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QUESTION: Hi, I have been training vocally for musical theater for two years now and I know that I am definitely a tenor, but recently I have been working on giving my higher range more chest resonance. I can always belt up to a g# above middle c with full chest resonance without any problem. Sometimes I can belt A's, B flats, and B's above middle C with a full chest resonance sound, but sometimes I can't sing the A, B flat, or B with full chest resonance. Do you know any techniques that would make the chest sound in my higher range a little more consistent?
ANSWER: Hello, Ryan –
Thank you for the question.
All my tenors sing to a fully-voiced High C, some go higher. My job as a professional vocal coach is to give you a reliable vocal work-out that will enable you to develop your upper register and to demonstrate it through your material. When you are under the pressures of an audition or performance, you must know those notes are there.
The climactic volume you produce on anything from High F to High C is all related to the piece at hand. It’s about the vowel, when the note happens in the phrase, and the duration of that note. It’s no different than choreographing a dance – it’s all pre-determined. If the climactic moment gets screwed up, then both the dancer and the choreographer can identify the particular reasons why.
Building the upper register involves complex scale work. It does not happen by attempting songs packed with high notes and maybe on a good day you'll remember how to do it tomorrow. The upper register must first be secured – then you choose material that flatters your capabilities. My job is to correct what is getting in the way of you being consistent with your tenor’s money notes. I have to hear what you are doing.
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. This week’s connection is: http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/lss/1405517306.html. I am also the Editor and Publisher of SanFranciscoSentinel.com. All my articles and interviews about the Performing Arts provide a link to my personal e-mail.
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Best regards,
Seán Martinfield
If you have any samples of your work available on-line, I will be happy to listen to them and offer you some feedback.
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Hi, sorry I might not have been clear enough. I can sing up to a high C all the time, but I am really trying to give my higher notes as much ring as possible. The notes are always there, but the ring is not. I was wondering if you had any techniques to increase the ring in higher notes such as high b's, c's, and d's?
Hi, Ryan –
Thank you for the clarification.
Same answer. It’s all about placement. The quality or “ring” you are wanting to achieve on High B, C, and D involves the placement of the vowel and – when you sustain the note for several counts – vibrato. The clarity and feeling of openness and connection between the sensations in your skull and those in your chest come about with vibrato. Once you experience that link, you won’t forget it. Again, how to achieve it and get back there again tomorrow comes through working the scales.
Whatever you are doing now has helped you to reach these notes. Now you have to sustain them with better quality. That takes time, daily practice, and lots of patience. My job is to listen to what you are doing and to correct your technique. There are no simple written answers that will provide everyone with similar concerns the particular solutions they need. That's what one-on-one coaching is about.
Do you have anything available on-line I can listen to? If so, I will be happy to offer you some feedback.
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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