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Acting in Plays, Singing/music recording versus live performance

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Expert: - 9/30/2008


Question
I am a bari-tenor with a range of low Ab to B5 just below tenor high C. I was wondering how one might be able to record a song like 30 Seconds to Mars "The Kill" sung by Jared Leto. He never sings in the same key as he records songs so I was wondering based off from the links I'm going to give you whether he's singing in falsetto in the recording. It sounds almost like there's be over dubbing cuz I hear falsetto like overtones, but with a definite chesty sound underneath them. Please, tell me what you know about proffessional recording so I can stop ripping my hair out! Just a joke, but really i find so frustrating because I've been trained by a very operatic teacher so I know virtually nothing about commercial recording. All I know is that as a classical singer you are expected to use a head-mix while it seems commercially most of these rock singers just belt through the songs. I simply can't understand how they can do so straight through a recording doing this without straining. Live you almost never see them take the same tempo which explains why they can have the endurance they do on stage, but obviously that can't do that in the studio can they? Here are the two links to the song I mentioned above. One is a music video of the original recording and the other is the live performance.
live- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UWTngz1u94
music video- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qF1wZQzpeKA
In the song itself he doesn't even take the breaks that you hear in this music video. This baffles me about as much as how Vitas holds the high soprano C# like it's nothing to him at all. That reminds me, how can you know for sure when you've entered whistle register? I've been trying to learn from videos by the vocal coach Brett Manning (who you can also search for on youtube), but I still don't understand his method. Some people say that whistle isn't real, but he proves that it must exist as does Vitas with his super high, super strong whistle notes.
Thank you for all your time in reading this long letter.

Answer
Hello, Charlie –

What is your question?

Thank you for the links.  I watched the Leto video.  He sings and stylizes his voice from Low A to High B.  Next?

I watched the YouTube of Brett Manning with all his bullshit about "burn" and falsetto vs. the alleged "whistle register".  No wonder you are confused.  Next?

And there is no such thing as a "Bari-Tenor".  You are either a tenor who does not want to develop and maintain his upper register or a baritone who hasn't found the texture and vibrancy of his lower register.

Let me know when you want to book an appointment.

Most sincerely,
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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