Acting in Plays, Singing/Help with a song?

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Expert: - 9/22/2008


Question
Hello,
I'm a 15 year old female and would like some advice in choosing a song to work on and sing as part of a Performing Arts course. I am a bit stuck as I don't exactly know what type of voice I have and my singing teacher hasn't been much help as she 'doesn't like to put people into categories'. My range is from around the E below middle C up to the C or D 2 octaves above middle C. I can belt but prefer not to do this higher than the C above middle C and a D is my absolute limit at the moment. Saying that, I find my voice is most comfortable around my middle and upper range.
Is there any chance you could shed a bit of light on which vocal parts I should be looking within and which song I could work on with my tutor?
Thanks!

Answer
Hello, Bethany –

Thank you for the question.  

You are absolutely correct.  Your singing teacher has not been much help to you.

Bethany, my friend – the reason your singing teacher "doesn't like to put people into categories" is because she never sustained a professional career as a singer and does not know how to identify or train anyone's natural vocal category.  That's where professional training starts.  Anything else is a bunch of bs.  You will realize this when you are competing against someone with professional skills and the repertoire to prove it.  The Music Director will be the first to notice.

From the description of your vocal range – Low E to High D – you are saying that you are one whole step shy of having three octaves.  I don't believe that for a minute, especially not at 15 years old.  Just because some variety of tone falls out of your mouth at either end of this extreme range, it does not follow that you "own" those notes and can demonstrate them in a legitimate fashion without a microphone in a standard theater or concert hall with piano accompaniment and be audible to Row Z.  At the moment, your personal "comfort" range as well as the limitations of your belt area is in relationship to all the misinformation you are being fed.

My job as a professional vocal coach is to identify your vocal category and then train you accordingly.  I cannot do that with the information you have given me.  If you have something on-line I can listen to or something you can forward to me, I will be happy to listen.

In the world of musical theatre and all varieties of classical literature – there are certain absolutes.  The starting point is the vocal category.  The proof sits in the repertoire written for those voices.  With the fewest of exceptions, a soprano does not sing a mezzo-role (especially one that requires a belt) and vice versa.

Show this response to your parents.  It's time you stop paying money to someone who cannot give you the answers and training you need.

I am a professional singing teacher and vocal coach in San Francisco.  To book an appointment, contact me through Craig's List – http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/lss/849096810.html I am also the fine arts critc for SanFranciscoSentinel.com.  All my articles and interviews provide a link to my personal e-mail.

Take a look at my You Tubes:
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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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