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Acting in Plays, Singing/Voice part? Barely there vibrato?

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Expert: - 5/14/2009


Question
Hi!  I am a voice student and have been for the past 3 years privately.  During this time, I also sang with my high school's choir as an alto, despite my having a high soprano range to a High D.  However I had no vibrato.  Being in choir, we wern't supposed to use it.  I studied with one woman for 2 years who had no idea what she was really teaching me for musical theatre and had me belting from my chest and I would leave my lesson with my throat raspy.

Now I am with a woman who actually graduated from my university studying musical theatre (I am going into sophmore year as a drama major studying voice on the side) who has helped me work on my mix and develop my soprano range more... my lower notes have always been there.  However, still no real vibrato.  I have some but it's very soft.  Because I have such a flute-like high range and can easialy hit a High D, my teacher has called me a soprano. Even though I perfer singing mezzo range songs and find them less taxing on my voice.

My range:
E below Middle C to High D
Belt to octave above Middle C (mixed slightly)

So basically...  What should I be writing on my resume for my voice type, but more importantly, will my vibrato develop eventually?  My current teacher is finally teaching me a better and safer technique for my entire range.  I have read that lack of vibrato means bad vocal health and poor technique; could it be because I had no real technique for the past 2 years and are just finally learning?

Thanks!

Answer
Hello, Kacie –

Thank you for the question.  It is very layered and complex.

Vibrato is natural.  Some evidence more than others.  The vibrato can be suppressed by anyone who is not struggling with it, such as yourself.  It is very common with big belt singers such as Celine Dilon to have their long-held climactic or final notes start off without any vibrato and then gradually ease into it toward the end.  Suppressing the natural vibrato happens with tension – turn it on, turn it off.

My job as a professional vocal coach is to correctly identify your vocal category and to then train you accordingly.  That must happen in person.

Do you have a sample of your voice on-line?  If so, I will be happy to listen to it and offer you some feedback.

In the meantime, just because you hit some variety of High D does not necessarily indicate you are a soprano.  Many of my mezzo-sopranos exercise to High C.  The difference in sound between a true soprano and a true mezzo is instantly discerned in the middle of the voice, not the top.

My clients come to me through recommendation.  I found my first coach the same way. It often happens in Academia that the resident vocal coaches never sustained professional careers as singers.  Many do not have the right skills or practical experience to determine someone’s voice type.  Ultimately, one’s vocal category is proven through public performances of repertoire written specifically for it.

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/1140282088.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.

Take a look at my You Tubes:

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Acting in Plays, Singing

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Sean Martinfield

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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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