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Acting in Plays, Singing/Straight-tone singing?
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Question
Hello,
My name is Cory and I am fifteen years old. I have taken voice lessons last year during my Freshman year of high school and they have helped my voice a lot. I was trained in opera then moved on to Musical Theatre. I am a belter, and I am very careful with my voice. I don't sing without warming up, I do breath exercises morning and night and before I practice. My issue is straight-tone singing which not a lot of singers have trouble with, I found nothing on the web to help me. I have a natural vibrato and I love it, but when I try to learn songs and I am suppose to sustain without vibrato I just can't do it. I am afraid that if I try to hard to sustain a note without vibrato I will strain my voice. In fact, I just tried to sustain notes by using straight-tone in my previous practice session. Can you help me please? I know that with vibrato you have a tilted thyroid but how can you "untilt" it. I hope I am making sense to you, haha! Thank you!
Hello, Cory
)
Thank you for the question.
Vibrato is natural to the voice. Some singers evidence more than others. Some need to learn how to release the tension in their vocal production in order to free the vibrato. Your natural vibrato does not seem to be a problem. Why do you want to make it a problem?
At 15, I'm not sure what you mean by being "trained in opera". If you mean you explored an introduction to Classical voice, then that makes sense. But even in opera, there are all kinds of opportunities to diminish and eliminate the vibrato, for example, in the recitative of Mozart. The qualified vocal trainer knows exactly how to impart that skill.
Some Classically trained singers, i.e., those who hold degrees from world class conservatories, go on to sustain careers in all kinds of vocal literature, i.e., from the 15th18th Centuries, a great deal of which does not call for vibrato and demands superb musicianship in addition to perfect breath control. There is absolutely no vibrato in Gregorian Chant. Or Rock. So, there's lots of wiggle room when it comes to discussing what styles of music are most suitable to particular types of voices and personalities.
What is it that you want to sing that suddenly requires you to suppress your vibrato?
All musical theatre-type "belters" use their vibrato in addition to being able to sustain a double-forte note or phrase on a straight tone. My job as a professional vocal coach is to teach you how to employ your vibrato to let it be and to hold back on it according to the style of the music.
What you have probably noticed already is that when you try to subdue your vibrato for however long a period of time is that it makes your throat hurt. The first thing that tells me is that your overall range needs to be much stronger and better balanced, with or without vibrato. What exercises are you doing to achieve that? Part of the problem is that you may be attempting material that is a bit out of your league at the moment.
No one expects someone who is 15 to have the vocal power and technical know-how of a professional Broadway singer. But, opportunities do come up such as, the Spring Musical and someone is going to get cast in that role that requires all that kind of stuff, right?
If you have a sample of your voice available on-line I will be happy to listen to it and offer you some feedback. In the meantime, work your scales. Start softly. Do them with and without vibrato. Take a break. Work your scales at mezzo-forte, with and without vibrato. With these scales, don't practice at forte level until you can straighten-out the vibrato at mezzo-forte.
Don't listen to anyone who may want to "untilt your thyroid". The only thing that person will eliminate are the funds in your checking account.
I am a vocal coach to working singers in the San Francisco Bay Area. I'm also the Editor and Publisher of SanFranciscoSentinel.com All my articles and interviews provide a link to my personal e-mail.
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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: Seαn 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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