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Question
I'm a soprano that is majoring in music. I'm being trained to sing classically through my school, but I would much rather be able to sing Broadway-style songs.
The problem is, because of the way I've been trained, I now have no idea how head/chest voice fits in in Broadway music, and when I should or shouldn't be belting. It doesn't help that singing in chest voice becomes very difficult beyond G4 as is belting beyond Bb. Do you have any tips?
Hello, Jenny –
Thank you for the question. I want you to read my response from today to Sandra.
If you are aiming for a career in Broadway then you are wasting your time in a classroom devoted to Classical music. What will you sing for your Final? You must also get beyond your notions of "head voice" vs "chest voice". No matter the vocal category, the voice is not divided into two separate hemispheres.
From your description, I seriously doubt you are a soprano.
My job as a professional vocal coach is to correctly identify your vocal category, to develop your vocal range, to prepare you for auditions, and to assist with the learning process when you are cast in a show. Your job is to know the Broadway repertoire related to your vocal category, the roles you think you will be hired to perform – even in an academic situation – and to be ready to compete against others with similar or better qualifications. You must also be ready to audition for the choreographer.
All my mezzo-sopranos belt up to at least 4th-space E-flat, most go higher. For such women, the vocal demands of "Elphaba" in WICKED are a walk in the park. Not all of them are in love with the role or the show. My client just finished an engagement as "Trina" in FALSETTOS here in San Francisco. In order to endure that non-stop-singing show day after day – the singer must know how to run complicated scales beyond the role's required range and without evidencing breaks or noticeable shifts from one area to the other.
Most untrained standard Broadway-type altos and mezzo-sopranos experience difficulties belting after 3rd-line B-flat. Most singing instructors in college music departments teaching courses with an emphasis on the Classical repertoire cannot "belt" popular music, are not interested in Broadway musicals, and may claim that all of it will ruin your voice. For what? Your future as "Madama Butterfly"?
Again, I doubt you are a soprano.
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/1030053071.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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