Acting in Plays, Singing/Heathly Vocal Cords?

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Expert: - 1/15/2012


Question
Dear Sean,

Thank you very much for answering my previous question on breathing. I found it very helpful. While we are on this subject on the basics of singing I was hoping you could share with us some tips on taking care of the physical vocal cords themselves. I've read of singers annually getting a Laryngoscopy see if they're getting any masses or (god give me strength)nodules! Is this smart? What should every singer know when it comes to really taking care of the vocals? What do they need? What to they NOT need at any time?

Thanks again.
Christopher

Answer
Hello, Christopher –

Thank you for another great question.

Singers who develop nodes lack good training.
Many singers lack sufficient training – even when it comes from a good source – to take on the musical responsibilities they've been hired for, i.e., the non-union performers in National Tours who come to major cities such as San Francisco.

The woods are full of young working singers, i.e., in musical theatre, who eventually realize – sometimes by developing nodes – they were not as vocally equipped as they thought to have taken on a particular role and sing it night after night.

Vocal health starts with good technique. Undergoing an annual laryngoscopy as a self-reassuring check-in measure is faddish and crazy. A well-trained career singer knows their limitations and how to keep their voice in condition. They are also the first to recognize vocal distress – in themselves and others.

If you are thinking about pursuing a career as a professional singer, then your responsibility is to become the most informed musician you know. That includes a knowledge of the repertoire of the musical genre in which you hope to earn a living wage. What do you want to sing? Where do you hope to sing it?

My job as a professional vocal coach is to correctly identify your vocal category, i.e., tenor, baritone, bass, etc. Then it's about teaching you a work-out that maximizes and protects your vocal range and serves you in performance. That is the foundation of proper training. That kind of knowledge and skill does not happen overnight.

If I'm your vocal coach and you are coming to me on a regular basis, then along the way you and I will both know when you've been screwing around with your vocal health. Like, screaming all afternoon during the big game and then canceling your lesson with me the following day because your throat is raw. You give me less than 24-hours notice then you get charged for that lesson and a lecture when you come back. If you smoke, stop it. If you drink, then you've got yourself to blame for sloppy musicianship and getting fat. Get your core abs in centerfold-condition. Sooner or later, a Casting Director is going to look you over from head to toe. If you're not running or swimming or jumping rope or something else that's going to increase your cardio-vascular strength, then you won't have the kind of breath control you need to get the volume you want without straining your vocal cords and thus inviting the onset of nodes. Simple.

Pass it along.

I am a vocal coach to working singers in the San Francisco Bay Area. I'm also the Music and Theatre critic for SanFranciscoSentinel.com and Classical music reviewer for Examiner.com: http://www.examiner.com/user/4557381/articles

Check out my recent interview with popular TV host, David Perry, on "Ten Percent":
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Below are links to my articles and youtubes on San Francisco's entertainment and cultural scene:

'Unfaithfully Yours' – Classic Overtures at Noir City X
http://www.examiner.com/classical-music-in-san-francisco/unfaithfully-yours-clas

SAN FRANCISCO OPERA – Announces 2012/13 Season
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=166876

SF Symphony – elevates Debussy's "Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian" to ecstatic heights
http://www.examiner.com/classical-music-in-san-francisco/sf-symphony-elevates-de

EDDIE MULLER – On the Slow Death of 35mm – An Interview with the "Czar of Noir"
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=166840

GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE – 75th Anniversary – "Bridging Us All"
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=166824

CHRISTINE EBERSOLE – Bay Area Cabaret presents Tony Award winner at the Venetian Room, January 15th
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=166791

Best In Women's Classical Vocals 2011
http://www.examiner.com/classical-music-in-san-francisco/best-women-s-classical-

"Le Martyre de Saint Sébastien" – At Davies Symphony Hall, Featuring Damian Smith of SF Ballet, January 12th–14th
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=166732

NOIR CITY – 10th Anniversary, 10-Day Festival at the Castro Theatre, begins January 20th
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=166799

NATIONAL FILM REGISTRY – Selects 25 Films for Preservation
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=166748

JOHN E. BUCHANAN, Jr. – Director of the Legion of Honor and de Young Museum loses battle with cancer
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=166762

A Spectacular Christmas Eve at Davies Symphony Hall
http://www.examiner.com/classical-music-in-san-francisco/a-spectacular-christmas

NEW YEAR'S EVE MASQUERADE BALL – Violinist Nicola Benedetti with the San Francisco Symphony
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=166714

CD, JAKE SCHEPPS – An Evening in the Village: The Music of Béla Bartók
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=166708

NEW YEAR'S EVE MASQUERADE BALL – Violinist Nicola Benedetti with the San Francisco Symphony
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=166714

'TWAS THE NIGHT – Celebrate Christmas with the San Francisco Symphony
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=166688

THE NUTCRACKER – Confection Perfection at San Francisco Ballet
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=166662

DEANNA DURBIN – The Leading Lady of NOIR CITY XMAS, Wednesday at The Castro Theatre
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=166623

CD Review – A STEINWAY CHRISTMAS ALBUM  ★★★★
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=166619

MELODY MOORE – Opera Star to Appear with San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus in Holiday Concerts
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=166598

BERNINI'S MEDUSA – Now at the Legion of Honor through February 12th
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=166541

A Conversation with Artist Elaine Badgley Arnoux — "The People of San Francisco, Lives of Accomplishment"
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=166486

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CAMERON CARPENTER – International Superstar Organist plays "Phantom of the Opera" at Davies Symphony Hall, Friday, October 30th
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=162920

"LUCREZIA BORGIA" – A Hard Act To Swallow at San Francisco Opera
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=160261

EDDIE MULLER and "Fear Over Frisco" – An Interview with the Czar of Noir
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=161026

CD Release – Jacques Loussier Trio – "Schumann: Kinderszenen"
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=160633

LEAH CROCETTO – An Interview with "Liu" in SF Opera's TURANDOT
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=159189

HENRY PHIPPS – A Conversation with Featured Boy Soprano in SF Opera's "Heart of a Soldier"
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=158231

HEIDI MELTON – An Interview with “Sieglinde” in San Francisco Opera’s DIE WALKÜRE
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=136787

MARY GIBBONEY – An Interview with the star of “ABSOLUTELY SAN FRANCISCO”
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=138339

TIIT HELIMETS – An Interview with “Prince Edvard” of SF Ballet’s THE LITTLE MERMAID
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=120731

ZHENG CAO – A Conversation with A Miracle Artist
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=111219

MELODY MOORE – A Conversation with San Francisco Opera Star
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=110816

MARNIE BRECKENRIDGE – An Interview with “La Princesse” of Philip Glass’ Orphée
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A Conversation with Elza van den Heever
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Best regards,
Sean Martinfield
http://www.examiner.com/classical-music-in-san-francisco/sean-martinfield

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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