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Acting in Plays, Singing/Voice type?
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Question
Hello Sean, this has really been bugging me for a couple of YEARS now. Well, I am 16 years old, but my voice is still really high. It did change though. As a young boy I was able to sing from low G (below middle C) to high C. Maybe even higher. But now with my lower voice I can sing from low E (below middle C) to high A. I asked my teacher what my voice type was and he responded "tenor" but then he added that my voice is really high nonetheless.
My voice is most comfortable between low F and high G.
My teacher is an SLS teacher and I was also wondering if I could truly gain an octave by training with him.
I do enjoy my voice since it's so unique, but I was wondering is there any chance it could ever get deeper? I doubt it but what do you think?
Hello, Adrian –
Thank you for the question.
As a professional singer and vocal coach I know that you need far more than the counsel of a speech level singing teacher. If that were not true, then it's time to close the music conservatories along with the music and theatre departments of every major university. More importantly – why are you paying money to one teacher and asking for free on-line advice from a total stranger who has never heard you sing?
Tenors do not sing Low E. That note is the department of a bass or bass-baritone. Just because some variety of tone flies out of your mouth on Low E, it does not follow that you own it. "Owning it" means demonstrating it through repertoire – without a microphone, in a standard theater or concert hall, with at least piano accompaniment, and audible to Row Z.
All my legitimate bass-baritones can demonstrate a fully-voiced and balanced set of scales between Low F and High G. You wonder about "gaining an octave" from this current stretch of two octaves plus a whole step. Let's narrow that dream down to three octaves – OK? That could translate to gaining a major 4th in your lower register and a major 4th in your upper register. In other words, three octaves between Bass C and High C. With the above in mind, i.e., a fully-balanced voice from one end to the other without any breaks or shifting into falsetto or the sound of a countertenor – No.
Prove me wrong.
Many people are sending me links to their internet sound samples and YouTubes. If you have something available, I would be happy to listen to it.
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/838868126.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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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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