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Acting in Plays, Singing/Can you teach me to breathe?

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Expert: - 12/16/2011


Question
Hello Sean,

So as many serious and self conscious singers know that a lot ( if not 99%) of what makes a beautiful and healthy voice lies within one's breath support. It's been made quite clear by a number of the world's greatest vocalists ( mainly Opera Singers) that proper and well crafted breath control is VITAL in laying the foundation to a solid vocal technique. So I was just wondering if you could share some tips or give some advice as to developing one's breath? Maybe give us a free mini voice lesson by sharing the breathing exercises you incorporate into your sessions with your students for us to try at home?

Thanks, and Merry Christmas!!!

Answer
Hello, Christopher –

Thank you for the question.

It is so much easier to answer your question by pointing to the obvious extremes. It you believe you have the commercially-required stuff to sustain a professional career as a singer – full-time, all the time – then you are an innately driven person. That means – very aggressive, high energy, disciplined, focused, and sober. In other words, the same kind of stuff going on as an Olympic contestant – which includes standing up to competitors who may be better than you and dealing with on-going disappointments.

My clients know that I don't waste their coaching time with breathing exercises. If you study with me, you get one stiff warning about being in top physical condition. Learning how to develop and sustain a strong and secure musical line is absolutely related to your overall health and energy. If you want to become a better singer/musician, then you must add a great deal of cardio-vascular work to your daily physical routine. Running and swimming are the best and easiest examples. I live in San Francisco with its 14 major hills. One of the tallest and steepest in town is outside my front door, I'm at its base. It's like climbing an Alp. And it's free. The trick is to sustain a series of inhaling and exhaling patterns on the way up, i.e., holding a moderate breath for 5 steps, then exhaling on 5 steps, etc., and then gradually increasing the length of the pattern. Singing under the pressures of a performance or an audition can be like walking up hill or sustaining laps or a hot tennis match.

Can you hold your breath and swim a lap underwater in a regulation-size pool? How long would it take you to build the stamina to swim two laps?

How about your abdominal muscles? Are they ready for a centerfold? If not, why not? Consider pilates.

By the time you've accumulated all this kind of core strength and self-awareness about your lung capacity – you'll be the first to know if you're ready to sustain the demanding phrases and upper registers of frequently-performed material like the "Star Spangled Banner" or Schubert's "Ave Maria" or "There's No Business Like Show Business".

Simple.

Check out my recent TV-interview with popular Cable host, David Perry, on "Ten Percent":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKeeTYTYMAI

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.

Below are links to my articles and youtubes on San Francisco's entertainment and cultural scene:

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Acting in Plays, Singing

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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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