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Acting in Plays, Singing/proper voice for Jazz
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Question
Hi, I am in the West Palm Beach area and have 2 questions.
1 - do you have anyone you can recommend for JAZZ voice lessons to help prepare for college auditions etc?
2 - I recently changed teachers due to a move and this new one has me belting jazz. Not only am I afraid to damage my voice, I always felt Jazz was meant to be sung in a more intimate manner, like a conversation. Now I am confused as to how to approach my auditions.
Thanks for any Help.
Hi, Emily –
Thank you for the question.
Sorry – I don't know of any coaches in the West Palm Beach area. Generally speaking, unless I have worked with other coaches or have heard their clients (who recommend that coach) – I can't make a recommendation.
Your audition must reflect the Truth of you, not some contrived version or an imitation of a famous jazz singer. What if you were asked to sing a number from the standard jazz anthologies that you have not prepared or don't know? Let's say you've been asked to sight-read the sheet music of Duke Ellington's "Don't Get Around Much Anymore". It's already a jazz song. Just sing what's there! If your life and leisure-time listening has been about jazz – you will be able to give a fairly decent first-time rendition. Fast forward to the future when you're in a recording studio and working with professional musicians, your rendition will obviously have become far more sophisticated.
You are right! Jazz is an intimate experience for the singer and the listener. When it's background music for my romantic dinners – I want it comfortable and mellow. For other occasions not involving candlelight, then Jazz has plenty of stuff that's bright and raucous. Listen to Ella Fitzgerald scat. She is fabulous.
Perhaps this coach you are working with has a preference for loud and aggressive vocals. That's fine. You need to know how to raise your volume comfortably for the right number and the right arrangement. I'm the professional vocal coach you want to work with to learn how to "belt". There's a difference between "loud" (forte) and belting.
With regards to your audition – my very best advice is to choose the material that you love and that you believe you could sell without any private coaching or formal schooling. Again, it's all about YOU.
Learning Jazz is no different a process than learning Grand Opera. The first thing is to become the very best musician you know and to know the works of the great composers. Vocal training is about acquiring the skills you need for your vocal category, i.e., soprano, mezzo-soprano, low alto, and to stay on pitch, to phrase intelligently, to honor the intentions of the composer, and to replicate well-learned material in front of a paying audience.
A college audition is not a singing contest nor the agenda of "American Idol".
I am a professional singing teacher and vocal coach in San Francisco. When you want to book an appointment, contact me through Craig's List – http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/lss/1005488187.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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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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