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Question
I have been training in voice for a year. My range is G below middle C (though it makes my throat sore) to high B. I can hit a high A, but I can't hold it. Somewhere within that range my voice breaks. I've been in a small voice competition (my first, last, only) and though I won, my voice was rather shaky and I had laryngitis for a week after the competition because (I'm assuming) I practiced so much before. I'm not a confident singer yet, so I don't "belt it out" like a country or pop singer, but I can hold my own in a lyrical ballad, like "I Dreamed a Dream" and old Disney classics. My vocal teacher says my voice is classical and colorful, and others say it's a lullaby voice. Lastly, I live in Mississippi, and I cannot afford travel or high vocal coach rates.
With that said, what can I do to continue to improve and stretch my vocal range, end to end and the middle section where I break? What can I do to make my voice stronger? What can I do to avoid getting laryngitis in the future?
Hello, Katie –
Thank you for the question.
Laryngitis does not come from practicing too much. But hoarseness and other evidence of strain can be the result of misuse of the voice. You need better training. Simple.
No one has a “classical voice” or a “lullaby voice”.
But from your description, it may very well be that you have a standard mezzo-soprano voice which generally stretches between Low A and High A. All my mezzo-sopranos exercise between Low F and High C without any breaks or shifts. Thus, when it comes time to perform under pressure, i.e., an audition, competition, or performance, they know how to apply their technique to the song. The goal is to construct each phrase to your advantage. I use the term “to choreograph” – just like a dancer would. Once the song is choreographed – then that is what you replicate in performance. If it slips up somewhere along the way, you are the one who knows why and how to fix it. The following day when you sing it again, you have to get your voice warmed-up in order to replicate the choreography, the performance-version of that song. It’s a never-ending cycle. Again, just like a professional dancer or competitive runner.
What’s missing for you is a reliable vocal workout. That’s where I come in as a professional vocal coach. My job is to demonstrate how to create a seamless flow between your lowest and highest notes. That happens with a series of complex scales. It’s no different a discussion than learning to play the piano. It’s about developing flexibility and strength. Then it’s about applying that technique to the music at hand.
Listen to some of the great operatic mezzo-sopranos such as Marilyn Horne, Frederika Von Stade, Susan Graham. I spent a lot of time listening to Elena Obraztsova’s recording of “Samson and Delilah” recently. Her voice is sensational. She was once as young as you. Find samples of it on the Internet. Check out the inter-library loan policy of your town’s Main Library. If the recording is not in their collection, ask the Reference Librarian how you can arrange to have another library forward their copy over so that you may check it out.
There are all kinds of ways to learn about the possibilities of your vocal instrument. It is my experience that the more singers you become familiar with who have your vocal category, i.e., mezzo-soprano, and who are successful in genres of music you are attracted to or that have been pointed out to you – the better able you will be to understand where you are in your vocal development and where you need to be.
Find out everything you can about what your school has to offer, the next school you want to be in, what’s going on in your community’s music circles, religious outlets, local theaters, etc.
Work smart. Be patient. And get yourself into Olympic centerfold condition. That you can do for free.
I am a professional singing teacher and vocal coach in San Francisco. When you are in the San Francisco Bay Area and want to book an appointment, contact me through Craig's List. This week’s connection is: http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/lss/1223869393.html
I am also the Editor and Publisher of www.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
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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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