Everyone's voice is capable of demonstrating a two octave range. I teach my clients how to exercise, expand, maintain and adapt their range. My long-term clients understand the usefulness of a good vocal workout and how it benefits their next audition, gig and recording session.
As a singer I appreciate your frustration. Not all voice instructors teach the same thing. My clients come to me through recommendation.
Come to me for a Master Class. I will determine your vocal category, identify your existing range, and demonstrate how to improve it. It does not take years to achieve a balanced range. It takes a disciplined and regular practice. And again, what that is – starts with correct identification of your vocal category. You may be a baritone without a top. You may be a bass who needs to improve the quality of his top. Maybe you’re a tenor who needs to find the right vocal coach.
And then it's about your material. Your training must prove itself through repertoire written specifically for your vocal category. In other words, a lyric baritone cannot sing a role written for a dramatic bass. It's a different story for art songs and all forms of popular and standard repertoire. When it's your show, sing it in whatever key you want. Just remember the critics in the first row.
Your job is to become the most informed musician you know. It will affect every choice you make about training and repertoire and how to best market yourself.
I am a professional singing teacher and vocal coach in San Francisco. When you are in the San Francisco Bay Area and want to book a coaching session, you can contact me through Craig's List – http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/lss/752973810.html — and at www.SanFranciscoSentinel.com.
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:
I am a professional singing teacher and vocal coach in San Francisco. If you are in the Bay Area, you contact me through Craig's List – http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/lss/767796273.html Or e-mail me through any of my columns on www.sanfranciscosentinel.com.
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:
BERNADETTE PETERS and MITZI GAYNOR – Ladies of The Town, Tonight
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=15003
INON BARNATAN, Pianist – Thursday Night, Davies Symphony Hall
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=14913
THE DROWSY CHAPERONE – Now at San Francisco's Orpheum Theatre
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=14877
THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE – Now through July 27th at Broadway By The Bay
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=14777
AMERICAN IDOL – A ‘REALITY’ WAKE-UP CALL AT SAN FRANCISCO CITY HALL
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=14720
JENNIFER SIEBEL – A Conversation with Seán Martinfield
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=6361
A CHORUS LINE – Now at the Curran Theatre until July 27th
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=14702
‘TIS PITY SHE’S A WHORE – At A.C.T.
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=13840
COPPOLA'S "THE CONVERSATION" – AT THE LEGION OF HONOR, July 17th
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=14532
SAN FRANCISCO SILENT FILM FESTIVAL OPENS TONIGHT
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=14576
VIVA TO THE DIVAS! – SF Opera Summer Season Concludes This Weekend
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?cat=65
BREAKFAST WITH SCOT – Final Curtain on FRAMELINE 32
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/
TALENT COMPETITON – On-Line Reality for A CHORUS LINE
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=14200
ARIODANTE – Cross-Dressing Goes Baroque – at SAN FRANCISCO OPERA
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=14127
TIMOTHY HORN – BITTER SUITE – A Sweet Tribute To Alma Spreckels
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=14049
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN – Just say “NO!”
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=13041
ERIK BATZ – A Conversation With “The Scarecrow” At The Mountain Play
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=12892
Best regards,
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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