Acting in Plays, Singing/Finding out my vocal

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Expert: - 1/22/2010


Question
QUESTION: Hi.

I've sang for a VERY small amount of time and am now in a practising choir. However, I am not sure whether I am a baritone or a bass. I do have some difficulties with hitting the higher notes.. and have suffered from a speech deficiency when I was a kid, which shows itself as mumbling when many words need to be said in a row. However, can you tell me what I am based on two links?

Thanks:

Higher: http://www.sheezyart.com/art/view/2206698/ (my father sings every second line... and my first lines go totally doo-lally...)

Lower: (possibly a tad too low for the song) http://www.sheezyart.com/art/view/2192674/

I am more comfortable in the lower ranges, but that is because I've only JUST now started out with the higher notes.

Also, how do I improve my higher register?

Thanks alot!

ANSWER: Hi, Kevin –

Thank you for the question. Sorry, but I was not able to access either of your links. Perhaps there is another way to get to the site?

In the meantime, consider that between the baritone voice and the bass is the bass-baritone. At either end of their respective ranges – and depending on the individual singer – is the difference of a whole step or more. My job as a vocal coach is to discern certain traits in your voice that indicate your true vocal category. Ideally, that happens in person and by a series of scales throughout your present range. For the novice singer and depending on the chosen material and how it was recorded – there are many variables to be considered before making an absolute pronouncement as to what you are. Nevertheless, a recording can be a good start. Sometimes the answer is obvious.

Whatever your vocal category proves to be, developing your higher register happens through scale work. It’s all about placement. Though baritones, bass-baritones, and basses share notes in common – the placement or location of those tones is different for each. And so is the timbre, i.e., how the voice sounds. Ultimately, the vocal category is proven through public performance of the repertoire written specifically for it.

For most performers, improving articulation is a matter of exercise and practice. Again, my job is to show you how. But you have to be with me. What if you gave a solo recital and sang in three or four different languages? Placement and correct pronunciation are one and the same.

Check on those links, OK?

I am a professional singing teacher and vocal coach in San Francisco.  When you are in the 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/1557923877.html
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I am 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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Below are links to my recent interviews and articles about what's happening on San Francisco's cultural scene:

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Best regards,
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---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for the answer. Did you copy-paste those links onto the address bar? That's the only way to access them.

Anyhow, I must say that I can't get anywhere near you, so this'll have to do... seeing as I am in Finland.

Well, my articulation is good in any language, as long as I don't have to say complicated lines. (I am half finnish and half British, so both languages are commonly used by me).

So, copy-paste those links to your address line in your internet-browser and then they should work. Sorry for that.

THANKS!

Answer
Hi, Kevin –

I finally broke through and was able to listen to your recordings.
You need to sing more challenging material in order to understand the gift that you have and how you might contribute to making the world a better place.

I urge you to listen to the recordings of Russian baritone Dmitri Hvorostovksy and Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel.

Each of them have recorded a wide variety of material. In the operatic world, both have performed the role of “The Count” in Mozart’s DON GIOVANNI. Their paths crossed early in their singing careers performing at a strategic vocal competition.

Get out there and sing.

Best regards,
Seán Martinfield

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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