Expert: Sean Martinfield - 4/14/2011

Question
Dear Sean,


First on all, thanks for being here to offer free expert advice. It's very much appreciate. I am a 25 year old female who has been trained as a soprano in the bel canto style for around 8 years until I stopped training at 19 when I had vocal problems and decided to stay away from training to rediscover my voice and what it would naturally do. I now have a range of E3 to A5, which is somewhat lower than my range as a teenager. And would now like to focus my training in musical theatre singing. Here are some specific questions I'm having with regards to that:
1. Belt range: My first passagio is A4, and can currently belt only up to B4, or C5 on good days. Would you have any suggestions on exercises to do to increase the belt range, especially for someone who had been classically trained?
2. Physiology of belting: I've worked with 2 different teachers on a same song with a C5 belt with rather conflicting instructions and outcomes.In the first, I was asked to look up, raise the larynx and create a smaller space between the tongue and the soft palate, while in the second I was told to lower the larynx and create a wider space with a yawn sensation. The latter felt easier but I have read from articles associated with the Estill method that the former method was the safe way to belt. Would appreciate if you could clarify on what the right and safe way to belt is and what sensation one should be feeling when it is done correctly/incorrectly.
3. Mixed voice: Is there such thing as a mixed voice? Or does it refer to a specific voice quality? I have also heard comparisons between the chest belt and the mixed belt. Could you please elaborate on what these terms refer to?
4. Second passagio: I feel that I am not currently accessing the range beyond the second passagio as I do not make any changes singing from A4 to A5, nor is there any change in sound quality that singing through a passagio (as I understand it) should cause. The sensation I feel when singing at the top of my range is that of a very narrow space whereas the sensation I used to feel when I was singing classically as a soprano (notes higher than what I am currently capable of) was that of a wide open throat which needed to be supported with a lot of breath. I was told by my teacher that it is simply because my voice has changed, but I feel that there is a territory that I haven't explored vocally. Could you enlighten me on this?
5. Registers: Further to questions 3 & 4, I use the 2-register (chest/head) theory to understand my own voice. However, what I don't get is how the 2nd passaggio fits in. If the 1st passaggio is the point where one changes from chest to head, where does the 2nd passaggio come in?
5. Voice classification: Based on my range and first passagio, would you be able to tell what voice type I possibly am and what roles/areas in musical theatre I should focus my attention on?
6. Could you give some suggestions on how to strengthen and broaden the range, and what specific areas a classically trained singer should focus on to switch to musical theatre singing?
7. Is your vocal methodology 'the belter's method' available as an audio download? I wasn't able to find any specific information from your website and would appreciate further information on it.

Thank you very much in advance!




Sara

Answer
Hello, Sara –

Thank you for contacting me. You want a Master Class. That's not my function on this website.

I studied the Bel Canto method for ten years and performed the repertoire. I know what it means to transition out of a career in classical music to that of one based in Standard American music. It's the other side of the moon.

The first and very best solution I can give you is to get rid of all that nonsense vocabulary about "the 2-register (chest/head) theory". The voice is not built like a hemisphere with an equator nor is it an hourglass. It's all one thing. Whatever vocal problems you have now will be exacerbated by this either/or approach – especially if the person you are working with is not working your true voice.

Your job is to get your voice balanced from your lowest note to your highest note. That means, out to at least Row M without a microphone. Sing a set of two-octave scales over your declared range. If you are cracking along the way, then you are studying with the wrong teacher. Simple. Images involving your larynx and perpetual yawning will not turn you into a competitive auditioner in the real world of Musical Theatre.

If you have samples of your work available for me to observe, I will offer you some feedback. My job as a professional vocal coach is to identify your vocal category and to train you accordingly. Maybe you never really were a soprano. I work with sopranos who have performance-ready Fs above High C. All my mezzo-sopranos have balanced registers to at least High A, all of them go higher. Ultimately, in both the Classical and Broadway repertoire, your true vocal category is proven through professional performances in the repertoire written for that voice-type.

Something else to consider –
There are many different styles of music to be heard on the Broadway Stage. The music and the artist reflect the popular styles of the day. Not every hopeful Broadway singer can convince a producer that they have the chops for a Rock Musical or the Stephen Schwartz material, Phantom of the Opera, or that they have the musicianship and endurance for anything by Stephen Sondheim. Your job is to know the repertoire and, again, specifically in your vocal category and – even more importantly – in relationship to your "Type" – as in, do you match the description in the Audition Notice. That's how you build an audition portfolio.

Thank you for asking about MP3s. It's in the works.

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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JANE MONHEIT – This Sunday At The Empire Ballroom
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DIANE BAKER – Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK
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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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A Conversation with Ruben Martin Cintas, Principal Dancer with SF Ballet
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Best regards,
Seán Martinfield
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