Expert: Sean Martinfield - 8/15/2009

Question
QUESTION: I am having vocal problems and trying to get as much advice as I can.  When I was 14, my voice changed but something went wrong.  I ended up with a very high voice with no low notes (that are not slightly fried or breathy) and going up something that is qualitatively falsetto.

Overall, it sounds like classic incomplete mutation except for a couple factors.  The quality of my speaking voice is effeminite but not low in quality (except now because I have given myself edema trying to fix my voice on my own) and I have tried to force the low notes to come clear for years and nothing has happened (I have done this over a period of over a decade as I am 30 now.  Some people might call the quality acceptable but I have taped it and not only is it effortful but I would have one of the worst voices I have ever heard).

I am off to see another ENT.  The first one just made the comment about my cords being fairly short but didn't have the proper equipment to get a proper measure.  They didn't think anything was wrong with the way I spoke but the overall picture of the voice paints a different picture.

With my registration problem, I can still force full chest up to about a Bb4 and sometimes a C5 but who in their right mind wants to sing that way.  It is without beauty and unnatural.  Even falsetto is better.  

I am not sure my falsetto is a pure falsetto mechanism or something else that has become screwed up and imbalanced.  I often feel like I am whispering there and people tell me they can hear me in another room and I have vibrations in my chest.  Still, acoustic analysis shows strong F0 dominance ie. falsetto.   

Do you have any advice for me?  A lot of the advice I have received from singing instructors has not worked and is quite painful.  I am already on my way to a several thousand dollar ENT consult.

ANSWER: Hello, Shaun –

Thank you for the posting. I appreciate your confidence and trust.

I’m not in the position to offer medical advice. If you have something available on-line, I am happy to listen to it and offer you some feedback.

Besides having a better speaking voice, what is your most reasonable goal as a singer?

As a long-term professional vocal coach I have had my share of clients with various vocal problems. They all share one thing in common — they don’t know how to practice to their best advantage. Part of my job is that of a voice builder, no matter what you sing. It’s all about a daily workout that guarantees flexibility, strength, and endurance. It starts with me identifying the client’s vocal category, i.e., tenor, baritone, bass, etc.

You are obviously something of a challenge. But what has not helped is all the extreme self-experimentation, such as fully-voiced High Cs, forcing the lower register and whatever you’re doing with your falsetto. What genre of material do you want to sing? Even if it’s just in the shower?

I am a professional singing teacher and vocal coach in San Francisco.  If you are ever in the position to have a lesson with me, contact me through Craig's List. This week’s connection is: http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/lss/1316992717.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.

Download Carmen Milagro’s BlogTalkRadio interview with Seán Martinfield and jazz composer/pianist Terry Disley: Women and Legends Who Really Rock, 6/12/2009

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Lorena Feijóo - A Look at "Giselle" with Seán Martinfield
SAMSON & DELILAH – Meet Seán Martinfield
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Below are links to my recent interviews and articles about what's happening on San Francisco's cultural scene:

AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY – Opens Tonight At The Curran Theatre
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=38348

NORMA SHEARER – Hollywood Dreams Made Real
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THE EGYPTIAN (1954) – A Swords & Sandals Cultural Encounter at the de Young Museum
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JAMES JUDD – Whoop Click! Now At The Dark Room
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JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL – 29th Anniversary Opens July 23rd at the Castro Theatre
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PATTY DUKE – Gala Appearance and Tribute at the Castro Theatre
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CAMERON CARPENTER – An Interview with Seán Martinfield
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AT LAST! – ANN HAMPTON CALLAWAY – An Interview with Seán Martinfield
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ANGELS AND DEMONS – A LIGHTWEIGHT CONTENDER
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MONTY PYTHON’S SPAMLOT – OPENS AT THE GOLDEN GATE THEATRE MAY 22ND
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Best regards,
Seán Martinfield

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Honestly, at this point I just want to have a legitimate useful singing voice as I like to sing for myself (a lot).  At 30, having a career might be nice but is not necessarily probable.

I do not like it when people assume that my voice is puberphobia immediately because I am not sure it is.  I have tried to speak lower.  It was uncomfortable then and it still is.  I am sick of people telling me that I sound good when I am forcefully depressing my larynx and straining to maintain some semblance of quality on a low note (as I know I do not).  I am also sick of people condemning a voice that I grew up with and while maybe a little confused is not necessarily unnatural.  The tonal quality may not be exceptional but few things are worse than a strained low note.  I am open to the possibility of puberphobia but I am not open to brutal savagery on my voice especially without being given a really good reason.  If someone came to me and told me that my vocal cords were 2 cm long and I was talking like a higher tenor, I would admit to having a problem but barring tangible and reasonable evidence, I am not sure that what they are talking about is going to help me get to my end goal which is to be able to sing.  

I could just be a pretty high tenor who doesn't know how to sing and has vocal imbalances.  Given that I don't consider myself to have a naturally long chest register, it was perhaps natural to either end up singing a lot of falsetto or head notes.  I just was unlucky enough to end up training the falsetto mechanism over the other mechanism (perhaps because it sounds louder to the inner ear).

I do not consider flinging a couple high notes in the wrong mechanism harmful as it is not overly straining.  I would consider it harmful if I tried to sing an entire song above my passagio with improper technique and I would never do that.  I do not intend to experiment long on my own anyway as ultimately, I agree that it could be harmful.  But it may also be what I need to do.  The falsetto may have evolved because I was unwilling to give up the passagios I had when I was younger and try to extend chest into the range (lazy singing).   

Still, my main goal is to be able to sing without having a teacher either go crazy on low notes that I was never meant to have or try to twist my voice into something it is not and end up with a voice that is below average in quality.  My vocal problems might lead to quick and erroneous vocal classification and that concerns me.  I would not want to be given all these harsh methods to deal with a voice suffering from incomplete mutation, be fached as a bass baritone and told to speak on an A2, and have absolutely no voice within a year.   My current voice may not be ideal but at least, it is not destroying my vocal chords (my chords thankfully look quite healthy).

Answer
Hello, Shaun –

I thank you for your response.

I would welcome even one lesson with you. I’m not surprised by the crazy advice you’ve been offered. Obviously, no vocal coach can cure your condition. My job is to teach my clients how to strengthen the sound they’ve got, to keep it flexible, and to keep the range balanced and ready to go. Your job is to know how to practice to your advantage.

All I know is what I know as a long term professional singer and vocal coach. Before you consider surgery, contact the Artistic Director of any world renowned grand opera company. Explain your situation and ask if they could recommend a surgeon to you.

I know what it means to live the life of a disciplined singer. I got the practice gene. There must be a need to practice, i.e., to workout the voice. Singing a song is another discussion. Public performance of a song is on the other side of the moon from learning how to work-out the voice. Part of that vocal stuff is about being in fabulous physical condition in order to really support your tone – again, to your advantage and always toward improvement. Simple.

I truly wish you the best.

Seán Martinfield